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The EU has externalized its migration governance towards third countries to stem the flows of migration. The efforts include the establishment of an Emergency Trust Fund for Africa alongside cooperation with Libya and Tunisia, where migrants are subjected to abuse, exploitation, and racism. This thesis explores the relation between the EU’s externalized migration governance and the human rights conditions African migrants face in Libya and Tunisia. Existing research has examined the EU’s externalization, however, there has been limited focus on human rights outcomes in comparable contexts. This thesis addresses this gap by employing most similar system design and utilizing process tracing to analyze how the policies impact human rights in Libya and Tunisia since 2015, focusing on African migrants. The findings highlight how the EU’s initiatives contribute to human rights violations in both cases. In Libya, it contributes to a cycle of abuse as it enables militia groups to detain migrants through abusive methods. In Tunisia, racial discrimination towards black African migrants is institutionalized by the government whilst the EU has intensified its migration partnership. In sum, the EU effectively incentivizes actors in Libya and Tunisia who violate human rights.