Category Archives: States

by | 25 Feb 2011 · 05:52

AlertNet: Poor migrant workers feared unable to flee Libya violence

From AlertNet: “Tens of thousands of impoverished migrant workers from sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia may be trapped by the escalating violence in Libyan cities, unable to leave the country because they cannot pay for transport to border areas, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Thursday. … ‘We are very concerned for all those migrants who may wish to leave, but cannot,’ Laurence Hart, IOM’s chief of mission for Libya, said in a statement. …  IOM spokesman Jean Philippe Chauzy told AlertNet around half a dozen states … to evacuate their nationals from Libya. The agency says it currently does not have the funds to launch such an operation, and will make an appeal for additional contributions on Friday. …  On Wednesday, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said it had received ‘alarming reports’ Libyans were turning on refugees from other African countries, suspecting them of being mercenaries fighting for Gaddafi’s administration. ‘African refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea have told us that just being a black face in Libya is very dangerous at the moment,’ spokeswoman Sybella Wilkes told Reuters….”

Click here for full article.

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by | 25 Feb 2011 · 05:38

94% Approval Rate for Refugee Status Claims Made by People Arriving by Boat in Australia

According to an article in The Australian, “the Immigration Department approved 94 per cent of all refugee status claims from people arriving illegally by boat, after initial assessments and independent merits reviews, between October 2008 and December 22 last year.  In stark contrast, the department approved only 39 per cent of protection visa requests for non-boat arrivals in the first half of this financial year…”  “South Australian independent MP Bob Such, who lodged the [Freedom of Information] request [which resulted in the release of the data], said the high number of successful refugee claims by people arriving by boat showed the federal government’s detention policies were ‘flawed’. ‘Not only is the current policy costly and harmful to their mental state, it’s costly to Australia,’ Dr Such said. ‘They’re spending hundreds of millions . . . on detaining people who are no threat at all.’…”

Click here for full article.

(As reported in the Human Rights Law Resource Centre (Australia) Human Rights News Stories for the week ending 25 February 2011.)

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by | 25 Feb 2011 · 00:59

ASIL Insight article about M.S.S. v. Belgium & Greece

ASIL has just published an Insight article about M.S.S. v. Belgium & Greece written by Tom Syring, Co-chair of the ASIL International Refugee Law Interest Group, who currently serves at the Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board.

Excerpt from the conclusion:  “Apart from criticizing Greece for the current conditions of detention and subsistence awaiting asylum seekers, and Belgium for ‘intentional blindness’ for failing to properly scrutinize the adequacy of protection against refoulement in Greece, despite the fact that circumstances had called for application of the sovereignty clause, the Grand Chamber’s judgment exposes flaws in the current European asylum regime.

The judgment acknowledges … challenges [posed by CEAS and the Dublin regulation], yet underlines that neither uneven burden-distribution (Greece) nor a state’s minimalist reading of the Dublin Regulation (Belgium) absolves Member States of their responsibilities vis-à-vis the Convention or other applicable international treaties, including the 1951 Refugee Convention. As long as the EU and CEAS are comprised of individual Member States, as opposed to a ‘United States of Europe,’ individual states will be held responsible for independently assessing each case for the risk of direct or indirect refoulement.   While the Grand Chamber judgment uncovered a number of deficiencies in the current European asylum system, solutions to CEAS may have to be found outside the ‘Dublin world.’”

Click here for full article.

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by | 24 Feb 2011 · 20:48

JHA Council: Commission is Studying Different Funding Possibilities to Assist with Impact of Migratory Flows from North Africa

A Justice and Home Affairs press release summarizing today’s JHA Council meeting includes the following brief summary regarding the topic of migratory flows from North Africa:

“Over lunch, ministers discussed the situation in Northern Africa, and particularly the situation in Libya and the influx of migrants, above all from Tunisia to Italy. Since the beginning of the year, some 6000 immigrants have arrived mainly to the Italian island of Lampedusa. Following a formal request for help from the Italian Ministry of Interior, received on February 15, Frontex and Italy have started a Joint Operation in the central Mediterranean area on Sunday 20 February. Joint Operation Hermes 2011, originally planned to commence in June, was thus brought forward. Assets and experts for this operation were made available from a large number of EU member states. More information.  In addition to that, the Commission is studying different funding possibilities through various EU instruments, such as the European Refugee Fund, the European Return Fund and the European Border Fund.”

It is unclear whether the JHA Council will address this topic further tomorrow when the Council meeting resumes.

Click here for full JHA press release.

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by | 24 Feb 2011 · 16:48

ALDE: EU must be fully prepared for dealing with migrants fleeing persecution in Libya

ALDE issued a press release earlier today.  Excerpts:  “[T]he European Union must seek urgently prevent a humanitarian disaster but also prepare a contingency plan for the possible mass flux of refugees fleeing the country and seeking temporary sanctuary across the Mediterranean. Renate Weber MEP (PNL, Romania), Liberal Group spokesperson on the Justice and Home Affairs committee commented: ‘[***] It is appalling that while thousands of people are being killed, the EU is failing to show the unity and determination to force Gaddafi out due to some EU governments’ reluctance to jeopardise lucrative business deals with Libya and fears of massive migrant flows. If we are faced with a large scale influx of Libyans seeking humanitarian protection then the EU and its Member States will have to apply EU values and laws in force governing such circumstances, including international conventions, related to the protection of the life and the rights of refugees.  Art. 78.3 of the Treaty, specifically provides for the granting of temporary protection and provisional measures in case of the sudden influx of migrants. Anything else would be a dereliction of our international duty.’”

Click here for full statement.

 

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by | 24 Feb 2011 · 07:17

Italy, France, Spain, Malta, Cyprus Call for Redistribution of Asylum Seekers

The Ministers of the Interior of Italy, France, Spain, Malta and Cyprus met in Rome on Wednesday in advance of today’s JHA Council meeting and agreed to ask the EU for assistance in regard to the expected flow of migrants from North Africa.  The Ministers will call for the creation of a special EU fund to provide financial support to the frontline states directly affected by significant numbers of migrants and for the redistribution or relocation of asylum seekers among all EU member states so that the states of first arrival do not experience an unfair burden.  Michele Cercone, spokesperson for Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, noted that current European standards do not provide a mechanism for the redistribution between member states of migrants seeking asylum, other than on a voluntary basis.

Click here (IT) for article.

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by | 24 Feb 2011 · 07:12

Barroso Criticises Italy’s Use of Migration Issue to Not Support Democracy in North Africa

From the EU Observer:  “Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi is friends with Gaddafi…  Italy also has major oil, gas and arms interests in Libya and it fears a ‘biblical exodus’ of hundreds of thousands of irregular migrants and refugees if Gaddafi snaps.  The head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, on Wednesday made an implicit criticism of Italian policy. ‘This question of migration, or of illegal migration, or even of refugees, is sometimes used as a way of not supporting democracy and I do not agree with that,’ [Barroso] said after meeting a top UN human rights official in the EU capital.”

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

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by | 24 Feb 2011 · 07:05

UNHCR: Imperative that Tunisia and Egypt Continue to Maintain Open Borders With Libya

The UNHCR “welcomed the positive indications it has received over the past two days from Tunisia and Egypt that they will maintain open borders for people fleeing the continuing violence in Libya.”

Click here for full statement.

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by | 24 Feb 2011 · 05:55

JHA Council Meets 24-25 Feb – Meeting Topics Include North African Migrants, EASO, Greek Asylum Reform, EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement, and Frontex 2011 Work Programme

The two day JHA Council meeting begins today in Brussels.  According to the Background Note, “ministers will discuss the major influx of migrants from Northern Africa, particularly from Tunisia, to Southern EU member states, especially Italy. They will also look at the state of play on three other important internal border and migration issues:  the implementation of Greece’s National Action Plan on Migration Management and Asylum Reform; [and] the EU-Turkey readmission agreement. In this context, the Communication will present an evaluation and future strategy for EU readmission agreements;…  Ministers will then have exchange of views with the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as well as with the Executive Director of the recently established European Asylum Support Office (EASO).”  Additionally, “FRONTEX will present to the committee its work programme for 2011.”

Click here for Background Note and here for Agenda.

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by | 23 Feb 2011 · 05:30

Italy Warns that 300,000 Migrants May Seek to Flee Libya; Tunisians Continue to Reach Lampedusa in Moderate Numbers

After a meeting yesterday of the Prime Minister and the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence,  Economy, Labour, Justice, and Interior, the government formed a standing committee to follow the crisis in Libya (“un comitato permanente sulla crisi libica”).  The committee will monitor the flow of migrants to Italy.  According to reports in the Italian press, the Italian Government believes that between 200,000-300,000 migrants may seek to reach Italy if conditions in Libya continue to worsen.  Three Italian naval ships, the San Marco, San Giorgio and Mimbelli, have been moved close to Libya in order to be ready to assist with the evacuation of Italian citizens should it become necessary.  Tunisian migrants continue to arrive in Lampedusa.  Over the past day approximately 200 arrived.

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

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by | 23 Feb 2011 · 04:59

US Govt Chartered Ferry to Attempt Evacuation of US Citizens from Tripoli Wednesday Morning, 23 Feb.

The US State Department issued a statement that a US government charted ferry will attempt to dock at the “As-shahab Port in central Tripoli, located on the sea road across from the Radisson Blu Mahari Hotel, [and depart] for Valletta, Malta on Wednesday, February 23. Processing of passengers will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. local time.  U.S. citizen travelers wishing to depart should proceed as soon as possible after 9:00 a.m. to the pier and arrive no later than 10:00 a.m.”

Click here for full US Embassy Tripoli Warden Message.

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by | 23 Feb 2011 · 03:45

Jusqu’à quand la politique migratoire de l’UE, va-t-elle s’appuyer sur les dictatures du sud de la Méditerranée?

Migreurop: “Depuis le début des années 2000, l’Union européenne et ses États membres se sont appuyés sur les régimes du sud de la Méditerranée pour externaliser leur politique d’asile et d’immigration. Face aux révoltes populaires en Afrique du Nord et au Moyen-Orient, leurs réactions montrent que la « défense de la démocratie » et la « non ingérence » ne sont que rhétoriques quand il s’agit de réaffirmer les impératifs d’une fermeture des frontières attentatoire aux droits fondamentaux….”

Cliquez ici (FR) ou ici (ES) pour la déclaration complète.

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by | 22 Feb 2011 · 19:45

Catherine Ashton Announces Suspension of Negotiations on EU-Libya Framework Agreement

A statement released today by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton at the conclusion of her meetings in Egypt includes the following:

“Regarding specific action on Libya, we are looking forward to the meeting of UN Security Council. It will address the situation in Libya later today and will discuss all options, including restrictive measures. For my part, I have called a meeting of EU Ambassadors to look at what the European Union can do to support the UN and what measures it can take. As the situation stands, we have suspended negotiations on EU-Libya Framework Agreement. We are coordinating closely with Member States in Brussels, in New York and in Geneva at the UN Human Rights Council, where I will be myself on Monday.”

Click here for full statement.

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by | 22 Feb 2011 · 19:28

32% of Libya’s 2009 Oil Exports Went to Italy

From the US Energy Information Administration:

2009 Libyan Oil Exports:  “With domestic consumption of 280,000 bbl/d in 2009, Libya had estimated net exports (including all liquids) of 1.5 million bbl/d. According to 2009 official trade data as reported to the Global Trade Atlas, the vast majority of Libyan oil exports are sold to European countries like Italy (425,000 bbl/d), Germany (178,000 bbl/d), France (133,000 bbl/d), and Spain (115,000). With the lifting of sanctions against Libya in 2004, the United States has increased its imports of Libyan oil. According to EIA estimates, the United States imported an average of 80,000 bbl/d from Libya in 2009, up from 56,000 bbl/d in 2005 but, as a result of the U.S. economic downturn and subsequent decline in oil demand, 2009 levels were below 2007 highs of 117,000 bbl/d.”

Click here for link.

(HT to tweet by @johnwilcockson)

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by | 22 Feb 2011 · 16:05

Times of Malta: Frontex Preparing for “Unprecedented” Migrant Flow from Libya

The Times of Malta reports today that Frontex “has been given instructions to start preparing for a possible unprecedented influx of immigrants and asylum seekers fleeing Libya towards the EU, particularly through Malta and Lampedusa.” “‘The fact that the Libyan regime does not seem to be in control of the huge expanse of the 2,000-km long Libyan coastline might already pose a big danger of a flood of asylum seekers crossing by rogue boats towards Malta, Lampedusa and Sicily,’ the sources said.”  According to the article the planned response to a massive flow would involve all 27 member states.  EU spokesman for Home Affairs Michele Cercone confirmed that Frontex was engaged in planning for a migrant flow from Libya, but said he would not “speculate on details and suppositions.”  The article also states that “six EU Mediterranean member states [Malta, France, Cyprus, Spain, Greece, and Italy] will meet in Rome tomorrow in an urgent minisummit to devise a common stance on the immigration crisis facing the southern Mediterranean region, a day before official talks of EU justice ministers in Brussels.”

Click here article.

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