A Court in Sicily acquitted three Germans from the humanitarian organization Cap Anamur of criminal charges that they aided illegal immigrants by bringing a group of migrants they rescued to shore in Sicily in 2004.
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Click here for link to Cap Anamur’s web page.
Filed under Italy, Mediterranean, News
The UNHCR estimates that over 50,000 migrants in approximately 994 boats have crossed the Gulf of Aden from Somalia to Yemen so far this year. UNHCR says there has been a 50% increase in crossings compared with the same period last year. September and October are usually the busiest months due to favourable sea conditions.
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Filed under Data / Stats, Gulf of Aden, News, Somalia, Yemen
The Italian Government formally responded to the EC request for details regarding its push-back policy that has been in effect since May. The response is contained in a letter dated 8 September and released to the media today.
Italy claims that none of the 757 migrants intercepted since May and subsequently forcibly returned to Libya made a request for asylum: none of the immigrants taken to Libya between May 6 and August 30 ”made any request for international protection or mention of persecution in their own country”.
The claim by Italy that not a single migrant asked for protection strains credulity. It is inconsistent with among other things the incident in August when 75 Somali migrants who were intercepted by the Italians used a satellite telephone to call a BBC reporter in Italy to request help before they were turned over to Libyan authorities. One caller told the BBC reporter ”we told the Italian military that we wanted to request asylum and asked them not to hand us over to the Libyans because we were afraid of going to jail, but they wouldn’t listen to us.” Click here for the article regarding this incident.
The Italian letter also seeks to counter criticism that Libya does not protect the rights of asylum seekers and is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Protocol by noting that Libya has ratified an African Union Convention on refugees ”obliging it to guarantee protection of anyone facing persecution”.
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Filed under European Union, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News
UNHCR has issued a new warning about the steadily deteriorating situation in Somalia that is forcing thousands of Somalis to flee fighting. 250,000 Somalis have been forced out of their homes in Mogadishu since May, many are seeking shelter in internal camps and in neighboring countries.
UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic said that “[u]sing unscrupulous smugglers, thousands risk their lives and take the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea to reach Yemen or the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe”.
“So far this year over 900 boats carrying around 47,000 people have attempted to get to Yemen from the Horn of Africa, with 322 people drowned or presumed dead, and just last week 16 people died and 49 others are thought to have drowned in the Gulf of Aden.”
Click here for UNHCR statement and here for article.
Filed under Gulf of Aden, News, Somalia, UNHCR, Yemen
Clockwise from top: Muzafar Ali Safarali, Mohammad Ali Ayubi, Baquer Husani, Mohammed Amini Zamen and Awaz Nader.
Australian authorities have released photographs of the five Afghan asylum seekers who were killed in April in an explosion on their boat shortly after it was intercepted by Australian authorities near Ashmore Reef. The boat was attempting to travel to Australia from Indonesia. Some survivors of the blast were severely burned.
An investigation into the deaths is still in progress. Video of the incident reportedly shows Australian Defence personnel pushing survivors back into the water as they tried to swim to a rescue boat. The Northern Territory Coroner which is conducting an investigation has prevented the video footage from being made public.
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The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Agrigento, Sicily, has asked for a halt of the criminal trial of 21 migrants who landed illegally in Sicily and who are being criminally prosecuted under Italy’s new anti-immigration laws which, among other things, make it a criminal offense to enter the country illegally. The Public Prosecutor is asking that the question of the law’s constitutionality be submitted to Italy’s Constitutional Court. The criminal court judge is considering the request.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the law is inconsistent with the Italian Constitution and the UN Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air which obligates states to assist and protect migrants in difficulty, not to criminally prosecute such migrants.
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Filed under Italy, Mediterranean, News
A Frontex spokesperson has modified Frontex’s strong denial several days ago that it had no involvement in or responsibility for the Italian push-back practice in the Mediterranean.
Frontex now concedes that it is assisting the Italians with the detection and interception of migrant boats, but that Frontex has no information regarding what happens to intercepted migrants after the Italian coastguard intercepts them.
“In an interview with European Voice [reporter Judith Crosbie], [Frontex spokesperson Gil] Arias-Fernández said: ‘Technically speaking, assets co-ordinated by Frontex are taking part in operations in the area and … these people could be sent back to their country of origin.’ But he said to hold Frontex responsible for the return of migrants to Libya was ‘far from reality’. ‘We can’t be accountable for decisions taken by Italy,’ he said.” Arias- Fernández, however, conceded that Frontex might bear some moral responsibility for the push-back practice.
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Filed under Frontex, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News
The Italian Government has rejected the ongoing criticism by HRW and others of its push back policy.
News24 reports that Interior undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, stated that Italian authorities “have never denied” intercepted migrants the right to ask for asylum. “Each operation to escort migrants back to Libya lasted more than 10 hours during which none of the people involved, asked to be recognised as refugees, nor did they say they were fleeing from persecution in their countries of origin, Mantovano said.”
According to Mantovano, 757 migrants have been forcibly returned to Libya between May 6 and August 30.
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Filed under Data / Stats, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News
The 11 rescued survivors from the boat that sank near the Spanish island of Perejil this past Saturday have been deported from Morocco. AFP quoted a Moroccan official saying “By order of the prosecutor, the 11 African escapees left Tangiers at about 2100 GMT (on Sunday) during an expulsion operation.” The survivors, from Niger and Senegal, were probably expelled into Algeria. While Moroccan officials believe there were 42 migrants on the boat, the Spanish Red Cross estimates the number at approximately 60.
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Filed under Mediterranean, Morocco, News, Spain
A migrant boat carrying between 40 to 60 migrants sank near Perejil, off the northern coast of Morocco. More than five bodies have been recovered; more than 20 persons are presumed dead. Rescued survivors have been taken by Spanish rescuers to Morocco.
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Filed under Mediterranean, Morocco, News, Spain
An anonymous letter has reportedly been sent to an Italian prosecutor’s office and to the media accusing an Italian Coast Guard captain of mishandling a rescue attempt in June 2008 during which up to 15 migrants were killed. The survivors were reportedly taken to Malta after the incident.
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Filed under Italy, Malta, Mediterranean, News
“Francia quiere que la UE dé su visto bueno para poder interceptar y repatriar inmigrantes ilegales en el mar, según informó hoy el ministro de Inmigración francés, Eric Besson, en una carta que envió a sus homólogos comunitarios.”
“Besson considera inaudita la presión que los traficantes de inmigrantes ilegales ejercen en las fronteras de la UE y considera que la [Frontex] precisa una nueva doctrina basada en la interceptación y repatriación, pero que al mismo tiempo respete el derecho de asilo. El ministro francés propuso también una mayor cooperación entre Frontex y los países de los que parten los inmigrantes.”
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Filed under European Union, France, Frontex, Mediterranean, News
Eric Besson, French immigration minister, has proposed five measures for reinforcing the EU border against irregular immigration, including:
-a new doctrine of engagement for maritime operations overseen by Frontex in the Mediterranean focusing on interception and return of migrants, with respect for international obligations; and
-increased operational cooperation between Frontex and departure countries so as to coordinate maritime control operations.
Besson will present the five measures at the EU council of ministers meeting in Brussels on 21 September.
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Filed under European Union, France, Frontex, Mediterranean, News
Eric Besson, ministre de l’Immigration de la France propose cinq mesures pour renforcer l’action de l’Union Européenne contre l’immigration irrégulière:
– L’élaboration d’une nouvelle doctrine d’engagement pour les opérations maritimes conduites par Frontex en Méditerranée, tournée vers l’interception et la reconduite, dans le respect des obligations internationales notamment en matière d’asile.
– Une coopération opérationnelle renforcée entre Frontex et les Etats de départ des migrants, afin de coordonner les actions de contrôle en mer.
– L’installation d’un état-major de Frontex en Méditerranée, pour coordonner les opérations de surveillance et de contrôle au plus près du terrain.
– L’affrètement par Frontex de vols groupés pour des opérations conjointes de reconduite à la frontière
– La création d’un programme « Erasmus » pour les gardes-frontières en Europe, coordonné par Frontex, afin de faire émerger progressivement une véritable communauté professionnelle à l’échelle de l’Europe.
Besson présentera ces mesures lors du prochain conseil des ministres, lundi 21 septembre à Bruxelles.
Click here for article.
Filed under European Union, France, Frontex, Mediterranean, News
The IOM and UNHCR are beginning a radio campaign which will be aired on BBC Somali Service until January 2010. The campaign will warn Somalis of the dangers of traveling through Somalia towards the Gulf of Aden and across the Gulf of Aden.
“The campaign in Somali … will target both migrants as well as host communities in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Yemen.”
“Funded by IOM and its partners, the campaign will comprise various components, including migrant testimonies, discussions and drama. The radio campaign is part of a broader Somali lifeline programme funded by various UN agencies including UNICEF, UNFPA and the UN’s Office at Nairobi (UNON).”
Click here for IOM Press Release.
Filed under Gulf of Aden, News, UNHCR
MIGRANTS AT SEA 