President Faustin Archange Touadéra of the Central African Republic told the United Nations General Assembly that the migrant crisis in Europe is the result of “plunder” of natural resources in Africa and “Western imperialism,” highlighting the devastating consequences of these actions on the African continent.
During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Faustin Archange Touadéra emphasized the connections between the massive movements of African migrants to Europe and Africa’s history marked by slavery, colonization, Western imperialism, terrorism, and internal armed conflicts.
Touadéra expressed his dismay about the influx of thousands of African migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa, describing the situation as an “escalation of the migrant crisis.” He insisted that these desperate migrations were largely due to poverty resulting from the exploitation of natural resources in African countries.
The Central African president pointed to the involvement of major global powers in these issues, citing “hegemonic ambitions” and “geopolitical tensions” as contributing factors to the suffering of the African continent.
“A merciless war” against smugglers The previous week, thousands of migrants, primarily of African origin, had reached the Italian island of Lampedusa, located near the North African coast. In response, Italian Council President Giorgia Meloni called on the United Nations to wage “a merciless war” against smugglers, emphasizing Italy’s determination to combat the “slavers of the third millennium.”
Giorgia Meloni also blamed “mafias” and asserted that Italy was committed to addressing the root causes of the migration crisis by helping African countries develop economically.
