Director of the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) @Mixed_Migration / Views are my own. Retweets are not endorsements.
Joined June 2013
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Bram Frouws retweeted
My latest piece, on UNHCR's uncertain future.
The UN Refugee Agency Is Reckoning With an ‘Unprecedented Weakness’ passblue.com/2026/10/08/the-…
ALT Rohingya women and a child
Bram Frouws retweeted
“The narrow stretch of water between Yemen & Djibouti isn't only a chokepoint for global trade. It's also one of the busiest irregular migration corridors in the world.”
Fighting reaches Yemen’s coast, Yemenis flee to Djibouti, as people were crossing the other way.
f.mtr.cool/gnmt858hxc
#MMR2026
Bram Frouws retweeted
Fighting has resumed in north Ethiopia. Compared to 5 yrs ago, neighbouring countries are at war or under strain, Red Sea is a conflict zone, drought is setting in, & humanitarian system has less capacity. What could this mean for mixed migration & displacement?
#MMR2026
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Bram Frouws retweeted
“A new instrument is adopted (EU Pact), bypassed at its first real test (Ceuta), and then treated as a reason to build the next one.”
MMC Director @BramFrouws examines what the response to Ceuta tells us about European migration governance.
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Remarkable #SOTEU re: #migration & #Ceuta, saying Pact = the solution (not used/referenced during crisis), then announcing new crisis response framework (while Pact includes crisis instruments), already showing lack of confidence & undermining public trust
mixedmigration.org/articles/…
Bram Frouws retweeted
"Language using words like 'invasion' or 'attack' or water-related metaphors to describe the movement of humans is dangerous because it tends to dehumanise people."
@BramFrouws spoke to @TheAfricaReport about the rhetoric & the response to Ceuta
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Bram Frouws retweeted
MMC director @BramFrouws on the political implications of the EU Migration Pact in the aftermath of the crossings into Ceuta: "The idea of the pact is control and solidarity between EU member states. Yet we've seen the opposite."
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Curious what is meant by ‘acted together’. What I’ve seen is political panic, lack of solidarity with Spain, unjustified unilateral actions by countries & lack of confidence the EU - now that there is a EU Migration Pact - can actually respond together in a level-headed way
What happened in Ceuta was a test of our resilience and the security of our external borders.
We restored control because we acted together. Now, we must draw the right conclusions and strengthen our response.
Full press conference:
audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/…
Bram Frouws retweeted
Villa suggested Morocco may have loosened the border as a way of showing it has “the upper hand”, especially because authorities there know it would cause an overreaction in Europe. “They love seeing all the fighting between European countries,” he added.
theguardian.com/world/2026/j…
Bram Frouws retweeted
Instead of ramping up pressure on Morocco, many EU partners turned on Madrid.
The migration panic is fuel for those trying to blackmail Europe.
The Spanish people won't forget this lack of solidarity.
My take @derspiegel
spiegel.de/ausland/ceuta-wie…
Exactly. The result of these migration deals, in combination with the fear of migrant arrivals, is a twisted power dynamic, whereby countries around EUs external borders hold all the cards & can extract diplomatic favours & cash by (threatening to) “opening or closing the gates”
“Make no mistake” yet that’s precisely what you do. They are back in Morocco and they didn’t even reach mainland Europe. But I guess such a mistake serves the political agenda well enough, so facts and evidence don’t matter? Sad.
Bram Frouws retweeted
I crossed the Sahara Desert with migrants about a decade ago. Those in the video who crossed into Ceuta from Morocco neither looked like migrants (no luggage) nor did they behave like migrants (went back home with no protest). They looked like a rent-a-mob from Morocco's al-karyan, engineered to cross over and create a diplomatic crisis for Spain? Why? Well, ask the Israeli government, whose Moroccan partner is ever ready to create an embarrassment for the @sanchezcastejon government as a consequence of its position on the genocide of the Palestinians. Remember when the Moroccan King did the same thing in 2021 when the Spanish government arranged for medical care of Brahim Ghali (leader of @Polisario_).
Bram Frouws retweeted
“Not a single person has crossed to mainland EU.”
But 57 people died.
Exactly
Ceuta is the biggest gift ever to the European far right & Israel; they’re milking this incident to the last drop at a time when they’re struggling for support
The far right & Israel know they have nothing to offer other than Islamophobia & scapegoating migrants to gain support
European right wing parties today have been sowing unprecedented disinformation where they pretend that Ceuta is a 5-minute walk from Paris, Berlin or London, rather than an enclave in Northern Africa separated from Europe by the sea & under heavy security
They’re omitting that Spain already returned over 40,000 people of those who crossed into Ceuta back to Morocco
They’re drumming up a narrative of “invasion,” “war,” “barbarians at the gate”… they’re leaving out that Morocco is Israel’s & the US’s closest ally in Northern Africa
Bram Frouws retweeted
A new 🇬🇧 Prime Minister takes office July 20
Migration likely will be one of his first big tests
Our experts explain why now is the moment for an ambitious UK-EU deal on small boats
bit.ly/4fioKz3
Bram Frouws retweeted
A new 6-month study of 700 people on the move by @UNHCRSom & @Mixed_Migration shows access to protection transforms journeys. Read the full story here: 👉unhcr.org/africa/publication…
Bram Frouws retweeted
The US has closed legal pathways for Cubans while tightening sanctions on the island. The result: Cuban mixed migration is being redirected across Latin America.
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Bram Frouws retweeted
𝗡𝗘𝗪: Infographic based on 503 interviews in Italy: 73% of refugees and migrants experienced violence or abuse on their journey (77% came via Tunisia, 71% via Libya). 78% chose to remain in Italy, citing safety as the primary reason.
Read: f.mtr.cool/gsukddmvpn
Yes. And what exactly will hosting countries get in return, in addition to cash. Or: how far are European countries willing to go/give in on certain issues & compromise/turn a blind eye to broader human rights situation in countries hosting return hubs
