Impact case study database

Oette’s research changed the policy and practice of NGOs and influenced the policy of the EU and its member States on addressing mixed migration in the Horn of Africa (HoA), as well as the approaches taken by various EU and UN actors on how to respond to mixed migration from Eritrea; informed the position adopted by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sudan and South Sudan (APPG); and influenced public debate on the EU policy on migration.

The International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI), a major civil society organisation working on refugees in the HoA, confirmed in 2018 that ‘Oette’s ground-breaking, high quality research was instrumental in prompting and shaping [its] research and advocacy agenda, and in turn influenced the approach of other civil society actors and policy makers’ – such as civil society actors working in the region, including as research partners – and EU and IGAD [5.9 and 5.5] The research ‘emphasised to IRRI . . . the need for more empirically-based evidence on both the underpinnings and impact of the [Khartoum Process]’ [5.9], which resulted in the joint IRRI, SOAS and SIHA research project [3.2–3.4]. Oette’s research also influenced the advocacy and engagement of UK-based civil society organisations. Waging Peace (WP), which co-ordinates advocacy efforts on Sudan in the UK, emphasised that the research ‘helped inform [our] understanding . . . and supported the work of our organisation, and also that of the UK-Sudan advocacy group we coordinate’ [5.10]. The engagement with IRRI and WP resulted in 2 joint submissions on migration from and to Sudan to the UN Human Rights Committee in January and September 2018 [5.7b and c]. Oette’s research was also drawn on substantively in a research and advocacy report on Darfur migration published in September 2018 by the Humanitarian Policy Group, the Research & Evidence Facility and Overseas Development Institute, which analysed in-depth the nature, and relative challenges of migration of Darfuris from Sudan to Europe, with a specific focus on Italy, France, Belgium and the UK. The report [5.8 p v, 33, 53, 82, 84] resulted in several meetings with policy-makers, as well as humanitarian and migration NGOS working on Darfur, and a request for a follow-up study, which was pending as of December 2020.

Oette discussed his research findings in multiple fora from late 2016 onwards via briefings, face-to-face testimonies in private hearings, video link, and through submissions. Subsequent developments have addressed Oette’s findings of the danger inherent in pursuing a partnership model with an authoritarian regime known for its poor record of respect for human rights standards.

Oette’s written and oral testimony [5.7a] significantly informed the APPG’s position on the Khartoum Process, expressing concern at the UK Government’s steadfast support. The APPG referred expressly to Oette’s testimony when discussing the risk of refoulement (the expulsion of persons who risk persecution if returned to their country of origin) [5.2 p33], and further reflected it in its recommendations, requesting ‘HMG [to] ensure that strong monitoring mechanisms are in place to guarantee compliance with . . . human rights law, particularly to guard against the refoulement of refugees’ [5.2 p33]. Oette and his co-researchers engaged with a range of policy makers from late 2016 to late 2018, sharing and discussing research findings with embassies; representatives of the EU, AU, IGAD, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Geneva, Sudan, Nairobi and Kampala, and representatives of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Brussels [5.5 p6–13]; EU and UK representatives in London [5.4. and 5.11]; as well as members of the European Parliament [5.3] and the UN Human Rights Committee [5.7b and c]. These policy makers acknowledged the importance of Oette’s analysis and empirical findings of the research, participated in public policy debates, and agreed to act on the recommendation that the process should become more participatory by considering to convene a joint meeting with civil society organisations based in the diaspora at Chatham House [5.4]. According to the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, ‘the issues raised by Mr Oette in his intervention were included in the Members’ discussion with their Sudanese counterparts’ in a mission to Sudan in December 2017 [5.3]. The UN Human Rights Committee took up several issues raised in the submission, particularly on forced returns and collective expulsions, and, in its concluding observation, requested Sudan to change relevant law and/or practice [5.7d p9, para 54].

Waging Peace confirmed that ‘[r]egularly raising [the human rights dimension of migration] during meetings with [UK officials] and other decision-makers has, in tandem with other advocacy activities, resulted in a marked shift in the UK’s position on the Khartoum Process, with a greater emphasis on a more transparent, participatory and human rights compatible approach to migration management’ [5.10]. There was evidence of a marked change in focus in EU policy on the Khartoum Process, with a stronger emphasis on protection, the relevance of human rights concerns, participating of civil society in project implementation, and transparency – particularly as set out in its factsheet on EU action [5.4, 5.6]. The factsheet was also referred to by the EU representative during the Chatham House meeting [5.4] as evidence in support for a change in its approach. The lack of sustainability of the partnership approach initially pursued became even more apparent after December 2018. Sudanese forces, particularly the Rapid Support Forces responsible for border controls, repeatedly committed serious violations against peaceful protesters. This led to condemnations by the EU and the UK, and the suspension of cooperation in the Khartoum Process.

Work in Sudan on reviewing and updating Sudan’s 2014 anti-trafficking legislation has been significantly delayed as a result of COVID-19 [5.11]. In October 2020, work restarted and, following political changes in Sudan resulting in an environment conducive to new approaches to combatting trafficking in the country, the Subcommittee of the National Committee to Counter Trafficking invited Oette to provide expert advice and assist in the review of Sudan’s 2014 Combatting Human Trafficking Act, in recognition of his work on the Khartoum Process [5.11].

Oette provided newspaper interviews with Deutsche Welle (twice) [5.1], Forbes, Le Monde (background briefing), and interviews with Radio Erena (Eritrea) and CNBC Africa. This dissemination of the research elicited strong interest among civil society groups, and made the Sudanese diaspora (who invited Oette to several meetings and talks) eager to gain a better understanding of the Khartoum Process. Oette engaged with the main organisation on the study of the Sudan and South Sudan in the UK (SSSUK) in an event attended by 60 persons in September 2016 and an Open Themes meeting in 2017 (30 attendees). He also engaged with 20 lawyers, journalists and members of NGOs working with Sudanese refugees in the UK at a SOAS meeting in July 2017. These dialogues increased the capacity and quality of engagement by Sudanese groups during the Chatham House meeting in November 2017 [5.11]. The meeting was well attended (around 50 persons) by Sudanese and Eritrean Embassy representatives, policy makers working on migration in the Horn of Africa – such as the Head of Unit, EU Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development – and civil society representatives. The EU representative present expressed his interest in engaging with Sudanese civil society as a result of the event [5.4].