MIGRANTS AT SEA

Libya Asks EU to Assist with Renovation of Migrant Detention Centres

Niels Frenzen — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:23:30 +0000

At a press conference held last week, Libyan Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelali asked the European Union for assistance in dealing with new immigration flows and specifically requested assistance to renovate 19 existing migrant detention centres. (Global Detention Project identified 27 dedicated immigration detention centres in Libya as of late 2009.)

Libyan officials have said recently that irregular migration flows are resuming. AFP reported that Libyan interior ministry spokesman General Abdelmonem al-Tunsi said on 19 January “that illegal immigration had resumed since the end of the anti-Kadhafi revolt” and “thousands of people from … Syria were also entering through the Massad terminal on the border with Egypt, apart from Africans infiltrating through the southern borders.”

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti traveled to Tripoli on 21 January to meet with the Libyan NTC. Prior to his trip Amnesty International sent Monti a letter urging him to address numerous matters with the Libyans, including the eradication of torture, reforming the criminal justice system, and ratifying the Refugee Convention.

Amnesty also called upon Italy not to resume push-back operations at sea and to refrain from cooperating with Libya on other migration control practices until appropriate reforms are instituted within Libya. There are fears that Italy is moving towards resuming coordination with Libya on immigration control matters. Italian Interior Minister Anne Marie Cancellieri is reportedly scheduled to travel to Tripoli next month to discuss bilateral cooperation on immigration.

Translated excerpts from Amnesty’s press statement regarding the AI letter to PM Monti:

“With regard to cooperation on migration between Italy and Libya, Amnesty International calls on the Italian Government:

To desist from conducting any operation of ‘refoulement’ (deportation) at sea to Libya and cooperating with Libya to intercept migrants and reject them;
To set aside the Memorandum of Understanding on ‘migration control’, signed with the National Transitional Council (CNT) on June 17, 2011, until a thorough review is conducted of the impact on human rights agreements signed by the two countries in this area, and until the necessary changes have been introduced in order to ensure that the ‘immigration control’ is never carried out at the expense of human rights;
To ensure that all forms of cooperation with the Libyan authorities are absolutely transparent and subject to the commitment and ability of both parties to fully respect the human rights of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, and are consistent with the international law of human rights and international refugee law….”

Click here for AI Letter. (IT)

Click here (EN), here (IT), here (EN), here (IT), and here (IT) for articles.

Tagged: Abdelmonem al-Tunsi, Amnesty International, Anne Marie Cancellieri, Detention, European Union, Extraterritorial Immigration Control, Fawzi Abdelali, Italy, Italy-Libya Friendship Agreement, Libya, Mario Monti, Migrants, Non-refoulement, Push-Back Practice, Refugees

Report of Migrant Boat Sinking Off Libyan Coast – 15 Dead, 40 Missing

Niels Frenzen — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:37:59 +0000

According to AFP , the Somali envoy in Tripoli has reported that a migrant boat carrying approximately 50 migrants sank off the coast of Misrata on Wednesday last week. The boat was reportedly carrying about 55 migrants from Somalia. 15 bodies have been recovered.

Click here (EN) and here (IT) for articles.

Tagged: Abdelghami Wais, Deaths at sea, Italy, Libya, Migrants, Misurata, Refugees

Pillay: Extreme Concern Regarding Ill-Treatment of Detainees in Libya, Including Large Number of Sub-Saharan Africans

Niels Frenzen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:39:01 +0000

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay addressed the UN Security Council on 25 January regarding the situation in Libya. Pillay expressed extreme concern regarding the conditions of detention in Libya faced by thousands of detainees, including a large number of Sub-Saharan African nationals, and called for all detention centres to be brought under the control of the Ministry of Justice and the General Prosecutor’s Office.

Amnesty International and MSF have both just released additional reports documenting ongoing torture of detainees in Libya.

Excerpts from Pillay’s statement:

“The Interim Government still does not exercise effective control over the revolutionary brigades and this has human rights repercussions in a number of areas. …

A related area that I am extremely concerned about is the conditions of detention and treatment of detainees held by various revolutionary brigades. The ICRC visited over 8,500 detainees in approximately 60 places of detention between March and December 2011. The majority of detainees are accused of being Gaddafi loyalists and include a large number of sub-Saharan African nationals. The lack of oversight by the central authorities creates an environment conducive to torture and ill-treatment. My staff have received alarming reports that this is happening in places of detention that they have visited.

It is therefore urgent that all detention centres are brought under the control of the Ministry of Justice and the General Prosecutor’s Office. Moreover, a structure and process for judicial screening of detainees should be put in place immediately so that those detainees held without any legal basis can be released while others receive a fair trial. … However, detainees continue to be held in unacceptable circumstances outside any legal framework or the protection of the state….”

Click here for Pillay’s Statement.

Click here for AI Statement.

Click here for MSF Statement.

Tagged: Amnesty International, Libya, Libyan National Transitional Council, Migrants, MSF, Navi Pillay, Refugees, Sub-Saharan Africans, Torture

UNHCR: Record Number of Refugees and Migrants Cross to Yemen in 2011

Niels Frenzen — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:03:07 +0000

The UNHCR reports that there has been an almost 100% increase in the number of refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants who crossed the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea from Africa to Yemen in 2011 compared to 2010. 103,000 migrants are estimated to have made the sea crossing in 2011 compared to an estimated 53,000 in 2010. 130 persons are known to have drowned. Ethiopians now make up the largest nationality making the voyage, accounting for about 75% of the total. Prior to 2009 Somalis were the largest group.

Click here (EN), here (EN) and here (FR) for UNHCR statements.

Tagged: Deaths at sea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gulf of Aden, Migrants, Mixed Migration, Red Sea, Refugees, Somalia, UNHCR, Yemen

Rescued Somali Asylum Seekers in Malta Describe Dangerous Conditions in Libya

Niels Frenzen — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:17:34 +0000

The first group of rescued migrants for 2012 arrived in Malta on 15 January after being rescued by an Armed Forces of Malta patrol boat and an Italian cargo ship. The 68 rescued migrants are Somali asylum seekers and had left Libya four days earlier. Another boat carrying 72 migrants was rescued by the Italian coastguard on the 13^th. This boat is also believed to have departed from Libya. UNHCR officials have interviewed the asylum seekers in Malta: “The new arrivals confirmed to UNHCR that the situation in Libya is still not stable and that it is particularly precarious for Sub-Saharan nationals. One Somali woman told UNHCR that they were afraid to go outside the house. Some even described the situation in parts of Libya as being similar to the lawlessness of Somalia. They explained that smugglers provided them with the only possible way out at this point.” The Times of Malta reported that two of the asylum seekers said “they paid armed Libyan militiamen $400 each to facilitate their crossing of the Mediterranean.”

Click here, here, and here for articles.

Click here (IT) for article.

Tagged: Armed Forces of Malta, Italy, Lampedusa, Libya, Malta, Migrants, Refugees, Rescue at Sea, Sub-Saharan refugees, UNHCR