Frontex posted this map to its web site earlier this week. The map “describes the … situation [as of the end of 2009] at the external borders of the EU, including the main entry routes of irregular migration into the European Union: West African route, via Canary islands, Central Mediterranean, including Italy and Malta, South Eastern European route (including Greek land and sea borders) as well as the Eastern land borders.”
Click here for link to the map.
Filed under Data / Stats, European Union, Frontex, News
Italy and Malta held a one day summit yesterday that focused on “Strategic Mediterranean” themes. The two countries are calling for a reassessment of Frontex’s role in the Mediterranean, suggesting that Frontex may be best suited for repatriation operations and not for sea patrols. Maltese Foreign Minister Tonio Borg said that even Italy questioned the need for ongoing Frontex missions fearing that such missions might upset the Italy-Libya migration agreement which has almost eliminated irregular migration from Libya. A statement issued by the Italian Foreign Ministry described the Italy-Libya migration agreement as a model that is “exemplary for extension to other African countries.”
Malta also reaffirmed that it would not reconsider its decision not to host Frontex missions unless the Frontex rule addressing where intercepted migrants are to be taken is changed.
Click here and here for articles.
Click here for Italian Foreign Ministry statement.
Libya has reportedly agreed to allow approximately 400 Eritreans to remain in Libya, though they will not be given refugee protection as Libya is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention.
ANSAmed reported that Italian officials have claimed credit for Libya’s decision, though the Italians have questioned whether any of the Eritreans have been mistreated and whether any of the Eritreans were subjected to Italy’s push-back practice. Italian Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Stefania Craxi stated that ”the Italian government never backed away from raising awareness with[] Libyan authorities on the topic of human rights.” Craxi said ”it is thanks to the Italian government [that] the UNHCR activities in Tripoli have started again, albeit in an informal and conditioned way.” Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said ”it is unbelievable that Brussels did not even make a press release. [Italy] worked in silence, without proclamations, sadly with the total and absolute absence of Europe. We asked for a compromise, a mediation and the result came.”
While it is good if the Italian Government did indeed work to arrive at a temporary and imperfect solution for this particular group of Eritreans and it is good that the Italian ministers speak of respecting human rights in Libya, the Italians should be equally if not more concerned with the human rights implications of their push-back practice in the Mediterranean.
Click here for article.
Filed under European Union, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News, UNHCR
ECRE and CIR released a statement on 7 July criticising Italy and the EU in regard to the plight of over 200 Eritrean refugees, some of whom may have been subject to Italy’s push-back practice and who are now detained under dangerous conditions in Libya.
The two organisations “call upon all authorities involved to ensure that refugees are not repatriated to Eritrea where they are at risk of torture and ill- treatment. … ‘We strongly repeat our plea to the Italian Government to resettle the refugees to Italy’, says Christopher Hein, Director of the Italian Council for Refugees (CIR). ‘Some of those who are being mistreated now by the Libyan authorities have been pushed back there by Italy one year ago. Refugees are suffering the consequences of Italy’s violation of its legal obligations and EU Member States’ consenting silence’, added Bjarte Vandvik, ECRE’s Secretary General.”
Click here for the full statement.
Filed under European Union, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, Statements
On 23 June the JURI committee (Committee on Legal Affairs) voted in camera to refer the question of the validity of the Frontex rule regarding the surveillance of the sea external borders to the European Court of Justice (Council Decision 2010/252/EU (“Frontex / Sea borders”)). The referral requests the Court “to preserve the effects of the measure until a new legislative act has been adopted.”
Maltese MEP Simon Busuttil, the EPP Coordinator in the Civil Liberties Committee, was quoted as saying: “we have given notice to the Commission that not all is fine with these Frontex guidelines and it is time for a rethink. We want to ensure that Parliament’s role is defended and that we can have our say. We want these rules to be fair. In their current version they are not.”
Both the LIBE and JURI committees believe that the European Commission exceeded its power when it presented the new Frontex rule under the comitology procedure as opposed to using the ordinary legislative procedure which would have given the Parliament the ability to amend the rule. Malta has strongly objected to provisions within the rule. Malta has said that its decision not to host Frontex’s Central Mediterranean enforcement operation this year, Operation Chronos, was due to the disembarkation provisions contained in the new Frontex rule. Malta believes that the rule would require intercepted migrants to be taken to Malta.
Click here for article.
Click here for statement on MEP Simon Busuttil’s web site.
Click here for EPP Group press release.
Click here and here for earlier posts.
Filed under European Union, Frontex, Judicial, Malta, Mediterranean, News
CARIM just issued a short paper, Libya: The Migration Scene – Which implications for migrants and refugees?: “In the light of UNHCR’s announcement of the 8th of June 2010 that it was requested to close its offices in Libya, CARIM provides an overview of migration developments in Libya from sociopolitical, legal and demographic-economic perspectives.”
Click here for the document.
Filed under Analysis, European Union, Libya, Mediterranean, UNHCR
Amnesty International has released a comprehensive report on Libya entitled “Libya of Tomorrow – What Hope for Human Rights?” The report covers a range of matters including the criminal justice system and the use of the death penalty. Section 5 of the report (beginning at p 91) addresses the rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants. The report was finalised before the recent decision of the Libyan government to close the UNHCR office in Tripoli.
In regard to refugee issues, Amnesty is very critical of both Libya and the EU and calls upon EU member states to “ensure that any bilateral agreements with Libya in the area of migration and asylum, including the EU-Libya Framework Agreement currently being negotiated, are based on full respect for the rights of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants.”
Excerpts from Section 5, “Rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants”:
Members of the EU have been actively seeking the collaboration of Libya in controlling the flow of migrants to European shores – turning a blind eye to Libya’s dire human rights record, the absence of a functioning asylum system in Libya, and persistent reports of the abuse and ill-treatment of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants. The Treaty of Friendship, Partnership and Co-operation signed in August 2008 between Italy and Libya includes provisions for bilateral efforts to combat “illegal migration”, facilitated by the joint patrolling of the sea agreed upon in December 2007 in the “Protocol” and the “Additional Technical-Operational” Protocol”.
As part of the agreements, Italy promised to compensate Libya for its occupation of the country between 1911 and 1943. The Treaty of Friendship, Partnership and Co-operation involves a US$5bn package for construction projects, [and other items]. In return, Libya agreed, among other things, to tighten control of its territorial waters and accept disembarkation on its soil of individuals intercepted at sea by Italian vessels. Italy was also reported to have undertaken to provide resources, including technology, to control migrant flows through the southern borders of Libya. In fact, Italy has provided Libya with six motor patrol boats since the Treaty entered into force.
In the framework of these agreements, from May 2009 onwards Italy started returning refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants intercepted in international waters to Libya. On 6 May 2009, distress calls were sent from three vessels with an estimated 230 third-country nationals on board. Italian coastguard vessels intervened but transported the individuals to Tripoli, without stopping in an Italian port and without checking whether any individuals on board were in need of international protection or basic humanitarian assistance. Further interceptions and returns occurred in the subsequent months: according to official information from the Italian Ambassador to Libya, between 6 May and 3 September 2009, over 1,000 individuals were returned to Libya. They included nationals from Eritrea, Somalia and other sub-Saharan African countries. The Italian Minister of the Interior Roberto Maroni was reported to have called this action “an historic achievement after one year of bilateral negotiations with Libya”….
Despite these pleas by UNHCR and consistent reports of abuses suffered by refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants in Libya, the Italian authorities continue to intercept vessels at sea and send them back to other countries most notably Libya. In January 2010, Italian Minister of the Interior Roberto Maroni stated that the number of migrants arriving to Italian shores was reduced by 74 per cent in 2009 compared to 2008, attributing the reduction to Italy’s bilateral agreements with Libya.
Italy is not alone in seeking Libya’s cooperation to control the flow of migrants to European shores. Negotiations between Libya and the EU over a Framework Agreement started in November 2008 covering the control of migration, among other issues, including potential readmission agreements for third-country nationals who have transited through Libya on their way to Europe….
UNHCR [prior to its recent expulsion from Libya] and its partners have also been involved in screening individuals pushed back to Libya from Italy. UNHCR declared that by October 2009, it had been able to screen 890 people and had registered 206 of them as refugees and secured their release from detention. UNCHR also registered 80 individuals pushed back from Italy in November 2009, granting 40 of them refugee status. The remainder were awaiting their interviews for refugee status determination at the time of writing. UNHCR confirmed that a total of 685 individuals determined to be refugees or asylum-seekers were released from detention from 2008 to February 2010, including 450 Eritreans and 150 Somalis…..
Click here for the Report.
Click here for AI Press Release regarding the Report.
Filed under European Union, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, Reports, UNHCR
Representatives of the EU and ACP (Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific group of states) signed the second revision to the Cotonou Agreement in Ouagadougou on 22 June. The Agreement provides the basic framework for relations between the EU and ACP states. The parties failed to reach agreement on revisions to Article 13, the migration provision.
The EU has been pressuring the ACP states to agree to changes in the Cotonou Agreement which would make it easier for EU member states to return illegal or irregular migrants from the EU to their home countries. ACP states resisted incorporating such a provision in the Agreement, instead wanting to deal with readmission issues on a bi-lateral basis.
As a result of this ongoing disagreement, Article 13 of the Agreement will remain unchanged for the time being. The EU and ACP instead agreed on a Joint Declaration (Declaration III) which was signed yesterday in conjunction with the revised Cotonou Agreement. It reads as follows:
“JOINT DECLARATION ON MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT (ARTICLE 13)
The Parties agree to strengthen and deepen their dialogue and cooperation in the area of migration, building on the following three pillars of a comprehensive and balanced approach to migration:
1. Migration and Development, including issues relating to diasporas, brain drain and remittances;
2. Legal migration including admission, mobility and movement of skills and services; and
3. Illegal migration, including smuggling and trafficking of human beings and border management, as well as readmission.
Without prejudice to the current Article 13, the Parties undertake to work out the details of this enhanced cooperation in the area of migration. They further agree to work towards the timely completion of this dialogue and to report about the progress made to the next ACP-EC Council.”
Click here for the full 2010 amendments to the Cotonou Agreement.
Click here for EU Council Press Release.
Click here for the Secretariat of the ACP States’ web page pertaining to the Cotonou Agreement.
Click here for the EU web page pertaining to the Cotonou Agreement.
Click here, here, and here for previous posts on the Migration provision of the Cotonou Agreement.
Filed under Communiqués, European Union, News
“L’Europe, l’obsession sécuritaire et l’immigration utilitaire – … Les négociations entre l’UE et la Libye semblent suggérer que les Européens sont prêts à aller très loin dans la volonté de faire des Etats du Sud les gendarmes luttant contre l’immigration clandestine. En effet, pour signer un accord d’association comprenant le volet immigration, la Libye exige la fermeture pure et simple du bureau du Haut-Commissariat aux réfugiés (HCR), en plus de moyens financiers supplémentaires et du matériel de surveillance des frontières terrestres et maritimes qui viendront s’ajouter aux nombreux dispositifs de contrôle déjà financés par l’UE dans ce pays depuis le début des années 2000. La politique européenne sur l’immigration inclut également l’ouverture sur le sol libyen de «points d’accueil», qui permettraient aux réfugiés de déposer leur demande d’asile sans prendre le risque d’une traversée de la Méditerranée. Le commissaire en charge des questions d’asile et d’immigration, Jacques Barrot, s’était rendu sur place pour étudier la possibilité d’un tel dispositif…..”
Cliquez ici pour télécharger l’article.
Filed under Algeria, European Union, Libya, Mediterranean, News
Excerpts from the EUROSTAT asylum statistics press release issued on 18 June 2010:
The EU27 Member States granted protection to 78 800 asylum seekers in 2009 compared with 75 100 in 2008.
The largest groups of beneficiaries of protection status in the EU27 were citizens of Somalia (13 400 persons or 17% of the total number of persons granted protection status), Iraq (13 100 or 17%) and Afghanistan (7 100 or 9%).
In 2009, 317 500 decisions on asylum applications were made in the EU27, of which 228 600 were first instance decisions and 88 900 final decisions on appeal. Decisions made at the first instance resulted in 61 700 persons being granted protection status, while a further 17 100 received protection status on appeal.
The rate of recognition of asylum applicants, i.e. the share of positive decisions in the total number of decisions, was 27% for first instance decisions and 19% for final decisions on appeal.
In 2009, the highest number of persons granted protection status was registered in the United Kingdom (12 500), followed by Germany (12 100), France (10 400), Sweden (9 100), Italy (8 600) and the Netherlands (8 100). These Member States accounted for more than three quarters of all those granted protection status in the EU27.
The rate of recognition varies considerably among Member States…. The highest rates of recognition in the first instance were recorded in Malta (66%), Slovakia (56%), Portugal (51%), the Netherlands and Denmark (both 48%), and the lowest in Greece (1%), Ireland (4%), Spain (8%), France (14%) and Slovenia (15%).
Somalis were the single largest group of persons granted protection status in the EU27.
[M]inors accounted for 60 500 of the applicants [in 2009], of which 12 200 were unaccompanied.
Click here for the EUROSTAT Asylum Statistics document.
Click here for EUROSTAT Characteristics of asylum seekers in Europe report.
Click here for EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström’s statement on the EUROSTAT reports.
Filed under Data / Stats, European Union, News
CEAR (Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado) has released its 2010 annual report: “La situación de las personas refugiadas en España – INFORME 2010.” The report is 350+ pages long. I will try to review it and do an additional post on some portions of the Report in the coming days.
From CEAR’s web page: “Presentamos el octavo Informe Anual en un momento de grave preocupación por la garantía efectiva del derecho de asilo en España y en el mundo. En el año 2009 poco más de 3.000 personas solicitaron asilo en nuestro país, la cifra más baja desde que se contabilizan estos datos. Por el contrario, las demandas de protección internacional han aumentado en el ámbito de la Unión Europea y otros países industrializados. La pregunta clave es: ¿por qué no llegan refugiados a España? Pregunta que cobra aún más importancia si tenemos en cuenta que la situación en los países de origen de los solicitantes de asilo no ha mejorado, tal y como se analiza a lo largo de este Informe, como la situación de la R.D. Congo, América latina o Sri Lanka. La respuesta a este descenso de las solicitudes de asilo se desvela a lo largo del documento.
La publicación de este Informe Anual coincide con los primeros pasos para la puesta en práctica de la nueva Ley de Asilo, aprobada en octubre de 2009. CEAR volcó todos sus esfuerzos para hacer llegar a los grupos parlamentarios y a la sociedad sus propuestas para fortalecer el derecho de asilo como institución en España.
Uno de los mayores recortes de la nueva ley es la supresión de la vía diplomática para el acceso al asilo, por eso desde estas páginas CEAR realiza un recorrido por las últimas solicitudes por esta vía. También hace especial hincapié en el análisis de las demandas en frontera y de los Centros de Internamiento para Extranjeros (CIE). Por otro lado, la edición del octavo Informe coincide con la Presidencia española de la Unión Europea, por lo que se analizan las líneas políticas de actuación que ya se establecieron en el Pacto Europeo sobre Inmigración y Asilo de 2008. Este Informe presenta un completo recorrido desde la solicitud de asilo hasta la resolución de los casos, acompañado de un completo apéndice estadístico, sin prescindir de todo lo referente a la acogida, integración social e inserción sociolaboral de las personas refugiadas en España.”
Click here for the report (ES).
Filed under Eastern Atlantic, European Union, Mediterranean, Reports, Spain
Speaking at a press conference in Athens earlier this week, Gil Arias Fernandez, Frontex’s deputy executive director, credited the global recession as the key factor in 2009 for the reduced numbers of migrants seeking to enter the EU. He also credited “good collaboration from the African countries where immigrants usually depart[,]” referring to measures taken by Libya, Mauritania and Senegal to prevent migrants from leaving the countries.
Click here and here for articles.
Click here and here for earlier posts on Frontex’s 2009 General Report.
Filed under Data / Stats, European Union, Frontex, Libya, Mauritania, News, Senegal, Statements
ECRE issued a press release last week regarding Libya’s decision to expel the UNHCR:
“Bjarte Vandvik, Secretary General of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) said: ‘UNHCR’s expulsion from Libya will hopefully be temporary but it does reveal the unreliability of this regime, as well as its understanding of refugee protection. How will the EU ensure that Libya keeps its word regarding commitments towards human rights? How can the EU trust such a partner?’”
“ECRE calls on the EU to seriously reconsider its cooperation on asylum and refugee issues with Libya, a country that is not a party to the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention. In particular, negotiations on an EU – Libya framework agreement must now be reviewed, as should any EU funding that supports Libyan authorities in intercepting refugees along their Southern border…. While UNHCR”s presence does not make Libya a safe place for refugees, the decision to prevent UNHCR from operating in the country once again illustrates the real intentions of the Libyan authorities when it comes to refugee protection. The EU cannot simply continue to ignore this reality but should make clear that the protection of refugees is still a fundamental value of the EU.”
(HT to Ana Lopez, ECRE’s Media and Information Officer).
Click here for full ECRE statement.
Filed under European Union, Libya, Mediterranean, Statements, UNHCR
Migreurop takes the position that Libya’s recent decision to expel the UNHCR is a negotiating tactic that will be used to leverage more money and concessions from the European Union in the context of the ongoing EU-Libya partnership negotiations and poses the important question: What Price Will Europe Pay if Gaddafi Again Authorises UNHCR’s Return to Libya? The UNHCR’s presence in Libya has played an essential role in Europe’s immigration policy, specifically Europe’s migration management and border outsourcing:
“Thanks to UNHCR’s presence in Tripoli, Europe and Italy, which concluded its agreement with Libya in August 2008, were able to claim that the boat people who were forcibly returned to Libya could find a minimal level of security and protection. Everyone knows full well that this was a smokescreen: the conditions under which migrants are treated in Libya are well documented and well known to European authorities and institutions.”
“The presence of the UNHCR in Libya justified the policy of externalisation and deportation carried out by the EU. … Libya has now raised the stakes and the UNHCR is an accomplice in the sordid negotiations: UNHCR’s return is already planned.…”
Click here or here for Migreurop’s full statement / analysis (FR).
Click here for previous post.
Filed under Analysis, European Union, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, UNHCR
Libya’s decision to expel the UNHCR from Libya was made public during the seventh round of Framework Agreement talks between the EU and Libya. The talks concluded yesterday in Tripoli. “[Libya’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Tahar] Sayala said the main stumbling blocks to progress were illegal immigration and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which Libya does not recognise. [Sayala] said Libya wanted financing and equipment [from the EU] for the surveillance of its borders, both on land and sea.”
Amnesty International criticized the decision to expel the UNHCR and called on Libya to reverse the decision:
“[***] The move to expel the UNHCR came against the backdrop of the 7th round of negotiations, which started on 6 June in Tripoli, between Libya and the EU over a Framework Agreement, which addresses bilateral cooperation in the control of irregular migration, among other issues, including potential readmission agreements for third-country nationals, who have transited through Libya on their way to Europe. EU member states, most notably Italy, have been seeking Libya’s assistance in decreasing the flow of arrivals of asylum-seekers and migrants to European shores. The expulsion of the UNHCR further casts doubt on Libya’s commitment to respect its obligations under the Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. It also shows how essential it is to include effective human rights safeguards and adequate standards of protection in any bilateral agreements with Libya in the field of the control of migration. [***]”
The European Commission also expressed “concern” with Libya’s decision “but sees it as one more reason to engage in ‘dialogue’ with General Gaddafi’s country on immigration and asylum.”
And as noted by Michèle Morel on International Law Observer, even though Libya is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, Libya is bound by customary international law which prohibits refoulement to countries where there is a risk of torture, “[t]herefore, while Libya itself has no asylum system for the examination of asylum seekers’ situations, refusing to allow UNHCR to carry out its activities in Libya would amount to a violation of international human rights law.”
Click here, here, here (EN), and here (AR) for articles.
Click here for Amnesty International’s statement.
Click here for link to ILO post.
Filed under European Union, Libya, Mediterranean, News, UNHCR
MIGRANTS AT SEA 