Category Archives: Tunisia

by | 22 Feb 2011 · 05:14

CIR a Maroni: Rivedere l’utilizzo del Villaggio degli Aranci – Mineo

From CIR’s web site:

“Il Consiglio Italiano per i Rifugiati in una lettera inviata oggi all’attenzione del Ministro dell’Interno Roberto Maroni ha espresso la sua preoccupazione rispetto al piano annunciato dal governo di trasferire al Villaggio degli Aranci di Mineo migliaia di richiedenti asilo ospitati attualmente in diversi centri di accoglienza in Sicilia, Calabria, Puglia e Friuli Venezia Giulia.

‘Il concentramento di rifugiati o richiedenti asilo in una così grande struttura inficerebbe il sistema di accoglienza che l’Italia ha costruito negli ultimi dieci anni. Rappresenterebbe il contrario dell’attuale sistema SPRAR che garantisce il pieno rispetto dei diritti delle persone e fornisce loro i servizi previsti dalla normativa comunitaria e italiana’ – sottolineano nella lettera Savino Pezzotta e Christopher Hein, rispettivamente presidente e direttore del CIR.  ‘L’ottima esperienza del Sistema di Protezione per i Rifugiati e i Richiedenti Asilo – SPRAR, coordinato dall’ANCI in accordo con il Ministero dell’Interno prevede, infatti, decentramento, ospitalità in piccoli centri, coinvolgimento degli enti locali e delle associazioni, approccio che è considerato un modello per altri paesi europei. Non ravvisiamo alcuna necessità di smantellare – anzi, ciò risulterebbe un’azione controproducente – l’attuale sistema di accoglienza e le procedure per il riconoscimento della Protezione Internazionale’.

Il Consiglio Italiano per i Rifugiati ha voluto ricordare che già una volta, nella primavera del 1999, 5.000 sfollati kosovari furono ospitati nella ex base NATO di Comiso in Sicilia e inevitabilmente in poco tempo la situazione degenerò e divenne totalmente ingovernabile.

Il CIR  ha perciò chiesto al Ministro Maroni un ripensamento sull’utilizzo del Villaggio degli Aranci di Mineo. Il Villaggio di Mineo potrebbe effettivamente servire  come centro di smistamento e prima identificazione delle persone solo per un limitatissimo periodo di accoglienza in caso di arrivi massicci dal nord-Africa, caso che non è affatto da escludersi considerando anche l’attuale situazione in Libia.”

Click here (IT) for link to post on CIR web site.

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by | 22 Feb 2011 · 04:52

Frontex JO Hermes Update

Here is the latest update from the Frontex web site:

“… Joint Operation Hermes 2011, originally planned to commence in June, was brought forward and started on February 20 with a provisional end-date of March 31 as an initial phase with a possible extension if needed. The Operational Plan was prepared on the basis of a Tailored Risk Analysis, created by Frontex at Italy’s request…. As with all Frontex-coordinated Joint Operations, the host Member State (Italy) will play the leading role. All maritime assets and crews will be provided by the Italian authorities and will patrol a predefined area with a view to detecting and preventing illegitimate border crossings to the Pelagic Islands, Sicily and the Italian mainland. Aerial assets made available by other Member States for enhanced border surveillance and search and rescue capability will support these sea patrols. Meanwhile, second-line border control will be supported through the deployment of debriefing and screening experts to identify migrants’ nationalities and to gather intelligence on people-smuggling networks. Further support may also be made available in the area of return operations.

Assets and experts made available by the Member States for Hermes 2011 joint operation:

  • Naval means: Italy
  • Aerial means: Italy, France, the Netherlands, Malta, Spain
  • Experts: Italy, Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Malta, Portugal, and Spain …

The Europol Mobile Office is deployed on the spot in Lampedusa. Europol experts will also provide operational analytical support throughout the operation.”

Click here for full statement.

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by | 22 Feb 2011 · 04:28

Interview with Frontex Director Regarding the 5000 Tunisians in Italy

Frontex Director Ilkka Laitinen was interviewed by Spiegel Online.  He expressed the view that Frontex’s main task in regard to the 5000 or so Tunisian migrants who have reached Italy over the past several weeks will be facilitating the return of most of them to Tunisia.  According to Laitinen, only a “very few” of the Tunisians have sought asylum protection.  He also said that Frontex “experts [had] come to the conclusion that the flight of the 5,000 had been planned for a long time. ‘Twenty human traffickers have already been arrested[.] They had just been waiting for the right opportunity.’”

While the view that most of the Tunisians who have arrived to date in Italy will not qualify for asylum or subsidiary protection is shared by many others, if and when people begin fleeing directly from Libya, whether they be Libyan or non-Libyan, there will almost certainly be a much larger number of qualified asylum seekers in any new migrants flows, especially if the Gaddafi regime remains in power.

Click here for article.

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by | 21 Feb 2011 · 06:58

Limited Migrant Landings Resume on Lampedusa

Several boats carrying over one hundred persons have arrived in Lampedusa over the past 24+ hours.  The new arrivals are likely due to better sea and weather conditions.  Tunisian authorities arrested 40 would-be migrants as they attempted to leave Tunisia by sea on Saturday night.

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

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by | 21 Feb 2011 · 06:54

Malta Delays Decision to Participate in Operation Hermes

The Times of Malta reported on Sunday that the Armed Forces of Malta have not agreed to contribute assets or personnel to Frontex’s Operation Hermes.   AFM is still evaluating a request by Frontex to participate.

Click here for article.

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by | 20 Feb 2011 · 18:39

Statement by Commissioner Malmström Regarding Today’s Launch of Operation Hermes

A short statement by the Commissioner regarding Operation Hermes was posted on the EU External Affairs web page today:  “…The mission is part of a broader framework of measures by the European Commission to manage these exceptional migratory flows. Other actions include cooperation with Tunisian authorities, identification of financial emergency envelopes and assistance by the European Police Office (Europol). … As part of the Hermes mission, experts from participating Member States will be deployed along with aerial and naval support to assist the Italian authorities. Human and technical resources could be increased according to future needs.  On the basis of the Operational Plan that was agreed with the Italian authorities, Frontex experts will assist in debriefing and interviewing migrants. Special attention is given to identifying those who may be in need of international protection. Frontex will also give aerial and naval support for border surveillance….”

Click here for full statement.

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by | 19 Feb 2011 · 19:07

Frontex Press Release: Hermes 2011 Starts Tomorrow in Lampedusa

Frontex news release:  “Hermes 2011 Starts Tomorrow in Lampedusa, 19-02-2011

Joint Operation (JO) Hermes 2011 is due to start tomorrow with the deployment of additional aerial and maritime assets from Italy and Malta.  In the following days the second line activities will be activated with the deployment of debriefing/screening experts. Their task will be to gather information necessary needed for analysis, to make assumptions concerning migrants’ nationalities, and to enable early detection and prevention of possible criminal activities at the EU external borders.  Next important element of this operation will be to provide assistance at the following stage focusing on organising return operations to the countries of origin.  Frontex risk analysis experts will be supporting Italian authorities producing targeted risk analysis identifying vulnerabilities and security risks that might occur at the EU southern external border.

Background – Frontex received a formal request for assistance on February 15th from the Italian Ministry of Interior regarding the extraordinary migratory situation in the Pelagic Islands. The Italian Government requested assistance in strengthening the surveillance of the EU’s external borders in the form of a Joint Operation. Additionally, Italy requested a targeted risk analysis on the possible future scenarios of the increased migratory pressure in the region in the light of recent political developments in North Africa and the possibility of the opening up of a further migratory front in the Central Mediterranean area.

According to the Italian Ministry of Interior, approximately 6,000 irregular migrants, mostly of the Tunisian origin, have arrived on the Italian coast in the last month, of whom 3,000 have arrived since February 11th. Before February 11th, only 14 Tunisian nationals had arrived on the Italian coast in 2011.”

Click here for link.

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by | 19 Feb 2011 · 18:40

Frontex Operation Hermes to Begin on Sunday, 20 Feb.–Push-Back Practice Prohibited

Commissioner Cecilia Malmström announced today that the new Frontex mission, Operation Hermes, will begin operations tomorrow, 20 February.  According to AFP, the initial deployment will consist of about 30 personnel, aircraft, and several ships.  A dozen member states have expressed willingness to send assests to the new joint operation.

In an interview published earlier today, before the announcement of Operation Hermes, Commissioner Malmström clearly stated that the Frontex mission will be governed by European legislation and that the interdiction and push-back of migrants encountered at sea is not permitted.  In the earlier interview the Commissioner said that the mission will provide surveillance by air in support of the Italian authorities which will detect any new influx of migrants as soon as it occurs and sound the alarm for naval surveillance which will in turn lead migrant boats to “safe ports.”  (“Di sorveglianza dal cielo in supporto alle autorità italiane. Potranno individuare ogni nuovo flusso di migranti non appena si manifesti. E lanciare l’allarme ai mezzi di sorveglianza navale, facendo condurre i barconi verso porti sicuri.”)  When asked whether push-backs of migrant boats would occur, the Commissioner said that the push-back practice was prohibited by European norms. (“I respingimenti sono espressamente proibiti dalle norme europee.”)

Click here and here for articles.  (IT)

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by | 19 Feb 2011 · 06:46

Frontex’s Role to be One of Coordination

Consistent with its mandate and standard practice, Frontex’s role in the new Central Mediterranean joint operation will be one of coordination.  According to DI-VE, “[i]n the current situation, [Frontex] foresees its main role as coordinating border guards from among the member states, particularly with regard to second-line experts in the screening and debriefing of irregular migrants as well as in coordinating an appropriate operational response to the humanitarian needs in the area. In addition, the agency is investigating the most optimal means by which to adapt a range of technical assets engaged in sea border operations in the Mediterranean to the needs of the Italian authorities.”

Click here for article.

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by | 19 Feb 2011 · 06:25

Frontex Central Mediterranean Operation Likely to Begin Within Days; Dutch to Send Coast Guard Plane to Lampedusa; France and Spain Likely to Deploy Planes or Ships

The Dutch government has decided to deploy a Coast Guard surveillance plane to Italy to participate in the new Frontex joint operation.  The Dutch decision was announced by Immigration and Asylum Minister Gerd Leers on Friday.  The plane and two Dutch border guards are scheduled to be deployed for at least six weeks beginning 21 February.

The Financial Times reports today that the Frontex joint operation may be operational early next week and that details are being finalised at a meeting that is taking place today in Rome between European Commission and Italian officials.  According to the FT article, one topic under discussion is the situation in Libya and the possibility for a larger wave of migrants should the situation in Libya become more unstable or should Gaddafi’s government collapse.

Click here (EN) (FT registration may be required), here (NL), here (NL), and here (EN) for articles.

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by | 18 Feb 2011 · 15:42

ECRE Interview with Christopher Hein, CIR Director (Italian Refugee Council) Regarding Situation in Lampedusa

ECRE conducted an interview with Christopher Hein, Director of the Italian Refugee Council.  Here are some of the points he made regarding the migrant arrivals in Lampedusa and neighbouring islands:

  • The expeditious deportation of the group of Egyptians who arrived on Sicily earlier this week shows that the readmission agreement with Egypt continues to function whereas the agreement with Tunisia is not functioning at present;
  • CIR is concerned that if Frontex becomes involved with the current situation, Tunisian migrants may be returned indiscriminately;
  • EASO is not capable of assisting at present because it has no staff;
  • The migrants who have arrived need to be processed-  those seeking asylum should be subjected to asylum procedures, those seeking humanitarian protection should be subjected to the humanitarian procedures; and others, where appropriate, should be offered voluntary repatriation;
  • If much larger numbers of migrants were to continue to arrive, obligations under the EU Temporary Protection Direction might be triggered (COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof).

Click here for full ECRE interview

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by | 18 Feb 2011 · 04:13

Tunisia coastguard steps up patrols – Al Jazeera

Here is a short Al Jazeera video story about current Tunisian coast guard patrols.

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by | 17 Feb 2011 · 15:13

Frontex data showing migrant arrivals in Southern Italy as of 13 Feb

Frontex posted data on its web site summarizing migrant detections in southern Italy as of 13 February.  According to media reports, with the exception of a small number of Egyptians who landed in Sicily on Tuesday (it is unclear whether they sailed directly from Egypt), no North African migrants have landed in Italy since 14 February.

From Frontex:  “Warsaw, February 15—According to official data provided by Italian authorities, between January 1 and February 13, 2011, a total of 5526 migrants were recorded landing in the Pelagic Island, in a total of 116 incidents.  This compares to 7,200 for the whole of 2008, the peak year for arrivals of irregular migrants in these islands to date, when Tunisians were the most commonly represented nationality, accounting for 23% of arrivals. Of the official 2011 figures, by far the biggest influx was noted in Lampedusa, where 5031 migrants were recorded between January 1 and February 13, in 80 arrivals….  The table below gives a summary of detections in 2011 until February 13. ”

  Incidents Migrants

Landed

 Male Female Minors Accom-panied minors Unacc-ompanied minors
Lampedusa and Linosa 80 5031 4944 18 69 0 69
Agrigento coast 3 20 20 0 0 0 0
Other places in Sicily 21 211 210 0 1 0 1
Apulia 3 57 43 2 12 6 6
Calabria 8 192 152 14 26 12 14
Sardinia 1 15 15 0 0 0 0
Total 116 5526 5384 34 108 18 90

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by | 17 Feb 2011 · 07:46

Frontex Begins Consultations for Emergency Joint Operation –2010 Frontex Sea Border Rule Should Govern Joint Operation

The European Voice reports that Frontex began consultations yesterday with member states to identify what equipment and personnel they will commit to a planned joint operation with Italy to deter migrants seeking to leave North Africa. “Naval vessels, surveillance aircraft and enhanced radar tracking are likely to be deployed….”

Assuming an emergency joint operation is deployed in the coming days, it may to some extent simply be a revival of Frontex’s Joint Operation Nautilus (slated to be renamed Operation Chronos).  Less than two weeks ago, on 4 February Malta for the second year running announced that it would not host or participate in Operation Nautilus this year due to the success of Italy’s push-back agreement with Libya which eliminated the movement of migrants in the Central Mediterranean.

Malta, however, also likely refused to host the Frontex mission due to the 2010 guidelines governing Frontex enforcement operations at sea which require that intercepted migrants be taken to the country hosting the Frontex mission under certain circumstances.  The validity of the Frontex sea border rule is currently under review by the European Court of Justice.  The legal challenge to the rule was brought by the European Parliament.  Maltese MEP Simon Busuttil initiated the challenge within the LIBE Committee.  It will be interesting to see what role Malta will be willing to play in any new emergency joint operation.  Even though the Frontex sea border rule is under review by the ECJ, the referral clearly requested the ECJ “to preserve the effects of the measure until a new legislative act has been adopted.”  The rule therefore remains in effect.

Click here for EV article.

Click here for the Council decision on the surveillance of  sea external borders (the Sea Border Rule).

Click here, here, here, here, and here for previous posts on the sea border rule and the ECJ challenge.

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by | 17 Feb 2011 · 06:26

Tunisian Arrivals on Lampedusa Stop – 40 Egyptians Reach Sicily

Wednesday marked the third day without any migrants reaching Lampedusa.  The Italian Coast Guard was searching for a 45 meter boat that may have left Tunisia with migrants and which was reported missing.  Sea conditions continue to be rough and Italian authorities predict the migrant flow will resume once sea conditions improve.  Plans to move migrants from Lampedusa to other locations within Italy to reduce overcrowding on the island have been delayed because the new reception centres are not yet prepared to receive the migrants.

40 Egyptian migrants reached Marina di Ragusa on the southern coast of Sicily on Tuesday.  Interior Minister Maroni announced that the migrants were returned to Egypt on Wednesday by a charter flight after the new Egyptian government agreed to their return.  He praised the new military government for honouring the agreements that Italy had with the Mubarak government.  (“Significa che il nuovo Governo egiziano dei militari rispetta gli accordi che noi avevamo sottoscritto con il Governo Mubarak e che consentono un rapido rimpatrio degli egiziani arrivati sulle nostre coste”.)

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

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