Italy returned a group of 30 Tunisian migrants to Tunisia on Thursday evening. They were returned to Tunisia under the terms of the new Italy-Tunisia migration agreement. The migrants were flown from Lampedusa to Italy.
Click here and here for articles. (IT)
Filed under Italy, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
There are reports that a boat carrying approximately 200 migrants believed to be Tunisians capsized during a rescue operation this morning. The incident occurred 39 miles southwest of Lampedusa. As of early this morning approximately 45 people have been rescued and 150 are missing. Italian Coast Guard boats are searching for survivors.
Click here and here for articles. (IT)
Filed under Italy, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
Italy and Tunisia reached a new migration agreement on Tuesday. It was signed in Tunis by Interior Minister Roberto Maroni and Tunisian Minister Habib Essid. Italy reportedly pressed Tunisia to quickly accept the repatriation of the 20,000 Tunisians who have arrived in Italy. Tunisia refused to agree to the mass return of its nationals.
The compromise that was apparently reached will allow the 20,000 Tunisians who have already arrived in Italy to remain for at least six months with temporary residency permits and Tunisia in turn has apparently agreed to accelerated and simplified return procedures for newly arriving Tunisians that will not require fingerprinting or documentation. Italy reportedly believes that the accelerated repatriation procedures, once implemented, will act as a deterrent to those Tunisians who may attempt to leave Tunisia after the agreement enters into force.
The accelerated return procedures are troubling in multiple respects. While the overwhelming majority of persons who have reached Italy over the past two months are Tunisian nationals, over the past week or two for the first time there have been hundreds of non-Tunisians arriving in Italy and Malta. Many are from Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia and clearly have strong claims to international protection. An accelerated return procedure will mean that persons with claims to asylum or who are in need of other forms of protection may not be properly identified.
Where will the accelerated return procedures be carried out? Will migrants be rescued, brought to land, processed under the accelerated procedures, and then repatriated? Or will Italy attempt to revive its push-back practice and attempt to turn boats around at sea?
The text of the agreement has apparently not been yet made public (at least I cannot find it), but various media reports suggest that its provisions include the following:
The announcement of this bi-lateral agreement comes one day after Frontex released its recently approved Fundamental Rights Strategy. Click here for yesterday’s post about this strategy. Note the following provisions within the strategy:
“14. [***] One particular objective in [Joint Operations] is ensuring that the right to international protection must not be hampered by the law enforcement action and that persons seeking protection are referred to the competent national authorities to assess their case.
15. [***] Corrective measures should be taken in case of breach or serious risk of breach of fundamental rights. As last resort, Frontex might terminate a JO if the conditions guaranteeing the respect for fundamental rights are no longer met. [***]”
It remains to be seen what Italy will do in regard to accelerated direct repatriations to Tunisia, but there is definitely the concern that the right to international protection may be hampered by Italy’s actions. Frontex’s Joint Operation Hermes Extension is currently hosted by Italy. Frontex may be obligated to act pursuant to its Fundamental Rights Strategy depending on what new practices are implemented by Italy.
Click here (IT), here (IT), here (IT), here (FR), here (FR), and here (EN) for articles.
Filed under European Union, Frontex, Italy, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
There have been reports in recent days from the UNHCR and others about at least two boats that are believed to have left Libya over the past 10-14 days carrying persons from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and possible other countries. Family members and friends of people who are believed to be on the boats have been calling for assistance in searching for the boats. Reuters reported that “[o]ne of the boats was reported to have left Libya on March 22 with 335 people on board. Italian media said 68 people on the other boat had almost certainly died during the journey, although there was no official confirmation. The top Vatican official in Tripoli, Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, said 10 bodies of African migrants were at the capital’s morgue on [4 April]. … He said there were reports of ‘many more bodies’ of migrants washed up on the shores of Garaboulli, some 40 km from Tripoli.” Father Mussie Zerai, who is based in Rome, “said he had last spoken to migrants on board the smaller boat, an inflatable, by satellite phone on 26 March before the line went dead. ‘I have meanwhile had no contact with the larger boat, but family members of those on board have called us from Canada, Sweden and Switzerland to tell us they left.’”
Click here and here for articles. (EN)
There have been confirmed deaths among migrants who have left Tunisia in recent weeks. At least 27 bodies had been recovered as of last week in Kerkennah. The dead were probably on board boats that sank on the 13th and 27th of March off the Tunisian coast.
Click here for article.
UPDATE: If you have information about a family member or friend who may be on a boat or if you are seeking information, please consider contacting the Agenzia Habeshia per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo in Italy at this email address: agenzia_habeshia@yahoo.it .
Filed under European Union, Frontex, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia, UNHCR
Responding to statements made by Italian Ministers Maroni and Frattini that Tunisia was not complying with recent migration agreements reached during their 25 March visit to Tunis, a Tunisian Foreign Ministry source said on Saturday that no such agreement was finalised or signed.
A statement summarising the 25 March meeting between Italy and Tunisia, previously posted on the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs web site, said in relevant part that “bilateral and regional cooperation has also been discussed during this meeting, particularly regarding the management of migration flows and within the framework of a comprehensive and integrated approach. As such, both sides agreed to conclude in the near future an agreement on joint management of migration and development in solidarity like agreements signed with other partner countries.” (“La coopération bilatérale et régionale a été, également, évoquée au cours de cette réunion, notamment, en ce qui concerne la gestion des flux migratoires et ce dans le cadre d’une approche globale et intégrée. A ce titre, les deux parties ont convenu de conclure dans un proche avenir un accord relatif à la gestion concertée de la migration et au développement solidaire à l’instar des accords signés avec d’autres pays partenaires.”
Click here (EN), here (FR), and here (IT) for articles.
Click here (FR) for Tunisian FM statement re 25 March meeting.
Filed under Italy, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
Since the collapse of Tunisian president Ben Ali’s rule on 14 January 2011, tens of thousands of people have been on the move as a result of the events in Tunisia and the ensuing events elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa. Many of those taking advantage of this transitional period are Tunisians who are leaving their country to seek better opportunity in Europe. Most however, are people who have fled from Libya to neighbouring countries due to fighting and threats to their safety.
So far Italy has received about 20,000 migrants and a smaller number of asylum seekers. The 20,000 migrants are almost all Tunisian nationals. At the same time, Tunisia has received over 150,000 asylum seekers and others who have fled from Libya.
Based on the raw numbers alone – 20,000 vs. 150,000 – Tunisia has received 7.5 times as many people as Italy over the past 2 ½ months. When you compare these numbers in light of the respective population of the two countries, the burden imposed on Tunisia is even more striking. Italy has a current population of approximately 61.0 million people. Tunisia’s current population is approximately 10.6 million. Assuming my calculations are correct, Italy has received approximately 3.3 persons per 10,000 of its population and Tunisia has received approximately 141.5 persons per 10,000 of its population. Tunisia has therefore received almost 43 times as many people per capita relative to Italy. There is no comparison between the humanitarian crises faced by the two countries. Tunisia is facing by far the greater burden.
Agence Tunis Afrique Press on Saturday attributed the statement below to an authorised source within the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The statement notes the burden faced by Tunisia and asks Italy to show understanding and solidarity within the context of the ongoing migration talks between Tunisia and Italy. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi travels to Tunis today (Monday) for continuing migration talks with Tunisia.
Statement attributed to Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “While reaffirming the strong historical ties that bind [Tunisia] to the friendly country [of Italy], especially since the signing of the agreement of friendship and good neighborliness in 2003, Tunisia calls on the government and the people of Italy to show proof of their solidarity with the Tunisian people in this important transitional stage that this country is now experiencing, after the glorious revolution, and especially in light of the challenges posed by the current situation on the Tunisian-Libyan border, with the arrival of more than 150,000 displaced persons who have been welcomed by the Tunisian people in a unique showing of solidarity, despite the difficult conditions faced by Tunisia, as witnessed by several countries and international and humanitarian organizations.”
(“Tout en réaffirmant la solidité des liens historiques qui l’unissent à ce pays ami, notamment, depuis la signature de la convention d’amitié et de bon voisinage en 2003, la Tunisie elle appelle le gouvernement et le peuple italiens à faire preuve de solidarité avec le peuple tunisien en cette étape transitoire importante que vit le pays, après sa glorieuse révolution et, tout particulièrement, dans le contexte des défis que pose la situation actuelle sur les frontières tuniso-libyennes, avec l’arrivée de plus de 150.000 déplacés, qui ont été accueillis par le peuple tunisien dans un élan de solidarité sans pareil, en dépit des conditions difficiles auxquelles la Tunisie est confrontée, comme en témoignent plusieurs pays et organisations internationales et humanitaires.”)
Click here (FR) for TAP article.
Filed under Analysis, Data / Stats, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, Tunisia
Growing numbers of Tunisians are arriving in the Italian border town of Ventimiglia (Vintimille), on the border with France, and are attempting to enter France. 3500 Tunisians have reportedly arrived in recent weeks. Most of the newly arriving Tunisians appear to have passed through Lampedusa in recent weeks and were then relocated elsewhere in Italy to relieve the overcrowding on the island. Many of the Tunisians arriving in Lampedusa have been very clear about their desire to continue on to France due to family or linguistic ties.
France has reinstituted some border controls in the area in an effort to block the entry of the Tunisians. Additional controls are being instituted within French territory in Menton and Nice. La Stampa reports that “[p]eople smugglers, who had largely disappeared when border checkpoints [in the Schengen area] were closed down, are now increasingly common. [Smugglers] seek out the migrants at the station [in Ventimiglia] and offer to take them to France…” Le Point suggests that “by discretely allowing illegal immigrants to arrive in Ventimiglia, Italy is hoping that Europe will wake up and share the burden. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Wednesday criticised France for returning Tunisians to Italy after crossing the border, accusing France of a lack of solidarity.
Click here (EN), here (FR), and here (FR) for articles.
Filed under European Union, France, Italy, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has again criticised what he describes as the EU’s and European Commission’s failure to assist Italy with the migrant situation in Lampedusa. Minister Frattini singled out Commissioner Malmström for his criticism. A statement on the Italian Foreign Ministry web site says that “Italy continues to solicit Europe’s help in confronting the immigration emergency, not only in terms of economic aid but also in terms of a plan for the distribution of the refugees among Member States. ‘Europe has been totally inert in this period’, Minister Frattini asserted and, commenting on EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström[‘s] observation that Italy had already received European funding for managing the influx, specified: ‘This is the typical expression of a European bureaucracy that thinks money alone solves everything’, but it is not enough, ‘there need to be policy interventions’. …[I]n addition to funds it is necessary to ‘invoke a European law clearly establishing the adoption of an extraordinary plan with any sudden influx of refugees toward one or more Member States, which includes the distribution of the refugees among Members within the temporary timeframe necessary to repatriate those who are not refugees, as in the case of the Tunisians, who are simply economic immigrants’.”
MEPs Simon Busuttil (Malta) and Salvatore Iacolino (IT) issued a press release calling on the Commission “to activate the Solidarity Mechanism envisaged in EU law in cases of mass influx of displaced persons. … ‘EU law already provides for a solidarity mechanism that can be triggered in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons (Council Directive 2001-55-EC)’ [and ‘we call upon the Commission to activate it’] Busuttil and Iacolino said.”
Click here for Italian Foreign Ministry statement.
Click here for MEPs Busuttil and Iacolino press release.
Click here for link to Temporary Protection Directive.
Filed under European Union, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News, Statements, Tunisia
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visited Lampedusa this afternoon and said that all 6000 migrants now on the island would be moved to new locations within Italy, in Sicily and elsewhere, within 48-60 hours. He indicated that a navy ship and multiple civilian ferries would be used to transport the migrants. He promised a massive clean-up operation and beautification programme for the island, announced there would be a tax holiday for island residents, said Lampedusa would be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and said that he had just purchased a personal home on Lampedusa.
Berlusconi said new unspecified measures were being taken to prevent new migrant arrivals. He seemed to say that some vessels that could be used for the transport of migrants from Tunisia have been purchased by Italy (or by him?). (“Abbiamo attuato anche misure imprenditoriali. Ve ne diro’ una variopinta: abbiamo comprato pescherecci affinche’ non possano essere utilizzati per le traversate.” “We have also implemented business measures. I will tell you [something] colorful: we bought vessels so they can not be used for the crossings.”)
There has been a lull in migrant arrivals to the island; no new boats from Tunisia or Libya arrived overnight.
Click here (IT), here (IT), here (IT), and here (EN) for articles.
Filed under Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
Commissioners Cecilia Malmström and Stefan Füle are scheduled to travel to Tunisia 30 and 31 March to assess the situation at the refugee camps along the Tunisia-Libya border, including the camp near Djerba, and for discussions with Tunisian Prime Minister Béji Caïd Essebsi and other officials. Among the topics to be discussed will be the Tunisian nationals who have come to Italy in recent weeks, but who are not in need of international protection and who therefore are likely to be sent back to Tunisia by Italy. Malmström will be discussing with the Tunisian transitional government how the returns could possibly be carried out.
Click here (SV), here (SV), and here (FR) for articles.
Filed under European Union, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said on Monday that “[i]f [the Tunisian Government] do[es] not send specific signals [and begin] keeping the promise of a commitment to stop the migration, Italy will proceed with the forced repatriations.” (“Se non manderà segnali concreti, mantenendo la promessa di un impegno per fermare i flussi migratori, l’Italia procederà con i rimpatri forzosi.”) Maroni also said “Tunisia had promised an immediate commitment to stop migration, but the boats continue to arrive. We are not subject to blackmail as with Libya for oil. [Tunisia is] dependent on us, especially in the tourism sector.”
Foreign Minister Frattini said that if Tunisian migrants do not agree to assisted returns to Tunisia, with the possible payment of €1500 using EU funds, “there is a second level of intervention for those who do not accept assisted repatriation, which is stated in the Bossi-Fini law: expulsion.”
Click here, here, here and here for articles. (IT)
Click here (EN), here (IT), and here (IT) for postings on the Foreign Ministry web site.
Filed under Frontex, Italy, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
Over 1900 migrants have reached Lampedusa over the past 24 hour period. Approximately 3700 have arrived over the past 3 days. Fishermen have placed four empty migrant boats across the entry to the main harbour on the island in an effort to prevent the entry of migrant boats or Coast Guard boats carrying migrants. Officials say that by Wednesday of this week, ships with capacity to carry up to 10,000 people will arrive on Lampedusa in order to move many of the migrants now on the island to other locations.
Click here and here for articles. (IT)
The Italian government has tentatively considered the possibility of offering €1500 to any Tunisian who agrees to return to Tunisia. Foreign Minister Frattini said that Italy could pay the funds to those migrants willing to leave and that the funds would then be reimbursed to Italy by the EU Commission. The IOM would likely be asked to administer the program. The proposal was immediately and strongly criticised by Umberto Bossi the head of the Northern League and a fellow minister in the Berlusconi Government. Bossi called for the migrants to be returned to Tunisia. A statement posted later in the day on the Foreign Ministry web site said that the proposal would “be activated only in the presence of a full financing on the part of the European Union.”
The situation on Lampedusa continues to deteriorate. There were approximately 1000 new migrant arrivals yesterday. The migrant population on the island is approximately 5000 with 2500 people sleeping rough in makeshift tents made of plastic sheeting.
Click here and here for articles. (IT)
Click here for brief statement from Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Filed under European Union, Italy, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
Two days after announcing the extension of Joint Operation Hermes and the westward expansion of the operational area of JO Hermes to include the waters around Sardinia, Frontex on 26 March announced the expansion of the operational area of Joint Operation Poseidon Sea to include the waters around Crete. The expansion is due to the “highly volatile situation in North Africa” and was called for by the European Council’s Conclusions issued at the end of the Council meeting of 24/25 March: “the Commission will make additional resources available in support to [Frontex’s] 2011 Hermes and Poseidon operations and Member States are invited to provide further human and technical resources.”
Excerpts from the Frontex statement: “March 26, 2011 — Responding to the highly volatile situation in North Africa Frontex extends operational area of its on-going Joint Operation (JO) Poseidon Sea. In the first four weeks of deployment Joint Operation Poseidon Land sees decreasing numbers of arrivals across the land border with Turkey. In view of potential migratory flows from Libya operational area of JO Poseidon Sea, which covers the Greek islands in the Aegean sea, has been widened to include Crete. On Thursday, 24 February Romanian maritime surveillance vessel and a Portuguese plane were deployed to increase patrolling intensity in this region. [***]”
Click here for Frontex Poseidon Sea press release.
Click here for the Frontex Hermes press release.
Click here for the Council Conclusions.
Click here for previous post on the expansion of JO Hermes.
Filed under Aegean Sea, European Union, Frontex, Greece, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
While most of the European Council meeting of 24/25 March was devoted to economic policy and the Euro Zone crisis, the Council also considered the situation in Libya and the “Southern Neighborhood.” The Council’s Conclusions noted that the Commission would be presenting “a Plan for the development of capacities to manage migration and refugee flows in advance of the June European Council.” The Council conclusions also stated that “Agreement should be reached by June 2011 on the regulation enhancing the capabilities of Frontex. In the meantime the Commission will make additional resources available in support to the agency’s 2011 Hermes and Poseidon operations….”
Excerpts from the Council 24/25 March 2011 Conclusions:
“II. LIBYA / SOUTHERN NEIGHBOURHOOD
18. The European Council discussed the situation in Libya and endorsed the conclusions adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council on 21 March. Recalling its March 11 Declaration, the European Council expressed its satisfaction after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1973, which expresses the principle of the responsibility to protect, and underlined its determination to contribute to its implementation. It also welcomed the Paris Summit of 19 March as a decisive contribution to its implementation…. [***]
21. The humanitarian situation in Libya and on its borders remains a source of serious concern. The EU will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to all those affected, in close cooperation with all the humanitarian agencies and NGOs involved. The EU has stepped up and will continue its planning on support for humanitarian assistance / civil protection operations, including by maritime means. [***]
25. The European Council welcomes the recent visit of Presidency and the Commission to Egypt as part of a first phase of consultations to promote a comprehensive approach to migration as between the countries of the Southern Neighbourhood region and the European Union. In this context the European Council invites the Commission to present its proposals on the Global Approach to Migration as well as on the Mobility Partnership well in advance of the June European Council.
26. The European Council also looks forward to the presentation by the Commission of a Plan for the development of capacities to manage migration and refugee flows in advance of the June European Council. Agreement should be reached by June 2011 on the regulation enhancing the capabilities of Frontex. In the meantime the Commission will make additional resources available in support to the agency’s 2011 Hermes and Poseidon operations and Member States are invited to provide further human and technical resources. The EU and its Member States stand ready to demonstrate their concrete solidarity to Member States most directly concerned by migratory movements and provide the necessary support as the situation evolves. [***]”
Click here for full document.
Filed under Egypt, European Union, Frontex, Libya, Mediterranean, News, Statements, Tunisia
MIGRANTS AT SEA 