by | 27 Mar 2011 · 01:46

Boat With 350 African Migrants from Libya Receives Assistance from Canadian Navy Ship

A boat carrying approximately 350 African migrants or asylum seekers from Libya has been intercepted and is being diverted to the Italian island of Linosa between Malta and Lampedusa.  There have been reports over the past several days that the migrant boat was at sea.  A Canadian navy ship, probably the frigate HMCS Charlottetown, first intercepted and boarded the migrant boat to determine whether the passengers required immediate rescue or not and to provide a pump.  The migrant boat was allowed to proceed.  An Italian navy helicopter later rescued a woman who gave birth on the boat.  The woman, the newborn baby, the father, and a second pregnant woman were removed from the migrant boat and taken to hospitals on Lampedusa and Sicily.  The Italian navy said that the migrant boat will be taken to Linosa rather than Lampedusa.  UNHCR spokeswoman Laura Boldrini is quoted by AFP as saying that “[t]his is the first boat coming from Libya with people fleeing the military escalation, the vendettas and the retaliation attacks and that “the people on board the boat required ‘international protection’”.  AFP also reported that “Mussie Zerai, an Eritrean Catholic priest in Italy who has been in direct contact with the vessel via a satellite phone, said conditions on the boat were extremely difficult with around 10 children and 20 women on board.  He said the people were mostly Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somalians.”  Zerai also “said four or five other boats carrying African migrants had … left Libyan shores carrying around 1,000 people.”

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

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by | 26 Mar 2011 · 17:21

Frontex Announces Expansion of Joint Operation Poseidon Sea to Include Crete and Eastern Portions of Central Mediterranean

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.

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by | 26 Mar 2011 · 16:41

European Council Meeting Conclusions re Migrant and Refugee Flows from North Africa

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.

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by | 25 Mar 2011 · 14:00

Italian Ministers Frattini and Maroni in Tunis for Migration Negotiations

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Interior Minister Roberto Maroni are in Tunis today for negotiations with Tunisian Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi and others in an effort to seek Tunisian cooperation to prevent migrant departures from Tunisia.  According to a statement on the Italian Foreign Ministry web site, Italy is calling for “the resumption of cooperation to combat illegal immigration” and for “immediate and adequate coastal monitoring as well as cooperation in identifying and readmitting irregular migrants.”  According to ANSA, Italy is “ready to offer economic aid, personnel and equipment (vessels, equipment, radar, etc.).”

Click here (IT) for article and here and here for statements on the Italian Foreign Ministry web site (IT).

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by | 25 Mar 2011 · 00:08

Frontex Announces Extension and Expansion of Joint Operation Hermes in Central Mediterranean

On 23 March Frontex announced a 5 month extension of its Joint Operation Hermes.  Frontex also announced a westward expansion of the operational area to include Sardinia, roughly 300 km northwest of Lampedusa.  According to Frontex Director Laitinen, “100 percent [of] the request the Italian authorities [have] made to Frontex” has been satisfied.

Frontex statement in full:

“Warsaw, 23 March 2011 — Due to the notable increase in migratory pressure on Italy and the island of Lampedusa in particular, Frontex has widened the operational area of Joint Operation Hermes and extended its duration for five more months, with the aim of strengthening Europe’s border control response capability in the Central Mediterranean.

‘In close cooperation with the Italian authorities, we have decided to run Joint Operation Hermes until the end of August 2011, and to extend the operational area to include Sardinia, where Frontex has already deployed aerial assets to strengthen the patrolling capacity of the Italian authorities,’ said Frontex Executive Director Ilkka Laitinen.

‘Frontex is closely monitoring the developments in North Africa and stands ready to assist the Member States operationally if requested. We are also continuously developing additional operational responses for potential rapid deployment throughout the Mediterranean if needed,’ he added.

As of 23 March 2011, Lampedusa remained the main destination for migrants from Tunisia. During the previous week alone, 3,230 undocumented persons arrived on the island, bringing the total number of arrivals detected in the whole operational area since Hermes began on 20 February to 9,098. The majority of migrants are young men but 52 women and more than 240 minors were also detected during Italian-led Hermes. At the time of writing the great majority of migrants who recently arrived in Lampedusa claimed to be of Tunisian nationality.

In addition to one aircraft and two vessels already financed and coordinated by Frontex, one Dutch and one Portuguese plane have now arrived in Pantelleria and Sardinia respectively to assist the Italian authorities in strengthening their border control activities.

‘With this equipment and 20 experts currently working in the centres of Bari, Caltanisetta and Crotone, we have satisfied 100 percent the request the Italian authorities made to Frontex,’ Laitinen concluded.

The cost of the first 40 days of the operation amounts to EUR 2.6 mln.”

Click here for statement.

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by | 24 Mar 2011 · 05:29

Italian Navy Transports 600 Migrants from Lampedusa to Sicily

In an effort to relieve the severe overcrowding on Lampedusa, the San Marco, an Italian naval ship yesterday transported about 600 Tunisians from Lampedusa to Sicily.  The ship’s departure was delayed by several hours because the ship’s captain had apparently not been given instructions where to take the migrants.  The ship was eventually directed to sail to the port of Augusta on Sicily.  It is unclear whether the ship will return to Lampedusa to pick up more migrants.

There has been confusion over the identity of the 600 migrants who were selected to be moved to Sicily.  Initial statements by Italian officials said that the migrants who were to be moved had been identified as asylum seekers or were women and children.  But later reports indicted that there were fewer than 20 women and children among the 600 and that none of the 600 have been identified as asylum seekers.   UNHCR said that no formal refugee processing is being conducted on Lampedusa in part due to the chaos and severe overcrowding on the island and also due to the fact that only a few migrants have reportedly expressed a desire to seek asylum.

Approximately 650 other migrants were transported off the island yesterday by planes and yesterday marked the first day in many days where there was a net decrease in the migrant population on Lampedusa.  1200 migrants left the island and about 300 new migrants in seven boats arrived on the island yesterday.

Foreign Minister Frattini and Interior Minister Maroni are now scheduled to travel to Tunis on Friday, 25 March, to discuss a new migration agreement with Tunisia.

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

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by | 24 Mar 2011 · 03:10

Save the Children: Conditions for 250 Unaccompanied Migrant Children on Lampedusa Unacceptable

Save the Children released a press statement yesterday describing the conditions for more than 250 unaccompanied migrant children on Lampedusa and calling for their immediate transfer from the island.  Excerpts:

“’The structure that has been allocated [to the children on Lampedusa] is totally inadequate and the conditions on an hourly basis are becoming more critical from the point of view of hygiene and [other conditions]’ said Raffaella Milano, Italy-Programs Manager, Save the Children Europe.  Since the beginning of the increased arrivals of migrants from Tunisia – since February 10 – more than 530 children, the vast majority of them unaccompanied, have arrived in Lampedusa.  Of these, 283 have been placed in communities to accommodate the children in Sicily.  ‘More than 250 unaccompanied minors are still remaining in Lampedusa and many have been living many days in conditions that do not guarantee minimum standards of reception.’ …  Save the Children calls for the transfer of the children and setting up temporary structures … if necessary, where the children may stay until being placed within the community. … This delay is not justifiable.”

For more information:
Press Office Save the Children Italy,
Tel. 06.48070023-71-001;
press@savethechildren.it
http://www.savethechildren.it

Click here for link to statement.

Also click here for 22 March UNHCR urgent call for action by the Italian authorities to alleviate overcrowding on Lampedusa.

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by | 23 Mar 2011 · 13:55

EMHRN Statement: Italy and EU should suspend all measures of forcible removal towards Tunisia

Press release in its entirety from the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network:

“Brussels, 23 March 2011.  Italy and the other Member States of the EU should suspend all measures of forcible removal towards Tunisia and share in the reinstallation of Libyan and non-Libyan refugees who have to flee Libya

Italian ministers Frattini and Maroni have announced their intention to travel to Tunisia to renew bilateral cooperation on migration issues. In the view of the Euro-Mediterranean Network, in the present circumstances, the ministers’ insistence that the Tunisian authorities must prevent new departures from Tunisia and cooperate in the forcible removal of the Tunisian migrants who have landed in Italy since the beginning of the year, is particularly inappropriate.

The upheavals that are shaking the region at the moment have exposed the short-sightedness and futility of a policy that favours dictators instead of migrants.

Expecting from the Tunisian authorities, first and foremost, a crack down on immigration from third countries and emigration towards the European Union amounts to encouraging them in returning to the authoritarian practices of the former regime. This is not the kind of support Tunisia needs.

In this transition period, Italy and the other member states of the European Union should, on the contrary, suspend all measures imposing the forcible removal of Tunisian nationals towards Tunisia and share in the resettlement of Libyan and non-Libyan refugees who have had to flee Libya, arrived in Tunisia and cannot return to their home country.

While the number of Tunisian migrants who have landed on Lampedusa Island is significant relative to the size and population of the island, it is minuscule, on the European scale, when compared to the scope of the humanitarian emergency confronting Tunisia on its border with Libya. No fewer than 165,000 people have crossed the border at Ras Adjir in an attempt to flee the violence in Libya since 20 February, but no Tunisian official has made inflammatory statements comparing migrants and asylum seekers with criminals or terrorists. Tunisia is forced to cope with the arrival of tens of thousands of Tunisian workers, some of whom had been living in Libya for many years, as well as tens of thousands of immigrant workers, mainly from Bangladesh and sub-Saharan countries, who are awaiting repatriation to their countries of origin with assistance from UNHCR and OIM, not to mention Libyans and nationals of countries such as Somalia, Eritrea or Sudan, who for obvious reasons cannot return to their countries of origin, where their lives and physical integrity would be at risk.”

Click here for link.

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by | 21 Mar 2011 · 19:52

Correction–100+ Newly Arrived Migrants on Sicily Are Egyptians, Not Libyans

More recent media reports are now reporting that the 120+ migrants who reached Sicily during the night of 20-21 March are Egyptian nationals who may have said they were from Libya in order to make asylum claims.

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

 

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by | 21 Mar 2011 · 15:40

IOM: New Migrant Arrivals on Lampedusa Lead to Massive Overcrowding

Full text:  “IOM Press Note – Monday 21 March 2011 – New Migrant Arrivals on Lampedusa Lead to Massive Overcrowding —  The arrival of more than 1,630 irregular migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday 20 March and overnight Monday 21st has led to massive overcrowding at the migrant reception centre where IOM and partners monitor reception assistance and provide legal counselling to migrants, asylum-seekers and unaccompanied minors.

With the weekend’s arrival of Tunisian migrants bringing the current number of migrants on Lampedusa to nearly 4,780 and the reception centre built to host 800 people, migrants are being hosted wherever possible around the island.

This includes about 2,000 migrants at the port area which doesn’t have the sanitation facilities needed to host such numbers of people and who for the past few days have been sleeping in the open without adequate protection from the elements and in whatever space they can find.

Among the nearly 4,780 migrants on Lampedusa are about 200 minors. IOM and UNHCR worked with partner Save the Children to find suitable accommodation for all the minors who have arrived in recent days and who could not be left to sleep at the pier with no blankets or mattresses.

IOM also found safe accommodation for 13 women away from the overcrowded reception centre.

With boat landings taking place during the day and night, IOM and partners are working in shifts to ensure assistance is provided 24 hours a day.

Staff report that the situation on the island, which has a population of 5,000, is critical and tense and that rapid transfers to other migrant reception centres elsewhere in Italy are essential.

Since February, around 14,000 Tunisian migrants have arrived on Lampedusa. With migrant reception centres in Puglia in southern Italy and on Sicily also fairly full, Italian authorities have established a centre at an ex-NATO base residence at Mineo on Sicily.

From today, 21 March, IOM staff will be present at Mineo where, as part of an Italian government funded project, the Organization will provide legal counselling to migrants and monitor reception assistance.

The vast majority of the migrants who have arrived on Lampedusa are young men who have left Tunisia either to find employment in Europe or to be united with families. For further information, please contact Flavio di Giacomo, IOM Rome, email: fdigiacomo@iom.int – Tel: +39.06.44.186.207 or +39.347.089.89.96

For additional information:

Jemini Pandya Tel : 41 22 717 9486 – Mobile : 41 79 217 33 74, Email : jpandya@iom.int

Jumbe Omari Jumbe Tel: 41 22 717 9405 – Mobile: 41 79 812 77 34, Email: jjumbe@iom.int

ISDN Line : 41 22 788 38 61″

I don’t have a link to this press briefing other than the following google docs link here. First posted on Euromed-MigrAsyl.

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by | 21 Mar 2011 · 13:31

Italy Has Not Requested Frontex Assistance with Transfer of Migrants from Lampedusa

According to the EUobserver, “[a] spokeswoman for … Frontex, … told this website that the Italian authorities have not yet asked for help in transferring the migrants from Lampedusa to Sicily, for instance by extending the existing ‘Hermes’ operation set up in February to assist them with the Tunisian situation.”  No Frontex “debriefing experts sent by member states [are] based in Lampedusa.”  “Romain Prevot, a French border official now based in Trapani, northern Sicily, told EUobserver that ‘initially we were supposed to be in Lampedusa,” but then “for security reasons,’ the Italian government decided to deploy them to Sicily and the mainland.”

Click here for full article.

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by | 21 Mar 2011 · 13:04

100+ Libyans Reach Sicily by Boat

Speaking at a press conference earlier today, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni reported that 117 migrants who are believed to be Libyan reached Catania, Sicily in two boats during the night of 20-21 March.  According to Maroni, a total of 14,918 immigrants have landed in Italy since the beginning of the year.  [UPDATED INFORMATION – more recent reports suggest that the many or all of the migrants involved may be Egyptian nationals who posed as Libyans, possibly for purposes of seeking refugee protection. Click here (IT) for more recent article.]

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

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by | 21 Mar 2011 · 02:30

Inhumane Conditions on Lampedusa; Local Residents Block Ship Carrying Supplies for Migrants in Effort to Prevent Construction of Tent City

Hundreds of migrants from Tunisia continue to arrive on Lampedusa.  While thousands of the migrants have been moved to other locations in Italy, over 4000 are now on the island.  Their living conditions are dangerous and unsanitary.  Many of the newly arriving migrants have wet clothes and lack shoes and are being housed outdoors without shelter.  Hundreds do not have access to toilets, wash facilities, or adequate food.  About 700 migrants reportedly arrived yesterday, but only 300 migrants were able to be transferred off the island yesterday.   An Italian navy ship is expected to arrive in the “coming hours” which will have the capacity to transport at least 1000, perhaps 2000, migrants from the island.  The mayor of Lampedusa, Bernardino De Rubeis, said “[t]he attitude of the State is a shame. Italy is allowing thousands of these immigrants to be treated like animals, forced to sleep under the water. All of Italy should be ashamed. («L’atteggiamento dello Stato è vergognoso. L’Italia sta consentendo che queste migliaia di immigrati vengano trattati come bestie, obbligati a dormire sotto l’acqua. Tutta l’Italia dovrebbe vergognarsi».)

Hundreds of local residents engaged in a new round of demonstrations yesterday by preventing the unloading of a ship carrying tents, portable toilets, and other supplies for the migrants on the island.  The residents are trying to prevent the creation of a tent city.  They fear that if conditions for the migrants are improved, it is less likely that the migrants will be moved from the island to other locations.

Click here and here for articles. (IT)

Click here (IT) for update from EveryOne Group.

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by | 21 Mar 2011 · 00:51

Italy Seeking New Immigration Agreement with Tunisia; Frattini and Maroni Likely to Travel to Tunis on 22 March

In an interview posted yesterday on the Italian Foreign Ministry web page, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that the “real problem [with the current flow of migrants from Tunisia] is the loosening of controls [in Tunisia] and [that he and Interior Minister Maroni] will almost certainly be in Tunis [on Tuesday, 22 March] to establish a bilateral agreement.”  Minister Frattini said in the interview that Italy is ready to provide “practical help”, has released 90 million euros to Tunisia, wants to discuss deploying Italian naval patrols along the Tunisian coast, and wants to block human trafficking.

Click here (IT) for Foreign Ministry posting and here (IT) for article.

[If Foreign Ministry link does not load properly try this link and look under 20 Marzo 2011.]

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by | 20 Mar 2011 · 15:21

Ferry with 1800 Evacuees from Libya, Blocked from Landing in Italy, Sails to Morocco

The Mistral Express, the Moroccan ferry carrying 1800 people evacuated last week from Misurata, Libya, disembarked its passengers on 18 March in Morocco at Port Tanger.  Most of the evacuees on board were Moroccan citizens.  The ship first attempted to sail from Libya to Italy but was blocked by Italian authorities from landing in Sicily.  At the time Italian authorities said they prevented the ship from entering Italian waters due to uncertainty regarding the identities of the passengers and because it was unclear whether the passengers were “genuine evacuees”.  After the initial stand-off with Italian authorities, the ship entered the Italian port of Augusta on the night of 16-17 March and then left the port early on 17 March for Port Tanger.

Click here (ES) for article.

Click here for tracking information from MarineTraffic.com

Click here for previous post.

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