Angela Merkel Tells African Union It Must Do More to Stop Migration to Europe

Germany will be at the helm of the G20 for 2017, and Chancellor Angela Merkel has signaled that Africa will be a primary area of focus: “But in return, she has asked that the African countries do more to stop the growing culture of young people leaving to seek a better life in Europe,” reports Adam Withnall for the Independent. In a tour to Mali, Niger and Ethiopia, Merkel implied that failed governance in Africa has spillover effects for Europe, including terrorism and mass migration. She urged the African nations to take steps to prevent a “brain drain” and support coherent development policies. Northern African nations respond that they must struggle with immigration, too. Germany is lending financial support to African Union facilities and training for police officers. Violent anti-government protests in Ethiopia, which is under a state of emergency, have caught the eye of human-rights advocates across the world, Withnall reports, and the unrest has prompted requests for “independent observers into the most troubled Oromia region.” – YaleGlobal