WALLAGA UNIVERSTY

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL

SCINCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT FOR THE REQIRMENT OF MASTER OF ARTS IN
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

THE CONTEMPORARY HUMAN MIGRATIONS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON INTER

STATE RLATIONS: A CASE OF ETHIOPIA AND SAUDI ARABIA.

BY:

GEBEYEHU BEYENE KUMI

ADVISOR: DEMISSE FIRDISSA (PhD)
June, 2023
Gimbi, Ethiopia

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 DECLARATION

I,Gebeyeehu Beyene, hereby declare that this research paper is my original work, and has not
been presented for any other degree in any other university as well as all sources used for the
purpose of this research are duly acknowledged.
A Thesis Submitted to School of Graduate Studies of Wollega University in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Art in International Relations

By: Gebeyehu Beyene

Approved By:
__________________ _____________ _________________
Advisor Signature Date

___________________ _____________ ____________________

Internal Examiner Signature Date

__________________ _____________ ___________________

External Examiner Signature Date

___________________ _____________ ___________________

Chair Person Signature

June -2023
Gimbi, Ethiopia

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My Study was full of challenges. The final period of my study was so unbearable. The town I
was in was demolished by extrimists. Homes and properties were either burnt down or looted.
Residents were displaced. I as an individual lost everything. My kids were identified after days.
My wife was abducted. I felt hopeless and couldn’t bear all those challenges. With the grace of
God, I left alive and managed to be at this level. Prise to be for GOD. He gave me strength, full
health and patience.

I am deeply thankful to my advisor Demisse Ferdissa (PhD) for his persistent help in all of the
steps of the thesis work, from selection of the title to writing the final report. His way of advise,
his guidance, feedbacks, and encouragements were truly exceptional. He searched me, called me
and encouraged when I felt hopeless and decide to give up. It is extraordinary to have such a
friendly and supportive advisor. Besides, his support, constructive criticism, flexibility and
kindness inspired me greatly and helped me to successfully complete this study.

I am also thankful to my brothers Muleta Ebissa (PhD) and Dessalegn Tolera (PhD) for their
multidimensional supports from the start of my study until the final step.

I am also grateful to Mr. Feyissa Beyyene and Diriba Beyene who both provided me their
unreserved time to discuss about the research with me.

Last but not list, I am extremely grateful for my family. Special thanks goes to my wife, Ms.
Tolashe Amsalu for her patience, understanding and support, and carrying all the family burdens
when I was busy of my study. I wouldn't have done this without her support. Special shout to my
Sons Beka and Dame Gebeyehu and and my doughter Amarti Gebeyehu for their understanding,
love and their continuous sensible wishes they had for me during my study.

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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................................iii

ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................................................vi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1

1.1 Background of The Study............................................................................................................1

1.2 Statement of the Problem.............................................................................................................2
1.3 Objective of the study..................................................................................................................4
1.3.1 General objective of the study....................................................................................................4
1.3.2 Specific objective.................................................................................................................4
1.4 Research Questions......................................................................................................................4
1.5 Research Design and Methodology.............................................................................................4
1.5.1 Method of data collection....................................................................................................4
1.5.2 Method of Description.........................................................................................................5
1.6 Scope of the study........................................................................................................................5
1.7 Organization of the study.............................................................................................................5
1.8 Ethical Considerations.................................................................................................................5

CHAPTER TWO CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.............................................7

2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................7
2.2 Basic Concepts and theories of Interstate Relations.....................................................................7
2.2.1 Concept of Interstate Migration...............................................................................................8
2.2.2 Theories of Interstate Migration:.............................................................................................9
2.2.2.1 Liberalism............................................................................................................................9
2.2.2.2 Realism..............................................................................................................................10
2.2.2.3 The Human Capital (Neo-Classical) Theory......................................................................10
2.2.2.4 The New Economics of Labor Migration (NELM)............................................................11
2.2.2.5 The Social Capital (Network) Theory................................................................................12
2.3 International Law and Interstate Relations.................................................................................12
2.4 The Role of Foreign Policy and Diplomatic Relations...............................................................13
2.5 Human Migration.......................................................................................................................14
2.6 Migration, Forms and Types......................................................................................................17
2.7 Causes of Migration...................................................................................................................18
2.8 Consequences of migration........................................................................................................20

CHAPTER THREE: HISTORICAL RELATION OF ETHIOPIA AND SAUDI ARABIA.....................24

3.1 Over view of Ethiopia and the Arab Relations...........................................................................24

3.2 Relations Between Ethiopia and Arab World: focus Saudi Arabia...........................................25
3.3 Some Overview of Organizations on Human Migrations..........................................................27
3.4 History of Migration from Ethiopia to the Arab World: Focus on Saudi Arabia.......................28

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 3.5 Causes of Migration...................................................................................................................32
3.6 Consequences of Migration.......................................................................................................35

CHAPTER 4: STATUS OF CURRENT MIGRATION BETWEEN ETHIOPIA AND SAUDI ARABIA

..................................................................................................................................................................37

4.1 Derivers of Current Migration...................................................................................................38

4.1.1 Push factors of Migration From Ethiopia...........................................................................39
4.1.2 Pull Factors of Migrartion..................................................................................................42
4.1.3 Effects on Migrants............................................................................................................44
4.1.4 Effects on Ethiopia.............................................................................................................45
4.1.5 Effects on Saudi Arabia.....................................................................................................46
4.1.6 Effects on Inter-state Relations between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia..................................47
4.2 Ethiopian Migration Legislation and Policies............................................................................54

CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................57

5.1 CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................57
5.2 Recommendations......................................................................................................................58

REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................59

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 ABSTRACT

Migration is a complex global issue which involves every country in the world. Ethiopia is
among the countries where out migration particularly to Saudi Araba is too much. In this study,
the contemporary human migrations in between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia and their effects on
the inter state rlations was investigated. Secondary data was used from litrature and assessments
were made. It shows that there have been historical and religious relations between Ethiopia and
Saudi Arabia since long time. In relation to that many Ethiopians have been migrating to Saudi
Arabia mostly in search of job opportunities. Recently, illegal and irregular migrants were
evidenced moving to Saudi-Arabia and other Gulf countries from Ethiopia. It also showed that
the movement impacted the migrants and the Ethiopian economy through the loss of active age
groups moving to Saudi Arabia in search of job making the relation between the two countries
complex. Litratures shows that Saudi government based on its need expeling the illegal migrants.
Recent reports showed that the government of Saudi Arabia is arranging contractual agreements
with the government of Ethiopia to accept Ethiopians on legal bases. It indicates that the
migration is influencing the inter-state relations among the Gulf countries specifically the Saudi
government and Ethiopia. Therefore, agreement among Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf
countries is important in order to manage the various drivers of migration.

Key Words: Migration, Interstate Relations, Gulf countries, Agreement

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of The Study

Migration is a complex global issue which involves every country in the world. Currently, many
states of the world are now points, origins, transits or destinations of migrants. It has been
evident over time that international migrants are increasing both in number and proportion and
becoming slightly faster than previously anticipated. IOM (International Organization for
Migration, 2020) reported that, there were 174 million migrants in 1995. This number was raised
to 221 million after 10 years (2005) and 258 million in 2015. In the year 2020, the number of
migrants globally raised over 281 million (3.6% of the global population). Hence, it can be said
that migration has increasingly been part of human life.

The migration of people across countries in search of better life opportunities and security is a
constant process that has been ongoing since humans began building communities. It was when
the modern concept of the territorial nation-state emerged that this phenomenon became a
problem to be dealt with and solved. Evidences confirm that Africa in general and Sub-Saharan
Africa in particular has experienced significant migratory movements mainly to Western Europe,
North America and the Arab region. The Eastern Migration Route is one of the main migration
routes globally, running from the Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia. Reports on 2019 movements
indicate that an average of 11,500 people boarding every month, with 63% of the migratory
movement tracked in the Horn of Africa region (ACAPS, 2021).

Ethiopia has simultaneously become a major sending country of migrants to the Middle East
mainly to Saudi Arabia (International Labour Organization, 2018). Between 2017 and early
2020, at least 400,000 Ethiopians reached the Arabian Peninsula through this road (ACAPS,
2021; Adugna, Fekadu, Deshingkar, Priya and Atnafu, 2021; International Labour Organization,
2018).

Migration is influenced by both pull and push factors, although not in simplistic ways. The
majority of people migrate internationally for multiples of reasons. Evidences indicate that work,

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family and study were major causes of migration. Tragic reasons such as conflict, persecution
and disaster were also reported as significant factors of migration.

With respect to Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, evidences indicate that migration to Saudi Arabia
was mostly caused by in search of job. Conflicts, droughts and has affected employment
opportunities(Adugna, Fekadu, Deshingkar, Priya and Atnafu, 2021).

Now, migration has became one of the core issues of international relations in different parts of
the world including Europe and America. On one way migration brings opportunities and creates
new challenges to not only the migrants but also to the home and host societies. On the other
way it raises a number of demographic, economic, sociocultural and psychological issues. Thus,
managing the causes and the consequences of migration requires working with countries of
origin and transit. Therefore, Contemporary human migration is a central element of discussions
with regard to international relation in case of Ethiopia and Arab countries and hence this paper
investigated the various factors that affect the migration and its consequences.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

International relations allows nations to cooperate with one another, pool resources, and share
information as a way to face global issues that go beyond any particular country or region. This
relation have multiples of diamensions.

As most of the existing litratures dealing with international relations are approached from
economic (Melese, 2011), social and political (Fearon, 1998) and Environmental (Dalby, 2016)
perspectives, the issue of migration as an international relation diamension is not investigated
enough. However, currently, migration has became one of the important issues in determining
the relation among nations. Multiples of refuge crises is being recorded in different parts of the
globe. Migrants from Africa, the middle East, South America and other countries are migrating
due to various reasons in what so ever possible. This is therefore became a contemporary
interstate relation detrmining factor.

Ethiopia’s international relations with Saudi Arabia is not out of this reality. There are increased
evidences on migration of Ethiopians to Saudi Arabia. There are tens of thousands of youths

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leaving the country every year along the Eastern Route via Yemen, Somaliland, Puntland, and
Djibouti to the Gulf States, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia being the destination of the
majority (IOM, 2022). It has been estimated that currently about 750,000 Ethiopians are residing
in the Kingdom of Saudi with about 450,000 were likely to have traveled to the country through
irregular means (IOM, 2022).

Recognizing the impact of the migration to labor migration, the Ethiopian government tried
banning migration to the Middle East. However, migrants kept on using irregular means to cross
borders and seem to have increased. On the other hand, the government of Saudi-Arabia also
decided to expel undocumented migrants and kept on implementing that. Tens of thousands of
Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia were being deported from Saudi Arabia.

It has been described in (ACAPS, 2021) citing (HRW 13/08/2020; AP News 15/02/2020; Meraki
Labs 21/09/2020) and (BBC 02/10/2020) that many of the migrants who entered the Saudi
border were apprehended by Saudi border guards and transported to detention centers. Some of
the Ethiopian migrants were dying in the detention centers of Saudi Arabia because of the dire
conditions in overcrowded cells. There are reports that security forces applied excessive force
and confiscated belongings in these arrests. Ethiopians with all the necessary documentation and
compliant with Saudi Arabia labor laws were also arrested. This, though may have political
dimension, it is basically related with migration.

Evidences indicate that agreements made between the two governments shows that the relation
between the two states is part of international relation and hence needs to be analyzed. therefore,
this research work was proposed to investigate human migration as the other diamension in
affecting the inter-state relations between two countries.

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 1.3 Objective of the study

1.3.1 General objective of the study

The main objective of this study is to examine and explore the effect of migration on inter-state
relations with respect to the Ethiopian and Saudi governments.

1.3.2 Specific objective

 To explore the nature and degree of population migration from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia

 To identify the status or life condition of Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia

 To explore the effect of population migration relations between the Ethiopian and Saudi
Arabia

 To draw lesson or implications about the role or place of population migration in

contemporary international affaris

1.4 Research Questions

 What is the impact of migration on the inter-state relation between the government of
Ethiopia and Saudi’s government?
 What is the status of migration between the government of Ethiopia and that of the
government of Saudi Arabia?
 What are the measures to be taken to manage the interstate migration issues?

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 1.5 Research Design and Methodology

1.5.1 Method of data collection

In this research, descriptive qualitative research design method was employed to draw necessary
information for the realization of the study. Qualitative research methodology was used due to
the fact that it allows looking in to the information gathered from different perspectives. It dealt
with data derived from secondary sources. Theories, facts and reliable data were accessed from
books, journal articles, newspapers and documents from online as well as internet websites.

1.5.2 Method of Description

In this study qualitative data on the status of migration status and inter-state relation between
Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia were collected from secondary data sources and examined. The data
sources and their empirical sense, concepts and theories were analyzed. Theories and concepts
were described. Consistent presentation of views was made.

1.6 Scope of the study

The Scope of the study was discussing how contemporary human migration from Ethiopia to
Saudi Arabia. It is basically limited to studying the status of Ethio-Saudi Arabian inter-state
relations and migration status.

1.7 Organization of the study

The research paper has been organized into five chapters. The first chapter presents background
of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, research question, rationale of the
study, scope of the study, research methodology, limitations of the study, organization of the
study and ethical consideration. The second chapter includes theoretical and conceptual
framework of the impacts of human migration, and highlights some empirical studies conducted
on the topic. The third chapter deals with the historical background of the human migration
between Ethiopia and the Saudi Arabia. The fourth chapter focuses on discussions on the
contemporary human migrations from Ethiopia to the Saudi Arabia and discussed thoroughly its

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challenges, and opportunities, basically on inter-state relations. Chapter five presents conclusion
and recommendations forwarded by the study.

1.8 Ethical Considerations

Ethical consideration is the backbone of a study that needs the researcher’s due attention. In
order to address it therefore, different ethical considerations have been employed mainly in
relation to properly recognizing the works of other researchers since the study relied on
secondary data sources. The researcher made many attempts to avoid biases to ensure the
objective analysis and interpretation of the evidences. The references used were acknowledged
and due attention were given to avoid plagiarism and to uphold the trustworthiness of the study.

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 CHAPTER TWO CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK

2.1 Introduction

All facets of human activity are being increasingly impacted by global interdependence.
However, methods of problem solving continue to be largely centred at the national level.
National autonomy is currently operating against a backdrop of ever-declining national
sovereignty, the inviolability of borders, and the autonomy of the nation-state, all of which are
contained by international law. The nation-state cannot manage on its own. Interstate relational
issues are a feature of economic integration. Regional economic communities operate within the
context of multiple state legal systems. The legal relations between the member states of a
community are just as important for effective community development as community–state
relations. Such relations directly impact on economic transactions within a community. There are
socio-political and economic dimensions of interstate relations, but from a legal perspective a
number of issues arise. In this chapter, literatures related to interstate relations were reviewed.
Theories of interstate relations, international laws and foreign policy and diplomatic relations
related to inter-state relations and migration were discussed.

2.2 Basic Concepts and theories of Interstate Relations

Interstate relations are a feature of economic integration whereby regional economic

communities operate within the context of multiple state legal systems. It is the relations between
political entities and the connections between economics, law, and politics in the global
environment. The legal relations between the member states of a community are just as

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important for effective community development as community state relations. Such relations
directly impact on economic transactions and movement of citizens. There are socio-political and
economic dimensions of interstate relations.

2.2.1 Concept of Interstate Migration

The history of migration is the history of people’s struggle to survive and to prosper, to escape
insecurity and poverty, and to move in response to opportunity. The economist J.K. Galbraith
describes migration as “the oldest action against poverty”. Migration happens more due to
regional disparity in development. People move from backward underdevelopment regions to
developed and prosperous areas in order to improve in their living conditions.
The extensive and expanding corpus of research on migration and mobility demonstrates that
migration is fundamentally linked to the larger global economic, social, political, and technical
changes that are having a significant impact on a wide range of high-priority policy concerns.
The effects of globalisation are becoming more pronounced as these processes progress,
changing how we conduct our daily lives in a variety of contexts, including our homes,
workplaces, social circles, and spirituality. As distance-shrinking technologies continue to
advance, more and more individuals are able to access information, products, and services from
around the globe (Hassan & Negash, 2013).

Studying migration requires reviewing theories related to migration, and the causes and
consequences of migration. In this part important theories related to interstate migration and
causes and effects of migration were reviewed.

In (Stephen Mcglinchy, 2017) migration and security is stated as:

“Although the security ramifications of immi- gration have been evident for a
long time, the broad security agenda that has emerged recently makes clear that
there is still no theoretical consensus regarding the scope, definition, and impact
of security as it relates to international migration today. From the constructivist
theoretical standpoint of the Copenhagen School of International Rela- tions,
security lacks a fixed conceptual mean- ing, and thus can be measured by its

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 discursive content rather than objective indicators (Waever et al., 1993; Buzan et
al., 1998). The recent discourse on “securitization of migra- tion,” although lively
and contentious, under- scores the dynamic impact of diverse and changing
security perceptions on democratic governance, international cooperation, and
migration management were assumed different meanings across cultures and
time. The traditional security agenda. The link between migration and security is
not new. Security in its various forms has assumed has been embedded in the
notion of protec- tion from external aggression, or national interests in foreign
policy, and has thus been linked to state sovereignty and identity. The term,
however, has been broadly attached to societal, personal, national, or more basic
human security, including economic, physi- cal, health, environmental, cultural,
and political dimensions (see the 1994 Human Development Report of the
UNDP). The link between international migration and security was first
established by a few scholars work- ing from a realist perspective as early as the
1980s. While Myron Weiner (1985, 1992, 1993) was the first political scientist to
address the relationship between immigra- tion and security issues, several
scholars indirectly captured this linkage in their work on the role of refugees in
US foreign policy (Teitelbaum, 1984; Zolberg, 1995). Scholars Scholars of
European politics have broadened their security-migration focus to include demo-
graphic (Koslowski, 2000, 2001; Weiner and Teitelbaum, 2001), societal, and
cultural conflicts (Heisler and Layton-Henry, 1993). The role of foreigners and
foreign networks in the terrorist attacks of September 11th, as well as those in
London and Madrid, vis- ibly exposed the multifaceted and variable nature of
immigration threat (Lahav and Courtemanche, 2011).”

2.2.2 Theories of Interstate Migration:

Theories of interstate relations have been established. It offered both conventional and critical
theories. Liberalism, realism, neoliberal institutionalism, and neorealism are examples of
conventional theories. Constructivism, Marxism, and feminism are the key theories. These
theories are detailed below..

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2.2.2.1 Liberalism

Modern democracy is characterised by the liberal theory. The theory has developed into a
unique entity when it is discussed in terms of international relations (Stephen Mcglinchy, 2017).
The theory was strongly influenced by liberal internationalism. It takes into account the premise
that nations can no longer rely on simple power politics to decide issues in light of growing
globalisation, the rapid advancement of communications technology, and the expansion of
international trade. The development and appearance of international law, as well as the (peace)
alliance of interstates, are important developments for constitutional systems and democratic
power-exercise. For liberals, those who can affect the international system are largely those who
are part of the political or foreign policy elite who, based on specific external circumstances as
well as their own personal traits and habits, can influence and shape international politics.
(Balogh, 2019).

2.2.2.2 Realism

According to the realist school of thought, states only strive to strengthen their own authority in
comparison to that of other states. According to this ideology, monarchs should utilise violence
and deceit to subjugate other states. It all comes down to how to handle disputes between nearby
states and how to protect one's own country. It asserts that all countries must endeavour to
strengthen their own positions of power and that those who do so most effectively will prosper
because they can easily surpass the accomplishments of weaker countries. The theory also
contends that maintaining power and self-preservation should be a nation's top priorities (Balogh,
2019; Stephen Mcglinchy, 2017).

Today, realism may be seen in the foreign policies of various nations, like China and Russia. It
aided those nations in preserving strategic ties in order to advance their interests..

2.2.2.3 The Human Capital (Neo-Classical) Theory

This idea contends that people move in order to relocate to a new location and increase their
lifetime income. They do this by performing a cost-benefit analysis, and if the predicted
discounted net-benefit of the migration is positive, they choose to migrate. They contrast the
10
associated relocation costs with the net benefit of increased wages at the destination. As a result,
moving is viewed as an investment with the hope of earning more money later. The Harris-
Todaro model is an illustration of a human capital model in which migration is influenced by the
disparity in predicted incomes between urban and rural areas (Korpi & Clark, 2015; Taylor &
Martin, 2001).
Individual differences result in variations in the projected benefit and cost of relocation. As a
result, migration may be advantageous for some people but not for others. As they are projected
to benefit the most from migration and/or have a reduced cost of migrating, people who are
younger, more educated, unmarried, and male are thought to be more likely to migrate
(NAVRATIL, 1977). Although the human capital idea has gained a lot of traction, it is now
widely acknowledged that it has significant flaws. In addition to implicitly assuming that
markets, particularly the loan and insurance markets, are faultless, it abstracts from other
significant migration causes besides pay disparity.
Like any neo-classical model, it further assumes that the choice to immigrate is made solely by
the individual, with no consideration given to the family.

2.2.2.4 The New Economics of Labor Migration (NELM)

The NELM was created to address the shortcomings of the aforementioned human capital
model. The family becomes the decision-making unit instead of the individual. The decision to
migrate or not is made by the family in a way that maximises the family's objective function. The
NELM not only shifts the focus of analysis from the individual to the household, but it also
introduces additional reasons for migration that are distinct from income maximisation.
Households try to reduce risk by diversifying their sources of income, among other things. In
order to achieve this, they relocate a member of the household to a location where income is
unrelated to or inversely connected with income at the origin.

Families could need money to start an off-farm business or modernise their agricultural. In the
absence of healthy credit markets, migratory family members can act as sources of funding. The
NELM places the migration debate in a broader framework and asserts that households are
concerned with their relative standing (deprivation) in their neighbourhood. They dispatch
members elsewhere in order to elevate their standing inside the group (Stark, 1984). Haas (Haas,

11
2007)) gives an extensive summary of evidences that migration is used as a mechanism to insure
households against income volatility and provide access to financial capital. Though the NELM
model has many noble contributions for the understanding of migration it is also criticized for
totally ignoring the role of individuals in the migration process. While the situation of the
household might affect the likelihood of individuals’ migration, it is also worth noting that the
individual can have an important role in the decision to migrate (HODDINOTT, 1994).

2.2.2.5 The Social Capital (Network) Theory

Families may want financial assistance to upgrade their farming practises or launch an off-farm
business. Family members who move around can provide money if there aren't robust credit
markets. Households are worried about their relative position (deprivation) in their area,
according to the NELM, which situates the migration discussion in a larger context. To improve
their standing inside the group, they send members to other locations (Massey, 1990).

Any sort of migration requires networks at many levels, but this is especially true when there are
more uncertainties and challenges. Networks are therefore more crucial for domestic migration
than for external migration, such as rural-urban mobility. Social networks even play a bigger role
in illicit and risky international migration.

2.3 International Law and Interstate Relations

The body of laws known as international law is usually viewed and acknowledged as being
enforceable in dealings between governments and between nations. It is primarily intended to be
used against states, both to restrain and to empower them. The majority of international
obligations are now included in treaties as a result of the codification of international law, despite
the fact that historically customary international law was comparatively more significant than it
is now. Over the past century, there has been a waxing and waning of the importance of
international law in guiding foreign policy decisions. Additionally, it has changed greatly
between nations. It is remarkable how formal state-to-state agreements have grown to reflect and
govern international exchanges. In this section, international law and relations are examined. It
also covers how international law is put into practise, how it is followed, and how well it works.

12
 Even though they are separate fields of political science, domestic and international relations
have a lot in common. The ability of a diplomat to deftly navigate political systems across
boundaries is sharpened by mastery of either field. International relations experts have a much
broader scope of responsibility when it comes to advancing diplomatic relations with foreign
countries, even though interstate relations experts in the U.S. use this skill to coordinate
interstate affairs like commerce regulations, interstate highway commissions, and interstate
compact agreements. Regardless of a diplomat's area of expertise, understanding fundamental
facets of both fields, especially how they complement and contrast one another, can be useful for
comprehending the process of political and economic interaction between domestic and foreign
entities..

International relations is the study of interactions between global players. International relations,
often known as relations between nations, are human interactions that take place either directly
or indirectly between states, both individually and in groups. International relations can be
friendly, contentious, hostile, or violent.

2.4 The Role of Foreign Policy and Diplomatic Relations

Foreign policy can be defined as a country’s national interest pursued abroad. Central to the
definition is the concept of national interest that seeks to benefit the nation through economic,
political, and military means. In today’s world, international migration is one of the key public
policy areas with repercussions for international relations and diplomacy.

Domestic politics is typically an important part of the explanation for states’ foreign policies, and
seeks to understand its influence more precisely (Fearon, 1998). Foreign policy is the content of
foreign relations, comprising the aspirations and aims a country wants to achieve in its relations
with other states and international governmental organizations.

Diplomacy is the chief, but not the only, instrument of foreign policy, which is set by political
leaders, though diplomats (in addition to military and intelligence officers) may advise them.
Foreign policy establishes goals, prescribes strategies, and sets the broad tactics to be used in
their accomplishment. Unlike foreign policy, which generally is enunciated publicly, most
diplomacy is conducted in confidence, though both the fact that it is in progress and its results

13
are almost always made public in contemporary international relations. The purpose of foreign
policy is to further a state’s interests, which are derived from geography, history, economics, and
the distribution of international power. Safeguarding national independence, security, and
integrity territorial, political, economic, and moralist viewed as a country’s primary obligation,
followed by preserving a wide freedom of action for the state.

2.5 Human Migration

Since the early 1990s several attempts have been made to develop European Union (EU) policies
to address the causes of displacement and migration. All, however, have met with qualified
success: the development of a coherent strategy has been hindered by the lack of structures for
coordinating External Relations and Justice and Home Affairs (JHA), insufficient analytical
capacity, and lack of engagement by external policy actors. Nonetheless, recent developments
suggest that there is more political will than ever to develop such preventive approaches. The
1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, which came into force in 1999, established an institutional structure
that greatly facilitated coordination between JHA and External Relations. December 1998 saw
the establishment of a High Level Working Group on Immigration and Asylum, tasked with
preparing action plans which would include measures to address the root causes of migration and
refugee flows in countries of origin. Finally and most significantly, at the special JHA Council in
Tampere, October 1999, European leaders agreed that JHA concerns should be integrated into all
areas of EU policy. These steps all implied a greater commitment to targeting external policies to
the goal of preventing the causes of migration and displacement. The notion of developing such
migration prevention strategies has not been without its critics, especially amongst those working
on refugee issues. Criticisms have focused in particular on EU attempts to cooperate with third
countries to reinforce border controls, implement readmission agreements or combat trafficking
and illegal migration. It is often argued that such approaches represent an attempt to contain
displacement within countries or regions of origin, often to the detriment of refugee protection.
Valid as this critique may be, an important element of the EU approach is targeted towards the
rather different goal of mitigating the causes of forced displacement and migration pressures.
This need not imply containment, but instead a policy of improving conditions in countries of
origin, such that people are not compelled to move. It is on this latter set of strategies – policies
for preventing the causes of migration and refugee flows – that the paper will focus. In fact,

14
despite the increased political will to develop such preventive approaches, there remain a number
of institutional and political constraints.

Before setting out a model of migration, it is useful to briefly distinguish between the sorts of
explanations most often invoked. Scholars divide theories of international migration into three
main types, which are not mutually exclusive. Macro theories emphasise the structural, objective
conditions which act as "push" and "pull" factors for migration. In the case of economic
migration, push factors would typically include economic conditions such as unemployment, low
salaries or low per capita income relative to the country of destination. Pull factors would include
migration legislation and the labour market situation in receiving countries. Involuntary
displacement would be explained through factors such as state repression or fear of generalized
violence or civil war. Most theorists agree that macro conditions such as these are crucial for
explaining forced displacement and also so-called "pioneer" voluntary migration i.e. the first
individuals or groups of migrants from a given country or area. However, they are less well
equipped in accounting for the persistence of voluntary migration despite changes in economic
conditions or legislation in receiving countries. Nor can they explain why so much migration
occurs from relatively few places: similar push factors exist in many potential sending areas, but
while in some cases they generate mass emigration, in others there is almost no mobility. Meso
theories can help explain these discrepancies. They reject the macro focus on push and pull
factors, instead locating migration flows within a complex system of linkages between states.8
two concepts are particularly important for meso theories: systems and networks. Migration is
assumed to occur within a migration system, i.e. a group of countries linked by economic,
political and cultural ties as well as migration flows. Thus the conditions generating movement
are understood as the dynamics or relations between two areas, rather than a set of objective
indicators. Networks refer to a set of individual and collective actors (actual and potential
migrants, their families, firms, religious or social groups, and so on) and the multiple social and
symbolic ties that link them together.9 Once formed, networks can substantially influence the
direction and volume of migration flows, providing resources that help people to move, such as
information, contacts, economic and social support. The resources that flow through networks
make moving a more attractive and feasible option for other members of a network, and can
generate what has been termed "chain migration"; the phenomenon of serial, large-scale
migration from one particular area.
15
There are theories related to human migration. Here under, some relevant theories were
reviewed:

According to the human capital theory, individuals' attempts lead to migration. Human rights and
migration are intertwined. "The protection of human rights, as embodied in the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, traces its historical roots to the 1789 French Declaration of Rights
of Man and Citizen, when natural rights were distinguished from legal ones," (Stephen
Mcglinchy, 2017) stated migration and human rights. Although they have been mixed up
throughout time, international human rights agreements are responsible for defending people's
natural rights, whereas domestic or constitutional law is historically in charge of defending
individuals' rights. These distinctions have inherently set up some institutional and nor- mative
tensions between international and national law regarding non-nationals or for- eigners.

Since human rights instruments (regardless of citizenship) legally ensure protection for all
individuals and groups against actions that violate basic human rights and dignity, their universal
application tends to extend beyond state boundaries, where the sovereignty principle once
reigned supreme. Because there would be no justification for humanitarian intervention other
than when it was asked, ensuring the protection of human rights requires that there are
boundaries to sovereignty. When population migrations are connected to armed conflict,
however, the impunity with which states pursue their security goals is most evident.

Along with institutional and normative limitations, there are concerns about what categories of
migrants should be covered by human rights laws. Should they only apply to those who are
refugees and seeking asylum (Gibney, 2004) or do unauthorised immigrants deserve protection,
as many proponents have argued? While the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol
are the most prestigious international agreements (with 144 state signatories) protecting migrant
rights, international human rights law has increasingly focused on the protection of all migrants,
particularly with regard to issues of discrimination. The international human rights framework
thus offers an ideology or moral construct as well as explicitly stated and widely acknowledged
legal principles in advancing the "human rights of all individuals." (Weiss, 2007; Weiss and
Korn, 2006)”

16
2.6 Migration, Forms and Types

Human migration is the movement of people from one place to another with intentions of
settling, permanently or temporarily, at a new location.
There is a variety of reasons, types, and forms of migration. People’s move in search for better
economic opportunities, some of them to study and others do it to escape conflicts or due to
environmental factors. People may do it as individuals or in groups. Most humans
migrate internally, meaning within a single country (NARAIN, 1987).

Migration is becoming one of the key dimensions of states’ diplomatic relations, especially with
the rising numbers of migrants. As migration becomes a more prominent part of foreign policy
strategies, countries are using diplomatic tools and procedures to manage the cross-border
movement of people.

Human mobility is relevant to all countries and creates numerous challenges mainly in terms of
human rights. Certain countries are both a source of migration to wealthy nations while also
serving as a destination for people from poorer countries or as a transit point to third countries.

Ppeople migrate for a range of different reasons, but over the latter half of the 20th century, it
became possible to identify three main types of international migration: labour and temporary
migrations, including illegal migration, forced migration (refugee movements) and international
retirement migration (IRM). There is also internal migration, most commonly from rural areas to
urban centers but also a trend in some places for counter-urbanization.

A more agreed-upon topic among demographists and economists is the classification of

migration in its different forms. First, migration can be involuntary in which people leave their
country against their will, or voluntary, where an individual act by his choice. Migration takes
place within the national boundaries, i.e., internal, or individuals cross their national boundaries
to another country and become international migrants. A third distinction 1s between temporary
migration that involves limited time, however short or long, and permanent migration when
people settle in the new place. Finally, with respect to the country of origin and destination, an
individual is called "emigrant" in his original country (place) and his act Is "emigration." He Is
an "immigrant" in the host country (place) and his act Is "Immigration," Two things should be

17
noted here. First, these types of migratory acts are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For
example, an act of migration may involve one or more forms at the same time. Second, while this
classification is widely used in studies of migration this does not mean it cannot be questioned.
For example, the distinction between involuntary and voluntary migration or temporary and
permanent seems to be vague. A simple question that can be asked is about the point at which
migration is considered involuntary rather than voluntary or permanent instead of temporary.
This depends on what criteria one adopts in his judgment. Another issue of potential debate is the
classification of foreigners to migrants and non-migrants.

Different countries use different classifications to identify who is a migrant in their territories.
Bohning states that, generally admitted, migrants are identified to include, "(1) refugees; (2)
economically active persons for the purpose of employment; (3) a residual category such as
pilgrims, ministers of religion, diplomatic and assimilated personnel, students, volunteers
sponsored publicly or by charity, retired or other persons living entirely on their own means; and
(4) a derivative category, namely the parents, spouses, siblings and children of some or all of the
preceding three groups" ((Bohning, 1981). He excludes businessmen, newsmen or tourists from
the group of migrants. Again, albeit clear and comprehensive, Bohning's division of migrants to
the stated four categories can be questioned in terms of the usefulness of including students,
pilgrims, diplomats, ministers of religion and volunteers in the class of migrants. A final word in
our discussion of definitions and types of migration and migrants is that the considerably
complex nature of population mobility in terms of its political, social, and economic aspects
makes definitions of its elements a matter of convenience in different situations. In fact, there are
no universal definitions and finding ones is beyond the scope of this study.

2.7 Causes of Migration

Humanity has been on the move ever since the beginning of time. Some people relocate to join
family, pursue educational chances, or find employment or economic opportunities. Others
relocate in order to flee hostilities, persecution, terrorism, or human rights abuses. Others
relocate in reaction to the unfavourable consequences of environmental variables like natural
catastrophes or climate change.

18
More people than ever before are living outside of their nation of birth nowadays. The IOM
World Migration Report 2020 estimates that there were about 272 million migrants worldwide as
of June 2019, an increase of 51 million from 2010. Labour migrants made up nearly two thirds.
3.5% of the world's population was made up of immigrants in 2019. This is in contrast to 2.8% in
2000 and 2.3% in 1980.

The causes of migration as a phenomenon that involves population movements between different
countries and regions have been explained from many different perspectives: demographic,
political, social, and economic. Nevertheless, most of the literature emphasizes the economic
factors as the dominant force in explaining why people move (Ravenstein, 1989). In his "Laws of
Migration," Ravenstein emphasized the role of economic motives in the migratory act where,
"Bad or oppressive laws, heavy taxation, an attractive climate, uncongenial social surroundings,
and even compulsion (slave, trade, transportation), all have produced and are still producing
currents of migration; but none of these currents can compare in volume with that which arises
from the desire inherent in most men to 'better' themselves in material respects".
Several scholars agree that migration is a global phenomenon and which is caused due to several
root causes. According to UN (2006) report, three factors must be present which are demand
(pull), supply (push) and network (link demand and supply) for peoples to migrate. In the
absence of one of each, migration from one place to other will not take place. Explaining the
push factors of migration UN (2006) reports that economic and political conditions provide the
general context within which migration decisions are made and international migration arises.
Kainth (2009) and Kardulias and Hall (2006) also explain migration as a reaction of humans to
economic, social, political and demographic changes within a given society. Regt (2007) has
listed out the major causes behind Ethiopians migration which are: immense social and political
turmoil, frequent famines, economic calamity, conflict and oppression. Especially in previous
regimes, because of the pre-existing massive political and economic instability, Ethiopian
refugees were one of the largest numbers of African refugees in the world (Solomon, 2012).

The researches of the Ethiopian universities investigate push, pull and re-in force factorssuch as
networks of actors promoting and sustaining irregular migrations. Push factors appear to be the
main motivations of migration and particularly: unemployment and underemployment, low
salaries, scarce land accessibility and fertility, and poverty in general. Economic motivations are

19
the most underlined by respondents, while local governance and political factors are the least
reported (Henok et al., b. 2017).According to the regression analysiselaborated in the research of
Kassegne and Gashaw (2017) push factors (unemployment, land scarcity and poverty) are more
significant than pull factors in explaining drivers of migration.

According to Lee (1969) published his sound paper, "A Theory of Migration," in which he
summarizes the factors in the act of migration in four groups. First, those factors associated with
the area of origin, some that attract people to stay and others that tend to repel them, i.e, pull and
push factors. The second set of factors, as Lee identifies them, are the factors related to the area
of destination, i.e., additional push and pull factors. Third, the migration act is affected by some
"intervening obstacles" like distance, physical barriers, immigration laws, etc. Finally, a set of
personal factors that facilitate or retard migration is considered. An example of these factors is
related to the individual family and psychological factors that affect the individual's decision to
migrate. In the economic literature of international labor migration, push and pull factors have
also been identified as important elements of the migration decision problem.

2.8 Consequences of migration

The enhancing of migrant’s resources needs regular conditions and an enabling environment
both in destination and origin countries. Migrant’s capacity in planning family’s life is limited
and with little stable perspectives because local contexts do not offer transformative
opportunities.

Children who were born in Arab nations and were brought back to Ethiopia experience social
exclusion. Children born in Arab countries are socially isolated and referred to as yeareb ager
diqaloch (illegitimates, or bastards of Arab countries). The separation and divorce of migrants
and their spouses is a connected impact that could endanger family care. An important effect
underlined by the researches of Ethiopian universities is the dropout of students. The majority of
respondents emphasizes that several students decide to dropout school after they scored least
results and because they are discouraged in continuing their education for the scarce local
employment opportunities and for the social pressure of peers.

20
Also, the research in the Eastern Tigrai zone underlines the negative effects: “irregular migration
is significantly undermining youth stay in schooling and increasing students’ dropout rates even
terminating university level with increased migrating mentality.” (Bisrat et al., 2107).

Other social and cultural consequences of migration involve religion and life styles. Some
Christians migrated in Arab countries and converted into Islam, influencing the behavior of their
families once back. The Arab way of life (dressing, drug, language) is hybridized in local
communities. The perceptions are mixed: community’s leaders are more worried than returnees
and families about these influences.

Community leaders have a strong negative perception on migrants’ effect on local societies and
point out four major consequences: State is losing its productive force; national image
deteriorates; public legitimacy is undermined; political distrust increases; and failure to be abided
by law diffuses (Bisrat et al., 2017).

As already indicated, migration has the effect of increasing social and economic inequalities
between families with and those without migrants abroad.

Economic inequality is both a cause and a result of irregular migration. Irregular migration
affects the balance of livelihood and purchasing power among local residents. This in turn
exacerbates the need for irregular migration” (Bisrat et al., 2017)

The population migration between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia has global diamension. Migrants
move from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia through different ways. Legally with direct flight and
illegally through neighbor countries. This has international diamentsion and hence needs to be
treated.

In (Stephen Mcglinchy, 2017), international migration and its consequences was described in
detail.

“The explosion of technological and com- munication advances with

globalization has facilitated the ability of third world migrants to move and to
traverse national territories. The flow of information has not only exposed the
benefits of migra- tion to potential immigrants, but also facili- tated extensive

21
 diaspora and migration networks. The emergence of “global cities” links new
migratory streams from the hinter- lands with manufacturing operations estab-
lished abroad, concomitant with transnational patterns of foreign investment and
the dis- placement of some manufacturing jobs. According to globalization
theorists, these trends have eroded the ability of immigration-receiving states to
control their borders. As a result, unilateral attempts by governments to restrict
immigration and dictate the terms of immigrant settlement and incorporation have
become increasingly futile.”

Transnational interpretations of globalisation contend that these shifts in the global economy
call into question the nation-states' reliance on the boundaries of race, ethnicity, and nationalism.
These globalisation academics use transnational conceptualizations of citizenship, identity, and
political and cultural participation to study international migration. These approaches are more
anthropological or sociological in nature. A third school of thought completely opposes the idea
that the states that receive immigrants no longer have control over immigration, disputing some
of these points of view. The ability of states to create and enforce control over immigration has
not significantly diminished over time, according to all scholars working within this framework,
despite their criticism of these theories coming from very different intellectual starting points.

Joppke vehemently contends, for instance, that the degree to which immigration has
compromised state sovereignty has been relatively minimal and mostly self-imposed. Guiraudon
and Lahav have also thought about the tactical solutions to reimagine control in a global age.
Theories of deputization delegation, privatisation externalisation, and venue shopping have all
provided viewpoints on the methods by which states have reimagined control and sidestepped
some liberal democratic standards in order to shift liabilities and externalities of migration
control. States have been able to get beyond local or global restrictions on regulating migration
by co-opting entities at the international, commercial, and national levels. The fact that there are
more control mechanisms available does not always imply that states are responding to migration
more effectively overall.

The pressure for mobility is disrupted by increased regulation and restrictions on access to
residency and asylum, which also has unintended consequences like perpetuating the issue of

22
irregular migration and impairing a state's ability to meet economic demands, humanitarian
obligations, and civil liberties standards.

23
CHAPTER THREE: HISTORICAL RELATION OF ETHIOPIA
AND SAUDI ARABIA

3.1 Over view of Ethiopia and the Arab Relations

Ethiopia and the Arab world has bilateral and multilateral relations. All relationships between them
had a principal place not in Ethiopia but also in Saudi Arabia The extensive ties that have existed
between them, which primarily consist of the Middle East Arab countries, the Magreb Arab
countries of Africa, and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), are explained by a
variety of significant variables and influences. From the perspectives of shared historical
intersection points, geographical proximity, geopolitical and geostrategic relations, trade and
economic relations, cultural and people-to-people relations, religious interactions, and exchange
of cultural assets that have developed through the prisms of the multifaceted relations, the long-
standing relations between Ethiopia and the Arab countries that began at the First Hegira may be
explained (https://www.ena.et/web/eng/w/en_36377).

Saudi Arabia has a strategic, religious and economic interest to Ethiopia. But due to the political
development in Ethiopia after 1991, economic interests prevailed over other interests. This
Saudi‟s huge oil reserve had its own political and economic impact on Ethiopia (Kedir, 2020).

History between Ethiopia and the Arab world begins in 615 A.D., when the Prophet Mohammad
advises his followers to evacuate to Aksum. The migrants were welcomed by King Al-Najashi
and settled in the village of Negash in the current Tigray area. This was the first time that
Ethiopia and the Arab world had shared religious beliefs.

The Horn of Africa was well-known for its high-end goods, including gold, ivory, animal skins,
incense, and slaves, during the time when Ethiopia and the Arabian Peninsula were trading
partners. The origin of those items and commodities was modern-day Somalia and Ethiopia.
Additionally, the Horn of Africa has long been a source of slaves for Arabia and the rest of the
Middle East (Melese, 2011). Long-distance trade contacts between Ethiopia and the Gulf date
back to before the seventh century A.D., but the development of Islam was mostly responsible
for laying the groundwork for the relationship. With each GCC member state, Ethiopia
established formal diplomatic ties. This long-standing relationship has not, however,

24
strengthened into solid economic and political relationships and mutual advantages as it should
have.

Ethiopians have been migrating in greater numbers to the Gulf nations since the late 1990s. The
bulk of women working as domestic servants who migrate to other countries regularly are from
Ethiopia. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were the main destinations in the first decade of the twenty-
first century, while there was a continuous flow of migrants who found their way to other Gulf
nations, especially the UAE (Fernandez, 2017).

In the last decades, there have been a number of ways in which migrants from Ethiopia enter in
to the Arab world. To start, a lot of Muslim Ethiopians travel to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage
visas for the Haj or Umrah. They enter lawfully, but they overstay their visas and turn
themselves in. The second way is they enter the country with valid work contracts but leave them
early, either to avoid mistreatment or to pursue better possibilities. The third way is through
informal “free visa” in which migrant workers pay rent to a sponsor in exchange for sponsorship
documents, but are otherwise "free" to work for any employer. Children born to irregular and
regular domestic workers constitute a fourth mode of irregularity. The normal domestic worker
contract forbids pregnancy, and if a woman gets pregnant, her employer has the right to end the
arrangement. In order to escape deportation, even regular domestic employees who become
pregnant (voluntarily or as a result of rape) frequently decide to stay there.

3.2 Relations Between Ethiopia and Arab World: focus Saudi Arabia

As stated in the above sub-title, the relation between Ethiopia begun with the religious ties of the
Arab world. Ethiopia is a country with long historical, religious, and economic ties with the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries and peoples which constitute the vast majority of
the Arab countries. The GCC is a regional organization, which consists of six oil-producing Gulf
countries, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It
was established in 1981 to enhance cooperation among the member countries and their peoples
and establish similar systems in economic, financial, education, technology, legislation,
administration, and other fields.

25
Ethiopia’s relationship with the Gulf starts before the seventh century A.D. from long-distance
trade relations, but primarily the rise of Islam laid the foundation for the relationship. Ethiopia
established formal diplomatic relations with all the GCC member states. However, this long-
standing bond has not developed as much as it should have into strong economic and political
ties and mutual benefits. Nevertheless, following the political transition in Ethiopia in 2018, the
situation has begun to change significantly and Ethiopia’s relations with the GCC countries have
further improved. As discussed below in detail, the Ethiopian government has shown its interest
to work closely and cooperate with the Gulf countries in the last three years. Ethiopia and the
Gulf countries signed several agreements to improve their overall relationship.

According to Bekele Jemalu Jember, (2021) the GCC countries, their relations with Ethiopia are
important because : Ethiopia is one of the fast-growing economies and the second most populous
countries in Africa, which makes the country a potential consumer market for the GCC
countries’ oil and other export commodities.) Ethiopia is an influential country in the Horn of
Africa. It is the seat of the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for
Africa (UNECA). The GGC countries’ strong relations with Ethiopia would help them to achieve
their interests in the sub-region and the broader Africa.) The GCC countries are entirely
dependent on imported food. To ensure their food security, they need to expand investment in
Agriculture abroad. As Ethiopia is conducive to agricultural investment, they have the potential
to establish close relations with Addis Ababa in order to fulfill their food demand.

The oil-rich GCC countries have strong economic power with vast potential for Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI). These countries are working to minimize their oil dependence by diversifying
their economy. Ethiopia, on the other hand, has offered investment opportunities in agriculture,
manufacturing, and service sectors for GCC countries which are compatible with the latter’s
goals of diversifying their economy. To encourage and create favorable conditions for investors,
and to mitigate their susceptibility to the challenges that can be encountered in a new and
unfamiliar system, Ethiopia has signed bilateral investment treaties with some of these nations.
The treaties have recognized reciprocal protection of investments between the signing parties.

In general, the trade relations between the two sides and the flow of the Gulf investment have
been growing since recently particularly, in the last three years, the GCC countries’ economic

26
engagements with Ethiopia have shown significant improvements. However, as compared to the
huge economic potentials of Ethiopia and the massive capital and demand for agricultural
products of the GCC countries, there is still a huge imbalance. The current global food crisis
across the world triggered by the Russo- Ukraine war can be averted if the Arab countries,
particularly the GCC countries engage in huge investment in Ethiopia. This would result in
mutual benefit and will also promote friendly relations between Ethiopia and the Arab world. A
deal between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia in 2011 led to a sharp rise in the number of authorized
immigrants to Saudi Arabia.

3.3 Some Overview of Organizations on Human Migrations

Governing migratory flows and fighting organised crime and terrorism require intense
international cooperation. This includes cooperation with specialised international organisations.
The European Union (EU), United Nations (UN), including the UNHCR and the International
Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Centre for Migration Policy Development
(ICMPD), the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) are among
the High-level International organizations working on migration. There are also other
organizations involved on migration. This includes, International Labour Organization (ILO),
International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United
Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), United Nations Population
Fund(UNFPA), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNOODC), and the World Bank.

As the most representative inter-governmental organization of the world today, the United
Nations' role in world affairs is irreplaceable by any other international or regional organizations.
The United Nations has made enormous positive contributions in maintaining international peace
and security, promoting cooperation among states and international development. Today, people
of the world still face the two major issues of peace and development. Only by international
cooperation can mankind meet the challenges of the global and regional issues. The United
Nations can play a pivotal and positive role in this regard. Strengthening the role of the United

27
Nations in the new century and promoting the establishment of a just and reasonable
international political and economic order goes along with the trend of history and is in the
interest of all nations.

In order to strengthen the role of the United Nations, efforts should be made to uphold the
purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The authority of the Security
Council in maintaining international peace and security must be preserved and role of the United
Nations in development area should be strengthened. To strengthen the role of the United
Nations, it is essential to ensure to all Member States of the United Nations the right to equal
participation in international affairs and the rights and interests of the developing countries
should be safeguarded.

The United Nations can take action on a wide variety of issues due to its unique international
character and the powers vested in its Charter, which is considered an international treaty. As
such, the UN Charter is an instrument of international law, and UN Member States are bound by
it. The UN Charter codifies the major principles of international relations, from sovereign
equality of States to the prohibition of the use of force in international relations
(https://ethiopia.un.org/en/about/about-the-un).

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates as many as 500,000

Ethiopians were in Saudi Arabia when the Saudi government began a deportation campaign in
November 2017. The Saudi authorities have arrested, prosecuted, or deported foreigners who
violate labor or residency laws or those who crossed the border irregularly. About 260,000
Ethiopians, an average of 10,000 per month, were deported from Saudi Arabia to
Ethiopia between May 2017 and March 2019, according to the IOM, and deportations have
continued.

3.4 History of Migration from Ethiopia to the Arab World: Focus on

Saudi Arabia
Ethiopia, once was a “christian island” in Africa, is undergoing a fundamental revolution,
perhaps the deepest in its history. Today’s Ethiopia, recuperating from an old siege mentality that
deepened during the previous government, is no longer an isolated. Instead, it is opening up to its
own ethnic and religious diversity and intensively reconnecting to the neighboring Middle East.

28
Islam and Muslims are rapidly entering the core of Ethiopian life across all conceivable
dimensions social, economic, and cultural.

It is clear that Ethiopia is being redefined before our eyes that Christianity is no longer
comprehensively hegemonic as it was in the past sixteen centuries, that Islam is no longer the
religion of the marginal and the deprived, and that the very cultural identity of the country is
being modified in a most meaningful way. The revolution inherent in Ethiopia’s redefinition is
too young to be assessed. One can derive comfort from the country’s long tradition of relative
religious tolerance. Over the centuries, the Ethiopian common denominator has often proved
stronger than her religious differences.

Ethnic, linguistic, and regional identities often turned out to be more vibrant factors in internal
politics than religious ones. Were the Ethiopians left on their own, one could expect a process of
constructive transformation. However, as this process is taking place in close combination with
Ethiopia’s rapid integration into the economic, cultural, and strategic circles of the Middle East,
much depends on external influences.

Indeed, a major, determinant question is the nature of Middle Eastern involvement in the current
Ethiopian process. Islamic Middle Eastern states and Christian Ethiopia share a long and
intensive history. The story of the Prophet Muhammad sending his first group of followers, still
persecuted by Mecca’s polytheistic leadership, to seek asylum with the neighboring Christian
najashi (a negus, or king) of Ethiopia, molded Islam’s concept of the Ethiopian “other.”

Islamic interpretations of Muhammad’s relations with his contemporary najashi are still centrally
relevant to the subject of this book. The story as narrated by Muslim historians of the period has
two main parts. The first begins in A.D. 615 with the Prophet telling his early followers the
sahaba of a just king in Ethiopia “who oppresses no one” and instructing them to flee to Aksum.
There, in the court of Najashi Ashama, they found shelter, and the najashi protected them from a
Meccan mission seeking their extradition. The Christian najashi thus not only saved the whole
Islamic community of the time, but went on to protect the sahaba in his kingdom and to help the
Prophet Muhammad in Mecca.

29
The second part of the story begins later, in A.D. 628 in that year, Muhammad, already well-
established in al-Madina, initiated Islam’s first international diplomatic effort. He sent letters to
eight rulers, including the kings of Persia and Constantinople and the rulers of Egypt, Syria, and
some Arab Peninsula entities, calling on them to adopt Islam. He also sent a similar letter to his
friend the najashi. According to all Islamic sources (there is no trace of the story in Ethiopian
sources), only the Ethiopian king responded positively. He replied that he appreciated
Muhammad’s mission and accepted Islam. Two years later, when Muhammad heard of the
najashi’s death, he prayed for him as one would for a departed Muslim. For the Islamic world,
the Prophet-najashi story carried a double message. In the years to come, mainstream orthodoxy
tended to emphasize the first part, that of Ethiopian generosity and the righteousness of the
Christian najashi. The legacy of this part was that Ethiopia, in spite of its Christianity, deserved
gratitude and was therefore legitimate. In a previous book, The Cross and the River, I followed
the internal Egyptian-Islamic discussion of Ethiopia from the time of the Mamluks (1250–1517)
to the presidency of Husni Mubarak (1981).

The Islam al-najashi concept was always ready kept alive and revitalized by their own radicals to
be addressed and used in time of confrontation and peril. However, over the past decade or two,
Egypt lost its centrality in Ethiopian affairs. For reasons beyond the scope of this book, officials
in Cairo preferred to keep a low profile in Ethiopia. The leadership of external Islamic
involvement in Ethiopian affairs passed in the 1990s to the Saudis, who indeed, by the turn of the
century, managed to practically monopolize the issue. Saudi money is behind much of the
current Islamic revival in Ethiopia, the construction of hundreds of new mosques and quranic
schools, the establishment of welfare associations and orphanages, the spread of the Arabic
language and translated literature, the expansion of the hajj, the organization of conferences of
preachers, the monthly subsidies for the newly converted, the spread of the contention that
Muslims are already an overwhelming majority in the country, and more.

A good part of the Saudi effort focuses on the Oromo people and southern areas, where Islam,
revolving mainly around the walled city of Harar, historically enjoyed long periods of political
independence, but there is also a clear endeavor to influence people in the Christian core. There
is a marked effort to promote education and to spread the notion that the Saudi aim is actually to

30
advance general openness and assure democratic progress. Saudi books, the press, and various
other publications also disseminate pieces describing the ideology behind this effort.

One central argument is that Christianity, revitalized throughout Africa by the same imperialist
West that had subjugated the continent in the past, is again threatening to marginalize Islam and
that the struggle for Islam in Ethiopia is crucial to its defense throughout the continent. A
recurrent Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia theme is that Islam is by nature tolerant, so its revival would
benefit Ethiopian democracy.

Christian Ethiopia meaning the core culture and the hegemonic elite groups also developed its
own perceptions of the Islamic, Middle Eastern “other.” The Christians’ concepts were equally
dichotomous and similarly shifting. They, too, were shaped during formative processes and
events. During the very early medieval emergence of Ethiopia’s Christian culture, there arose a
vital urge to retain a constant connection Politics and Religious Legacies Christian culture; there
arose a vital urge to retain a constant connection Politics and Religious Legacies with the lands
of the Middle East.

The relations between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, therefore, cannot be understood without
following their religious premises and transformation. Equally, following interstate political
relations is an essential background to understanding today’s religious redefinition of Ethiopia on
one hand, and to appreciating today’s transformations, and indeed, the new global impact of
multidimensional Wahhabism on the other hand. A third pillar of the history analyzed in this
volume is that of the Muslims of Ethiopia itself.

Caught between their position within the “Christian empire” and the influences, messages, and
involvement of their Middle Eastern co-religionists, they have also developed their own
perceptions and concepts. The latter, centered in Beirut, has branches all over the world and
preaches peaceful Islamic-Christian coexistence in the Middle East, Europe, America, and
elsewhere. Their Wahhabi rivals accuse them in a comprehensive war of Internet exchanges,
pamphlets, books, sermons, and fatwas of distorting the true nature of Islam. Both camps are led
by old shaikhs from the Ethiopian Islamic capital of Harar. One dimension of our story will
follow the rivalry between Shaikh ‘Abdallah ibn Yusuf al-Harari (now in Lebanon) and Hajj

31
Yusuf ‘Abd al-Rahman (now in Saudi Arabia) as it developed throughout seven decades of the
Saudi Ethiopian story.

Indeed, the history of the relations between Ethiopia, Ethiopians repeatedly asked for a symbolic
treaty with Saudi Arabia, or at least some token of solidarity. They got only sweet words and
declarations of complete neutrality. Behind those declarations, however, the Saudis, inspired by
their fundamental, Wahhabi concepts of Ethiopia, followed the advice of the more militant anti-
Ethiopian Islamic Arab nationalists. The Saudis were thus among the few countries that helped
the Fascists’ campaign to destroy Ethiopia the global significance of our Saudi-Ethiopian,
Christian-Islamic history.(Erlich, 2006).

The Eastern Migration Route is one of the main migration routes globally, running from the
Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia. It is among the busiest maritime migration routes; reports on
2019 movements indicate an average of 11,500 people boarding every month (IOM 14/02/2020),
with 63% of the migratory movement tracked in the Horn of Africa region (IOM 05/05/2020).
Between 2017 and early 2020, at least 400,000 Ethiopians reached the Arabian Peninsula
through this road (Africa Renewal 22/05/2020). Despite the high risks associated with irregular
migration, Ethiopians still find Saudi Arabia an escape from dire living conditions because
employment opportunities are available there (HRW 15/08/2019).

The number of migrants attempting the journey has decreased since the first half of 2020 because
of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the border with Djibouti. As COVID-19
restrictions are lifted and key drivers of migration remain unsolved, this number is expected to
gradually increase. Since November 2020, more than 50,000 Ethiopians – or an average of
6,500 per month – have attempted to migrate to Saudi Arabia (DTM accessed 06/09/2021).

3.5 Causes of Migration

Migration has been historical process happening for various reasons. The history of migration is
the history of people’s struggle to survive and to prosper, to escape insecurity and poverty, and to
move in response to opportunity.

Pull and push factors force migrants out of their home nations, both in theory and in practise.
The factors are complicated, but they can generally be divided into the following groups: (a)

32
demand-pull factors, which are represented by better economic opportunities and jobs in the host
(new) country; (b) supply-push factors, which are represented by economic downturns, political
oppression, government abuse of human rights in the home country, religious intolerance
(restraints), war, and insecurity in the home country; (c) mediating factors that either facilitate or
hinder migration, such as the prevalence of human smugglers' opportunities, fly-by-night
employment agencies, legally registered employment agencies, and government initiatives that
encourage or incentivize migration; (d) social network (pull) factors, such as the presence of
relatives, friends, and acquaintances in the destination country, as well as the availability of job
opportunities for foreign nationals; Each of these aspects has a specific function to play, and its
relative weight and dynamics are determined by the economic, political, societal, and geographic
proximity of the home, transit, and destination countries (Hassan & Negash, 2013).

In Ethiopia, lack of employment opportunities is a key driver of migration from the country. In
June 2021, most migrants reported economic reasons as their key driver for migration, followed
by conflict and family reasons (IOM, 2021). Factors that contribute to the lack of employment
opportunities include natural hazards and armed conflict. The disruption to agriculture
production caused by recurrent natural hazards and armed conflict has affected employment
opportunities, as more than 65% of employment in Ethiopia was agriculture-related in 2019
(World Bank 29/01/2021). Drought levels have also increased in the past 50 years, and nearly
75% of the land is dry, affecting agriculture, productivity, and livelihoods (AllAfrica
20/08/2021). The Kiremt seasonal floods (June–September) displace people and damage
farmland. In 2020, floods affected at least 1.1 million people and displaced 342,000 across the
country. Floods also lead to crop losses. For example, over 11,000 hectares of sugarcane and
cotton were destroyed in Afar region in September 2020 (OCHA 05/03/2021; FloodList
11/09/2020). Waves of locust infestation also affect people’s livelihoods. Since the first wave of
infestations at the end of 2019, locusts have affected areas inhabited by more than 16 million
people in Ethiopia who depend on pastoral, agropastoral, and farming sources of income. The
risk of a new locus infestation in the Afar, Oromia, and Somali regions was still likely as at
August 2021 (OCHA 05/03/2021; FAO 02/07/2021). Conflict in the northern regions of Ethiopia
and hunger are also likely to increase migration trends (MMC 26/01/2021). The armed conflict
between the Ethiopian Federal Government and Tigray forces that started in November 2020 has
resulted in an estimated 5.2 million people (over 90% of the population across the region)
33
needing humanitarian assistance. Over two million people are internally displaced within Tigray,
over 140,000 in the neighbouring Afar region, and over 230,000 in Amhara (IOM 30/06/2021;
OCHA 16/09/2021). The conflict has had a significant impact on food, agriculture, and
livelihoods. People throughout the region are suffering reductions in food stocks, livestock,
seeds, and income opportunities (OCHA 07/10/2021). At least four million people are food-
insecure, and there are pockets of famine-like conditions and starvation throughout the region
(WFP 20/08/2021; AP News 20/09/2021; IPC 30/06/2021). The conflict in Tigray is expected to
strongly affect movements within and outside Ethiopia, with the majority of migration
movements taking place in neighbouring countries. Oromos are likely to increasingly use the
Eastern Route as the Oromo Liberation Front gets stronger, leading to more repression by the
Government. Eritrean refugees outside Tigray are also likely to attempt the journey as they are
currently targeted in Ethiopia (MMC 26/01/2021).

The lack of employment opportunities is a key driver of migration from Ethiopia. In June 2021,
most migrants reported economic reasons as their key driver for migration, followed by conflict
and family reasons (IOM 13/07/2021).

Factors that contribute to the lack of employment opportunities include natural hazards and
armed conflict. The disruption to agriculture production caused by recurrent natural hazards and
armed conflict has affected employment opportunities, as more than 65% of employment in
Ethiopia was agriculture-related in 2019 (World Bank 29/01/2021). Drought levels have also
increased in the past 50 years, and nearly 75% of the land is dry, affecting agriculture,
productivity, and livelihoods (All Africa 20/08/2021). The Kiremt seasonal floods (June–
September) displace people and damage farmland. Therefore, people leave their place where
they live. Waves of locust infestation also affect people’s livelihoods.
Conflict in the Ethiopia and hunger are also likely to increase migration trends. The armed
conflict between the Ethiopian Federal Government and Tigray forces that started in November
2020 has resulted in an estimated 5.2 million people (over 90% of the population across the
region) needing humanitarian assistance.

34
 3.6 Consequences of Migration
In many instances, individuals and families may find themselves experiencing harassment and
violence, and facing increased poverty. Despite this, migration remains a controversial issue.

Discussions about the consequences of migration take place in communities and societies all
around the world in both developed and developing countries. People talk about the impact of
irregular migration, the loss of much-needed skills, social tensions and the rights of newcomers
(DFID, 2007). The recruitment process of illegal migration involves a number of dangers and
risks for migrants, especially for women who lack access to reliable and timely information.
Lack of preparation for employment abroad, including lack of pre departure training;
forced/coerced recruitment, including being kidnapped or sold to illegal or traffickers; hazardous
journey to the country of destination ((IOM, 2021), (Beydoun, 2002). According to Horwood
(2009), millions of people being transported annually across national boundaries under false
pretences, or, allegedly, by corrupt government officials, has obvious implications with regard to
border security and creates dysfunctional organs of the state as well. Additionally, some argue
that the unregulated movement of large groups of people poses possible threats to human health,
through the spread of sexually transmitted and other diseases. Illegal migration, in the last ten
years, has known an incredible expansion, particularly with the emergence of globalization that
emphasized the regional disparities.

Consequences of illegal immigration fluctuate from beneficial to disadvantageous. Considering

the security aspect, for example, three of the four terrorists' pilots in the 9/11 attacks were in the
US illegally. Economically speaking, illegal migration may have a positive impact in the
reception countries via low salaries. Illegal immigration can be a factor of destabilization in the
next decades in the reception and transit countries as well. Economically speaking, illegal
migration may have both negative and positive impacts in both destination and sources countries.
On the one hand, some specialists argue that illegal migrants reduce the number of unemployed
in the departure countries while increasing that rate in the host countries (Ibid)). According to,
illegal migration has different impacts on both destination and source countries; particularly
regarding the emergence of new threats and challenges (Woldemichael, 2013).

35
The most important consequences of illegal migration in the current environment are
undoubtedly the security and the economic aspects. Indeed implication of some illegal migrants
in terrorist attacks and organized crimes in many destination countries seem to confirm this
trend. This indicates that despite its contribution in supporting implicitly both the source and host
countries’ economies, illegal migration may be involved in an increase rate of unemployment,
especially in economic stagnation period.

According to UNHCR (2013) report, deaths continue to be reported on several borders as a result
of shooting of persons engaged in irregular border movements. Systematic torture and inhumane
treatment, including through extortion and hostage-taking by kidnappers/ traffickers are
commonly reported. In short, illegal migration and related activities can endanger the lives and
safety of migrants, while generating enormous profits for the criminals involved and fuelling
corruption and organized crime in countries of origin, transit and destination. Illegal migration is
therefore a multifaceted transnational crime requiring a multifaceted transnational response. The
dangers and risks they face include: overcharging of fees; debt bondage; falsification of
documents; deception with regard to the nature and conditions of employment, including
contract substitution and the mail order bride trade; exploitation and abuse while waiting for the
job to materialize or to be sent abroad.

In Summary, there has been historical relations inter-state relations between Ethopia and the
Saudi Government. The migration has both positive and negative impacts. There wer interstate
relation that needs to be regulated by policy frameworks.

36
CHAPTER 4: STATUS OF CURRENT MIGRATION BETWEEN
ETHIOPIA AND SAUDI ARABIA

Researchers have observed that colonial ties play an important role in shaping patterns of
migration out of Africa, with the vast majority of emigrants tending to settle in countries with
colonial and linguistic ties. Since Ethiopia was never colonized and does not have these
connections to either African or European nations, migratory patterns are not well-defined.
Ethiopia's diaspora is dispersed over several continents, in contrast to the Middle East, which has
emerged as a popular destination for labor migrants.

The previous thirty years have seen a concentration of Ethiopian emigration movements, which
can be divided into four waves. The top Ethiopians who largely emigrated and then returned after
receiving their education abroad made up the first wave prior to 1974. The military Dergue
dictatorship imposed a state of dread after ousting the monarchy in 1974. The second wave from
1974 to 1982 was marked by refugees running from the Dergue dictatorship. From 1982 through
1991, the third wave of immigration was mostly for family reunion as families that had been
abandoned joined those who had initially escaped the government. The Dergue dictatorship was
overthrown in 1991, and Ethiopia's elections were held there in 1994. In the 1990s, repatriation
and return were the main migrant flows. The final wave of Ethiopian emigration can be
characterized by the post-1991 flows that continued untill today
(https://books.openedition.org/cei/223?lang=en).

Ethiopia's economy has grown relatively, yet over the past 20 years, there haven't been many
jobs created there. With up to 3 million young Ethiopians entering the labor force, the
government still faces difficulties in creating possibilities for respectable employment. As stated
in ILO (International Labour Organization, 2018) roughly over two million Ethiopian migrants
are living overseas. Currently, Ethiopia has grown to be the largest refugee-hosting country in
Africa and a significant sender of migrant domestic workers to the Middle East, primarily Saudi
Arabia. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the border with Djibouti, fewer
migrants have attempted the trek since the first half of 2020. This number is anticipated to
steadily rise as COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed and important migration-causing factors
continue to be unresolved. Since November 2020, more than 50,000 (6,500 on average each

37
month) Ethiopians have attempted to immigrate to Saudi Arabia (ACAPS, 2021).

Attempts of returning Ethiopian migrants back were there. Between May 2017 and December
2021 more than 425,000 migrants were sent back. Following a bilateral deal in July 2021
between the governments of Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, many Ethiopians (40,000 migrants in
just two weeks) returned to their country.

Migration flows along the Eastern Route are predicted to reach or possibly surpass pre-COVID-
19 levels in 2023, taking migration trends from 2022 into account. It is anticipated that 1,428,234
persons would require humanitarian aid in 2023. This number includes 969,629 residents of the
host community and 458,605 migrants from the four MRP-compliant nations of Djibouti,
Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen.

4.1 Derivers of Current Migration

In Ethiopia, there has been a significant internal and international movement of people during the
past 50 years. In both theory and practice, there are pull and push factors that drive migrants out
of their own countries of origin (Hassan & Negash, 2013). The factors are complicated, but they
can generally be divided into the following groups: (a) demand-pull factors, which are
represented by better economic opportunities and jobs in the host (new) country; (b) supply-push
factors, which are represented by economic downturns, political oppression, government abuse
of human rights in the home country, religious intolerance (restraints), war, and insecurity in the
home country; and (c) mediating factors that accelerate or constrain migration, which may
include the existence or prevalence of opportunities available to human smugglers, fly-by-night
recruitment agencies, registered recruitment agencies operating within the legal system, and
government policies encouraging/incentivizing citizens to migrate. (d) Social network (pull)
factors, such as the presence of relatives, friends, and acquaintances in host countries, as well as
opportunities for fam travel. Each of these aspects has a specific function to play, and its relative
weight and dynamics are determined by the economic, political, societal, and geographic
proximity of the home, transit, and destination countries.

38
4.1.1 Push factors of Migration From Ethiopia

Push factors of migration refers to factors associated to the area of origin. Despite various
attempts to reduce out migration, many Ethiopians especially young people are still migrating to
Saudi Arabia. Several push factors stated in litratures has contributed to Ethiopians to leave their
country:

1) Lack of job opportunity in Ethiopia. People migrate to improve their lives and the lives of
their families. Migrants relocate to benefit from greater economic opportunities for job
and income (Swain, 2019). Population movement is viewed by the neo-classical
economic theory known as "the equilibrium model of migration" as the geographic
mobility of workers who are reacting to imbalances in the spatial distribution of land,
labor, capital, and natural resources.5 This equilibrium model falls under the more broad
conceptual echelons of the push-pull theory. The historical-structural school includes
various macro-economic approaches in addition to the neo-classical equilibrium theory,
which is based on a "microeconomics" approach: "dependency theory," "internal
colonialism," "center-periphery," and the "global accumulation" framework try to explain
the reasons why a person decides to migrate and where to migrate. In
(https://www.acaps.org/), (Hassan & Negash, 2013; ILO, 2020), it has also been
described that one of the main factors influencing migration from Ethiopia is a lack of
employment possibilities.

2) The presence of a sizable pool of potential migrants in Ethiopia is the other push factor
(ILO, 2020). Ethiopia, the second-most populous nation in sub-Saharan Africa has high
rates of youth unemployment. According to IOM estimates based on the 1999 and 2005
Labour Force Surveys and the 1994 and 2007 Censuses, youth unemployment is expected
to be 40% for those aged 15 to 24 and 22% for those over 25. This shortage of
employment possibilities is driving young people to move more and more. Therefore the
bulk of young, unmarried Ethiopian women who migrate as domestic workers were
driven to look for possibilities outside of Ethiopia by a strong sense of responsibility for
the financial welfare of their natal families. Given the ecological and demographic
stresses on the land and the dearth of local work possibilities, families also pressure their

39
 children to migrate.

3) land scarcity: Ethiopia still has a significant rural population and is mostly an agrarian
nation. Rural outmigration may be significantly impacted by factors restricting rural
livelihoods and agricultural operations. One of the most important productive resources,
the land has a significant impact on rural and agricultural livelihoods. The availability of
land and the size of individual plots can have a big impact on migration decisions
(Dessalegn, Debevec, Nicol, & Ludi, 2023). It is also steted in (Hassan & Negash, 2013)
that one of the main causes of emigration from Ethiopia is landlessness. This fact is
supported by the fact that a substantial part of Ethiopians who migrate to the Middle East
come from rural areas where 80% of the population relies on farming and nomadic
livestock herding for a living.

Overall, the landholding policy is utilized to disown and remove peasants from their
ancestral lands rather than reducing migration. The government's poor land-holding
policy has resulted in "declining farm size, tenure insecurity, and subsistence farming
practices which finally led to the eviction of active group of the population.

4) Conflict and Political Unrest:

Confilict have important implications on migration. It has economic dimension((A, G, J,

& L, 2022). Conflicts cost not just the parties involved but also their neighbors and other
nations in the region. In Collier (1999) and Murdoch and Sandler (2002a) examined how
civil conflicts affects nations. They discovered that it embroiled the GDP per capita levels
of countries and significantly impactes negatively. It contribute to the absence of work
prospects. Therefore, in terms of their impact on output and duration of conflict,
migration and refugees can be seen as significant spillovers from conflict.

Confilict contributes to political unrest. While the economic perspective dominates the
causes of "voluntary" migration, political factors are primarily to blame for "forced"
migration and are political justifications for migration (Swain, 2019). By harming the
general welfare of nations continues, it harms the well being of citizens. The damage of
physical infrastructure, the disruption of the formal economy, and the resurgence of

40
 social tensions all result from violent wars, further sinking poor nations make citizens to
leave and migrate to a stable country. In Ethiopia, There have been ongoing conflicts
resulted from years of political instability typically persecution based on political
identification and civil war. This left the country to have a rising emigrants dramatically
(https://www.diis.dk/en/node/25471). Internal armed conflicts and their effects do not
occur in isolation but are spread across borders (Swain, 2019). Hence, most migration
which originates from Ethiopia itself is actually directed towards the Middle East.

5) Climate and Environmental Factors: Rainfall and environmental factors vary over time
and space and become unpredictable, often resulting in environmental shocks that
undermine household well-being (Dessalegn et al., 2023) . The majority of Ethiopians are
rural dwellers who rely significantly on small-scale rainfed agriculture for their
subsistence. However, the sustainability of such small-scale rain-dependent subsistence
farming has frequently been threatened by drought, lack of rain, and irregular rainfall
brought on by climatic variability. These drought symptoms could appear in subsequent
agricultural seasons, leading to enormous crop failure, the loss of priceless animals, and
severe livelihood difficulties resulting in migration that can sooner or later lead to
migration particularly in to the middle East.

6) Social Network: By supplying pertinent information, raising awareness, and lowering the
costs of movement, social networks, including ethnicity, kinship ties, "community" links,
and "community" "identity," play important roles in aiding migration processes. These
networks play a crucial role in educating and facilitating international migration,
particularly with regard to where to go and how to go. Both potential migrants' goals and
actual moves are influenced by their knowledge of current migration routes, by
possibilities for migration, and by connections they have with friends and family who
have already migrated (Dessalegn et al., 2023). These social media features have a
significant role in influencing migration decisions along the various migration routes and
destinations chosen by Ethiopian migrants.

41
4.1.2 Pull Factors of Migrartion

Pull factors of migration refers to factors associated with areas of destination. Condition such as
good healthcare and education systems, strong economic growth, technology and low cost of
living in the receiving country is a significant factor for migration (Swain, 2019). This is
particularly true in the Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where there is a significant
structural demand for the low-skilled labor that Ethiopian men and women perform. This
demand makes it possible for recently arrived migrants to quickly find job within weeks, and
frequently even within days. Multiples of deriving pull factors in Saudi Arabia were described in
litratures:

1) The opening of employment opportunities in the receiving country: This is particularly

true in the Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where there is a significant
structural demand for the low-skilled labor that Ethiopian men and women perform. This
demand makes it possible for recently arrived irregular migrants to quickly find job
within weeks, and frequently even within days (Fernandez, 2017).

2) The availability of incentive to travel: Most migration which originates from Ethiopia
itself is actually directed towards the Middle East. This is high because migrant workers
in Saudi Arabia earn five times as much as derivers for migration from Ethiopia(Hassan
& Negash, 2013).

3) The relative increased difficulty of access to other alternative destinations for Ethiopian’s
migration as they would at home for comparable employment. Multiples of factors were
stated in litratures is the other factor. Ethiopians can also immigrate to South Africa,
Europe, and the US. Each of these locations comes with higher fees, longer and more
challenging routes, and/or bigger access hurdles. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries,
in contrast, are easier to reach through illegal border crossings and/or overstaying short-
stay visas.

4) The availability of middlemen and social networks: A significant social development

that affects a crucial livelihood strategy adopted by Ethiopian families and communities
in the face of pervasive poverty is the high number of Ethiopian women looking for

42
 domestic employment in the "Middle East Corridor". Although intermediaries have
always been required to facilitate such international migration, their significance has been
growing tremendously on a worldwide scale. This is in part a reaction to the current
period of globalization, in which the desire for bilaterally negotiated, direct public
employment of migrant workers has decreased due to the environment of economic
liberalism and global competitiveness (Busza, Shewamene, & Zimmerman, 2022;
Fernandez, 2013) and (Gravel, 2006).

5) The increased personal independence and mobility as much as contract is the workers can
achieve is another draw. In Saudi Arabia, there are opportunities in which employees can
earn up to 2-3 times in many homes or even on the side in the service industry.

6) There is a system called kafala in Saudi Arabia in which migrant workers are free to
change occupations and not tied to a particular employer. This signifies the fundamental
freedom for women who were once contract domestic workers to leave the confines of
their employer's home, which they would have been unable to do before.

7) Another powerful motivator of migration is the apparent success of friends, neighbors,

and classmates who have migrated. Others migrate for a variety of reasons, including the
desire to reunite with family and the desire to avoid government surveillance by political
dissidents. Overall, these factors have created and reinforced a "culture of migration" in
which moving has come to be seen as the usual rather than the exception and where
moving is linked to success on all levels—personal, social, and material.

In general, in attempting to explain the Ethiopian outmigration the push factors are chief
among which are extreme poverty and poor government, that play the major role in pushing
out Ethiopians from their nation. Economic restrictions and poor governance are closely
associated since poor governance essentially refers to a lack of political stability,
accountability, transparency, and effective institutions as well as increasing corruption and
insecurity.

Studies indicate that there are still many Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia. The Amenesty
international report (https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/12/saudi-arabia-ethiopian-

43
 migrants-forcibly-returned-after-detention-in-abhorrent-conditions/) hundreds of thousands
of Ethiopian migrants after arbitrarily indefinite detation in inhuman and cruel conditions
solely because they do not have valid residency documents, a situation exacerbated by
Saudi’s abusive kafala system are returning to Ethiopia.

4.1.3 Effects on Migrants

Many dangers and risks are associated with the recruitment of illegal immigrants, particularly for
women who do not have access to timely and accurate information. Lack of preparation for
employment overseas, such as inadequate training prior to departure; forced or coerced
recruitment, such as being abducted or sold to illegal or traffickers; perilous travel to the
destination country (Gebresilassie, 2015).

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians have moved to Saudi Arabia during the recent past years in
search of better economic possibilities (Amnesty International, 2022). Some migrated via the
Eastern Route, which entails making the treacherous trek from Ethiopia to Yemen via Djibouti
and Somalia before entering Saudi Arabia. Others travel by plane with work visas to Saudi
Arabia.

Migrant workers are only able to receive a work permit or residency through an employer under
Saudi Arabia's sponsorship (kafala) system, and they can only end their contracts or switch
employers under specific circumstances without the employer's permission.

Migration involves considerable costs and risks, and also requires, besides knowledge and social
networks, the necessary aspirations. The systematic use of torture and harsh treatment, such as
extortion and hostage-taking by traffickers and kidnappers, is frequently recorded on Ethiopian
outmigrants. Illegal migration and related activities have the potential to put the lives and safety
of migrants in jeopardy while making huge sums of money for the criminals engaged and
promoting corruption and organised crime in the nations of origin, transit, and destination
(Gebresilassie, 2015).

Illegal migrants are found facing challenges. These include significant traviling risk without food
or water, becoming dehydrated, getting sick while traveling, and possibly even being assaulted.

44
At the country of destination, they suffer much more. Aminesty international on its press release
stated that Ethiopian migrants were exposed to horrifying treatements. Detainees who reported a
long list of abuses they suffered at the hands of Saudi Arabian officials, including being chained
together in pairs, made to use the floor of their cells as toilets, and kept in suffocatingly small
cells for 24 hours a day. In (Gebresilassie, 2015) it was stated that overwork, lack of sleep, and
salary withholding are just the other negative effects of illegal immigration.

As most of the migrants are illegal, detantion of the migrants has also been happened on
Ethiopian migrants (https://www.acaps.org/sites/). Authorities frequently capture stranded
migrants and take them to detention facilities. According to Al Jazeera (Al Jazeera, March 21,
2021), in Yemen, migrant detention facilities are frequently overcrowded and unsanitary. In
similar way, a detention facility in Sana'a was attacked by Houthi troops on March 7, 2021, and
as a result, a fire broke out, killing 45 migrants and other detainees and injuring over 200 others.
In Saudi Arabia: majority of migrants who cross the Saudi border are detained and taken to
detention facilities by Saudi border guards (HRW 13/08/2020; AP News 15/02/2020; Meraki
Labs 21/09/2020). At least 16,000 Ethiopians were being held at one facility in Al Shumaisi,
according to an Ethiopian official in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in September 2020 (Telegraph
15/09/2020). Because of the terrible conditions in the packed cells, at least three Ethiopian
migrants perished in the Al-Dayer detention facility in Saudi Arabia in October 2020 (BBC
02/10/2020). Authorities in Saudi Arabia made a large number of arrests in Ethiopian
neighborhoods in June 2021, particularly in Jeddah's Kilo Temania neighborhood (Middle East
Eye, 21/06/2021). According to reports, during these arrests, security personnel used excessive
force and seized property. deaths, torture, rape and sexual assault, kidnapping, and abduction.
These confirms that the consequence of the migration is horrifying.

4.1.4 Effects on Ethiopia

Ethiopia has been a key sending country for migration over a number of decades due to a variety
of socioeconomic and political issues. The development processes in the country can be
negatively impacted by this. However, there are also advantageous effects of emigration, such as
remittances and the return migration of Ethiopians who completed additional education abroad.
This significantly affects the contry in through the loss of active human labor (Dessalegn et al.,

45
2023).

Over the past ten years, there have been significant increases in migration from Ethiopia to the
Middle East.According to estimates from the Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
(MoLSA), from 2009 to 2012 alone, there were an increase of 30,000 to 200,000 documented
migrants who left for Arab nations. These estimates, according to MoLSA, may only have
represented 30–40% of people who journeyed to the Middle East; the remainder migrated
through unofficial means. A restriction on Ethiopians travelling overseas in search of low-skilled
job was implemented in October 2013 in an effort to protect residents' wellbeing, however
migration persisted through illegal channels. The restriction was eliminated in January 2018 as a
result of revis.

Outmigration may help alleviate the strain on limited land resources in rural cultures with a
severe land shortage and high population pressure. On the other hand, it may result in a loss of
home farm labor. Some contend that the nature of migration (permanent vs. temporary)
determines how outmigration affects farm labor and agricultural outcomes. Permanent migration
results in a prolonged loss of labor and has a negative impact on crop income, but transitory
outmigration allows employees to visit their families frequently and lessens the impact of labor
losses on crop income. This is true in the case of Ethiopia.

It also has positive contribution to Ethiopia. Study conducted by (Girma Gemechu, 2014)
indicate that migrants are sending remittance to famiies and friends. It was estimated that a total
of $ 28,264,196 was sent to Ethiopia.

4.1.5 Effects on Saudi Arabia

For countries that receive migrants, there are opportunities as well as challenges (Koczan, Peri,
Pinat, & Rozhkov, 2021). On the one hand, immigrants might provide problems in the local
labour markets, especially in the short term, possibly lowering salaries and displacing some
native workers who compete with them. Immigration has an impact on the labour market,
economic growth, public finances, crime rates, and inequality in the destination country. A short-
term financial cost of their entry is also possible. On the other hand, immigrants can increase
output, especially in the medium and long term, open up new opportunities for local businesses

46
and native workers, provide the abilities and skills needed for growth, spark new ideas, promote
international trade, and contribute to long-term fiscal balance by balancing out the age
distribution of advanced countries.

Communities and societies from both developed and developing nations are having
conversations on the effects of migration. According to (Gebresilassie, 2015), millions of
individuals are purportedly transported yearly across borders by corrupt government employees
or under false pretences, which has apparent effects on border security and also results in
malfunctioning governmental institutions. Additionally, some contend that the unchecked
movement of large populations could endanger public health by facilitating the spread of
diseases like HIV and other sexually transmitted illnesses.

4.1.6 Effects on Inter-state Relations between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia

Migration dynamics are continually evolving to meet changes in the global environment.
Researchers have observed that colonial ties play an important role in shaping patterns of
migration out of Africa, with the vast majority of emigrants tending to settle in countries with
colonial and linguistic ties. Having never been colonized, Ethiopia does not share these ties with
either African or European countries, and so migration patterns do not follow a well-defined
route. While the Middle East has become a prominent destination for labor migrants, Ethiopia's
diaspora is scattered over a range of continents. A large portion of those settling in the country
are from neighbors in the Horn of Africa.

Migration is often used in practitioners' strategies and despite there being a growing body of
study on the intricate aspects of contemporary diplomacy. The conduct of politics in the twenty-
first century is being impacted by population movement, particularly in the areas of interstate
relations and diplomacy. States' bilateral and multilateral diplomatic relations increasingly focus
on migration, just as they do in areas like war and peace, trade, economics, culture, the
environment, and human rights (Adamson & Tsourapas, 2018).

In Stephen (Stephen Mcglinchy, 2017), migration and interstate relation is stopes.

“Given that the principle of sovereignty implies the right of states to control their territorial

47
borders, it logically follows that international migration inherently challenges state
sovereignty. As a result, the movement of people across national frontiers is inextri- cably
embedded in concerns and debates about the decline of national sovereignty. In this regard,
the emergence of migration as a global phenomenon raises a major polemic: To what
extent can states influence the causes and drivers of international migra- tion? To what
degree can governments and states effectively regulate and/or coordinate immigration
flows in a global era? Is the capacity of states to implement rational and humane
immigration and refugee policies severely constrained in an environment of increasing
international economic inter- dependence or changing security threats? Based on neo-
realist theories scholars such as Myron Weiner (1985) and Aristide Zolberg (1981) were
among the first political scientists to “bring the state back in” to the literature of migration
in the 1980s. Positing that states pursue migration according to their “national interests,”
these scholars intuitively reflected on the impact of migration and particularly refugee
move- ments for foreign policy and international security. Later students of liberal
institution- alism and international political economy (IPE) and sociology contended that
the policy-making preroga- tives of states had become increasingly cir- cumscribed by
economic markets and international human rights – both of which are embedded in the
nature of liberal regimes. These schools of thought, sometimes labeled as belonging to the
“lib- eral state” paradigm, underscore the subjec- tive and structural problems inherent in
executing a national, interest-driven immi- gration and immigrant policy. These tensions
arise from the fact that since the end of World War II, the major immigrant-receiving states
have been committed to increasingly opening international economic markets as well as
liberal social and economic rights for all their permanent residents, regardless of their
formal citizenship status. According to this perspective, the ability of the immigration-
receiving states to control immigration flows and to effect a self-serving immigrant policy
are significantly constrained by domestic and international laws and institutions that are
extremely difficult, although not entirely impossible, to revoke. Another explanation for the
so-called “liberal paradox” which accounts for immigration policies more expansive than
optimized by public opinion, focuses on the domestic politics of liberal democracies.
Pluralist models, while not necessarily espousing the “loss of state con- trol” theses, have
focused on the role of organized interest groups to explain the regulatory con- straints

48
 (even self-imposed) on states’ ability to limit intakes of immigrants. They suggest that a
range of constitutional and/or other actors influence policy outcomes. Thus, as a result of
both domestic and international constraints – the convergence of powerful economic
factors (Freeman, 1995), the increasing importance of rights, pervasive transna- tional
immigrant networks scholars have questioned the assumptions of state sovereignty and
government capacity to pursue a rational, self-interested immigration policy. This literature
also argues, albeit for different reasons, that the sovereignty of the traditional state has
substantially waned in recent decades as its power and authority have been severely
circumscribed by trans- national forces that exceed its reach and influence. As the
transaction costs of interna- tional migration have been reduced, national borders have
become more porous, and citizenship rights in the “post-national” era have been
reconfigured so that they are routinely exercised by migrant workers and other noncitizen”.

Despite its immense internal difficulties of communication, Ethiopia because of its geographical
position relatively near the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden coast enjoyed significantly religious,
economic, and cultural contacts with many other parts of the world. Put differently, the
geographical proximity between the two regions made such contacts inevitable. This is why,
immigrants from south Arabia, who reached the Horn during the first millennium B.C.,
introduced their influences which created the Semitic-Cushitic cultural synthesis and probably
accelerated the process of state building. These migrations were preceded by several centuries of
influx of Sabaen traders and farmers from across Red Sea into northern Ethiopia (Melese, 2011).

According to Abir's additional statement, "population movement was not restricted to one
direction only; tribes and conquering armies coming from the Horn established themselves in
southern Arabia and took part in the cultural and political evolution of the area"20 (1980: xv).

Intergovernmental agreements that aim to encourage or limit migratory flows; the extension of
preferential treatment; the creation of temporary labor migration schemes; the expulsion or threat
of expulsion of foreign nationals; and so on are significant. Hence, tools, techniques, and
protocols used in diplomacy to control cross-border population migration are important.

The overall relationship between Ethiopia and the Gulf countries particularly the Saudi Arabia
has been tumultuous for a long time despite historical and religious links, geographical

49
proximity, and other possibilities for mutual advantage. The significant number of unauthorised
employees has recently become a point of diplomatic contention between Ethiopia and Saudi
Arabia. According to studies, the political ties between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia remained
shaky despite the fact that their economic ties have improved considerably over the past 20
years, particularly since Ethiopia's political transition in 2018 (Jenber, 2021). Their relation is
importan for different reasons.

Ethio-Saudi relations is important for many reasons. The following are some of the reasons:

1) Saudi Arabia is one of the primary Ethiopia's consistent fuel supplier.

2) Due to their strong economies, Saudi Arabia have been able to exert substantial influence
not only in the Arab world but also in the Horn of Africa. Its financial clout makes it
crucial political and economic alli for Ethiopia in order to sustain cordial ties.

3) Saudi Arabia is bolstering her economy.

Similarly, the Saudi-Ethio relations is also important because:

1) Ethiopia is one of the fast-growing economies and the second most populous countries in
Africa, which makes the country a potential consumer market for Saudi Arabia oil and
other export commodities.

2) In the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia is a major nation. The African Union and the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa both have their headquarters there. Strong ties
between the Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia would aid in the achievement of its goals for the
sub-region and all of Africa. 3) Saudi Arabia is totally reliant on food imports. They aim
to increase foreign agricultural investment in order to ensure their food security. Due to
Ethiopia's favorable agricultural environment,

Therefore, Ethio-Saudi relation is quite significant for both of the countries. The relation has
population migration diamension. Initially, Arabians were migrated twice to Ethiopia to flee
from the persecutions of Qureysh. According to the traditional view, members of the early
Muslim community in Mecca faced persecution, which prompted Muhammad to advise them to
seek refuge in the current Ethiopia. Hence, the Arabs migrated to Ethiopia.
50
Later the migration direction begun shifting to the Arab world. Ethiopia has a longer history of labour
migration to the Middle East compared to its East African neighbours with Ethiopian women migrating to
Middle Eastern and Gulf countries for at least two decades . While researchers could not obtain the exact
number of Ethiopian female migrant domestic workers currently working in the Gulf and Middle
Eaststates, desk research and discussions with Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs representatives
suggest that the number is rising. Studies report that the number of female domestic workers from
Ethiopia’s three key regions of origin – Amhara, Addis Ababa and Oromia – who were legally working in
the Middle East between 2008 and 2013 was 297,512. It is estimated, however, that twice that number
had migrated using unofficial or irregular channels. An assumed rise in irregular migration is said to have
resulted from the government’s 2013 ban on labour migration to the Middle East, , itself a reaction to the
expulsion of over 100,000 Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia that same year. The ban was lifted in 2018,
however, and in January of the following year, a bilateral agreement on labour migration to Saudi Arabia
came into full effect. At the same time, Ethiopia has been working to improve its labour migration
regulatory framework, as represented by the recently promulgated Overseas Employment Proclamation
No. 923/2016, which aims to more effectively regulate migration by, inter alia, enhancing the protection
of Ethiopian migrant workers.

Ethiopia is one of the largest exporters of labor to Saudi Arabia either legally or illegally.
Numerous Ethiopians have migrated to the Saudi Arabia in recent decades in search of domestic
work, particularly young, unskilled women. Evidences shows that about 60% (450,000) of the
750,000 Ethiopian migrants living in Saudi Arabia were thought to have entered the country
illegally. Many Ethiopian immigrants living in Saudi Arabia is thought to benefit Ethiopia's
relations with Saudi Arabia.

However, the Saudi government as part of the "Saudization" of the Saudi labor market, which
aims to provide employment possibilities for young unemployed Saudis and regularize the labor
market, the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided to expulse unauthorized
migrants in November 2013. More than 163,018 Ethiopian migrants were forcibly returned
between November 2013 and March 2014. The return was effectively orchestrated by the
Ethiopian government and other humanitarian actor (International Labour Organization, 2018).

Many of these individuals were being held in appalling conditions and subjected to mistreatment.
Following the spreed of COVID-19, Saudi Arabia temporarily prohibited labor migration from
Ethiopia at the beginning of 2020 so as to stop the spread of the diseas. After the embargo was

51
lifted in February, the Ethiopian government started its recruitment drive. More than three years
after the kingdom stopped the practice, Ethiopians recruiting has resumed. The choice is the most
recent in a line of actions taken to control the employment market in the kingdom that have
something to do with hiring domestic labor (https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/32158/).

The mistreatment and infringement of Ethiopian migrant workers' human rights in Saudi Arabia
has raised serious concerns for Ethiopia and the Ethiopian government. Ethiopians living in
Saudi Arabia have reportedly been subjected to racial discrimination, physical and sexual assault,
arbitrary arrests, unfavorable working conditions, low and delayed pay, and other forms of
violence. This requires international agreements.

As migration not only links nations together but also regularly forces states to communicate with
one another about migration-related challenges, international and interstate relations are thus the
most determining factors. It has an effect on and helps to shape the power dynamics between
nations. Experiences like from the European cases (Düvell, 2017) shows that countries need
cooperation with other states in managing migration.

Immigration diplomacy that helps the management of migrants is quite significant. The
following directives are proposed to be significant:

 Policies such as those permiting the hiring of foreign talent and foreign labour from
abroad in accordance with its needs for skilled and unskilled immigrant labour are
important. This requires some form of framework and agreements between Ethiopia and
Saudi Arabia. State-like international actors, such as the European Union or even the UN
High Commissioner for refugees are required to act on this issue.

 States have regularly utilised bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding on

migration as diplomatic tools to control the cross-border flow of unskilled labour
(Adamson & Tsourapas, 2018). For instance, the Jordan Compact and the 2016 EU-
Turkey agreement were both linked to the economic interests of Turkey and Jordan,
respectively. The latter granted Jordan economic benefits like foreign direct investment to
special economic zones and tariff- and quota-free access to the single EU market for
goods produced within special economic zones by a labour force that is at least 15%

52
 Syrian. In similar way bilateral bilateral agreements are so crucial so as to manage
migrants between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia.

 Bargaining strategies are the other siginificant frame work. The governments of Ethiopia
and Saudi Arabia better use both zero-sum and positive-sum methods much like they do
in their more general diplomatic endeavours. Zero- and positive-sum processes refer to an
actor's justification within a framework of negotiations in relation to migration based
gains.

Following the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionay Democratic Front regime to power, Ethiopia's
relations with the Gulf countries particularly Saudi Arabia have started to get better on the
political and economic fronts. Since the 2000s, this relationship has undergone significant
growth.

In 2018, an agreement (Proclamation No. 1092/2018) has been ratified between the Government
of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and the Government of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia on the employment of Domestic Workers (FDRE, 2018). According to the
proclamation, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the FDRE has been empowered to
undertake all acts necessary to the implementation of the agreement in cooperation with
concerned federal and regional government organs of the FDRE here in the country. The Saudi
government has also agreed to manage the issue of migration.

Later the governments of Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia came to an agreement on March 30, 2022,
to repatriate more than 100,000 Ethiopians who were living there illegally. Saudi Arabia is not a
signatory country to the Refugee Convention or any other international agreements that provide
for the protection of refugees. Again, on 21 September 2022, the Saudi minister of labor and
social development has signed a bilateral agreement to recruit well-trained and medically fit
domestic workers with his Ethiopian counterpart
(https://www.hrsd.gov.sa/en/media-center/news/72148).

It can be concluded that migration offers numerous benefits and hence needs to be a key element
of foreign policy. It requires Ethiopia and Saudi-Arabia to work closely and prioritize joint
interests; and therefore need a balanced approach, arrange incentives and legal pathways for

53
regular migration.

The above discussion indicates that inter-state relation between Ethiopia and the Saudi
government. It realizes that the interstate relation between Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia possessed
migration diamension.

4.2 Ethiopian Migration Legislation and Policies

Inorder to understand inter-state relations concerning migration, understanding the existing

regulations, laws or policies of countries in relation to migration is important. In this part, the
Ethiopian international/interstate migration laws and policies were discussed. Comparatively to
the majority of other African nations, Ethiopia's migration laws and policies appear to be more
sophisticated and comprehensive. Existing laws govern normal migrants, refugees, and asylum
seekers in Ethiopia with regard to admission, residence, employment, naturalization, and exit
(including deportation), as well as the policies, practices, and authorities in charge of providing
travel papers, visas, and work permits. The Refugee Proclamation outlines the rights and
responsibilities of refugees and asylum seekers as well as guidelines for asylum applications and
procedures. Additionally, there are opportunities for unauthorized migrants to become legal
residents, and people with Ethiopian ancestry who live abroad have specific rights and benefits
that allow them to support Ethiopia's progress.

Concerning out migrants, there are proclamations and regulations to regulate migration issues.
As steted in (Marchand, Reinold, & Silva, 2017) there are significant proclamations, regulations
and criminal codes concerning migration. Some examples are listed hereunder:

 Proclamation No. 632/2009 describes employment exchange Services. It

strengthens labour migration management, expands oversight of private
employment agencies and provides for placement of labour attachés in Ethiopian
embassies abroad.

 Council of Ministers Regulation No. 282/2013 defines work permit fees and private
employment agency license fees

54
 Proclamation No.909/2015 is also an existing penal code that defines human
trafficking and smuggling, as well as the offenses they constitute, the
consequences for them and the investigative procedures. It establishes a fund to
fight human trafficking and smuggling, as well as a national commission to
oversee how the law is being put into practice. It also offers help, protection, and
rehabilitation.

 Proclamation No. 923/2016 overseas employment. This proclamation defines pre-

departure awareness-raising through the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs,
introduces pre-departure awareness raising through governmental organizations
and agencies, prohibits direct recruitment, and includes provisions on how to
resolve disputes, welfare services, assistance to workers, as well as conciliation
and repatriation.

 The 2012 Law Requiring Registration of All Births Nationwide is an attempt to

implement a uniform national identity card.

 Criminal Code:

 Art. 596 prohibits slavery

 Art. 597 and 653 prohibit Trafficking of women and children

 National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons drafted with 5 year

plan, drafted in cooperation with IOM

 United Nations' human rights treaties, including the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,
and the Child are the other significant regulations
(https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/cmw.pdf).

55
From the above discussions, one can say that government proclamations in Ethiopia govern
licensed private employment agencies, whereas criminal law governs unlicensed brokers
involved in smuggling and trafficking and hence the country has legislation, policy and
regulations for migration.

In conclusion, many Ethiopians have been migrating to Saudi Arabia for many reasons. Many
push and pull factors have been identified as deriving factors of the migraton. The migration has
impacts both on the migrants and the two governments. It influenced the relationship between
the governments of Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia.

56
CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 CONCLUSION

Migration has been historical process happening for various reasons. This paper showed that
contemporary human migration is a central element of discussions with regard to international
relation in case of Ethiopia and Arab countries and hence this paper have investigated the various
factors that affect the migration from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia, its consequences and the
significance of international relations in managing migration issues.

It has been discussed that the history of migration is the history of people’s struggle to survive
and to prosper, to escape insecurity and poverty, and to move in response to opportunity.
Migraton from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia is and has historically been characterized by complex
flows arising from a combination of root causes. These root causes have included poverty,
drought, political repression and unemployement. It is evident that extreme poverty and poor
governance have been and continue to be key driving forces for Ethiopian migration. It has also
been stated that the migration has impacted both the migrants, the country as a whole and the
relation between the two countries.

The investigation also showed that relations between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia have been
existed for longer time. The relations have been characterized by culturally embedded mistrusts,
suspicions, competitions, rivalries, and hidden agendas for influence for many years. There have
been many chances for closer political and economic links based on shared interests given the
long-standing historical and religious connections between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia. Benefits
and costs have been anticipated in a relationship that is mutually reliant, according to the notion
of interdependence. In this way, the Ethio-Gulf ties were also characterized by competitiveness
and tensions despite the expanding economic cooperation and mutual benefits. The economic
and political partnership, which is built on the principles of mutual benefit and development, has
some obstacles that make it less effective and long-lasting and hence impacted migrants.

The study shows that Ethiopia has more sophisticated and comprehensive migration laws and
policies so as to manage migration issues. Existing laws govern normal migrants, refugees, and
asylum seekers in Ethiopia with regard to admission, residence, employment, naturalization, and

57
exit (including deportation), as well as the policies, practices, and authorities in charge of
providing travel papers, visas, and work permits.

5.2 Recommendations

From the analysis, the following recommendations were drawn:

 The migration from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia impacted the inter state relation between
Ethiopia and Saudi-Arabia. Therefore, interstate agreements between Ethiopia and
Saudi Arabia needs to be in place.

 Migration of Ethiopians from Erhiopia to Saudi Arabia is still continuing resulting in

the loss of human capital. Therefore, the government and all the concerned body
needs to react. Internally, the push factors needs to be addressed.

 There should be effective agreement between the government of Ethiopia and the
Saudi Arabia and placed practical.

58
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