A photo of what is apparently the Ras Jdir (Ra’s Ajdir) crossing on the Libya- Tunisia border on 1 March 2011. (Photo Credit Reuters via Al Jazeera.)
Reuters via Al Jazeera
Hirsi and Others v. Italy – Relinquishment of jurisdiction to the ECtHR Grand Chamber
There is a notice on the European Court of Human Rights web page dated 1 March 2011 stating the following:
“The Chamber dealing with the case of Hirsi and Others v. Italy has relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber. The applicants, 11 Somali nationals and 13 Eritrean nationals, were part of a group of illegal migrants who left Libya by boat heading for the Italian coast. The application concerns the interception of their boats on the high seas and their immediate return to Libya on board Italian naval vessels.”
Previous history of the case:
On 17 November the Second Section of the European Court of Human Rights communicated the case of Hirsi and others v Italy, Requête no 27765/09. The case was filed on 26 May 2009 by 11 Somalis and 13 Eritreans who were among the first group of about 200 migrants interdicted by Italian authorities and summarily returned to Libya under the terms of the Libya-Italy agreement which took effect on 4 February 2009. The Applicants were intercepted on 6 May 2009 approximately 35 miles south of Lampedusa.
Click here for previous post on the case.
More details on this development later.
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Filed under European Court of Human Rights, European Union, Italy, Judicial, Libya, Mediterranean
UNHCR: Crisis at Libya-Tunisia Border; 140,000 Have Fled to Egypt and Tunisia; Tunisia May Be Barring Sub-Saharan Africans from Entering Tunisia
1 March 2011 update from UNHCR:
“UNHCR staff at the Libya-Tunisia border have this morning told us that the situation is reaching crisis point. According to the Tunisian authorities, 70-75,000 people have fled Libya to Tunisia since 20 February. Fourteen thousand people crossed yesterday, the highest number to date, with tens of thousands of people now in urgent need of onwards transportation to their home countries. With 10,000-15,000 people expected to arrive today…
[T]housands of people have been waiting on the Libyan side to enter for as long as three days, obliged to spend the night outside in the bitter cold without shelter. We are very concerned that a large number of sub-Saharan Africans are not being allowed entry into Tunisia…
Meanwhile at the Egyptian border, the Government reported that some 69,000 people had crossed from Libya since 19 February. The majority of those who have crossed are Egyptians…”
Click here for UNHCR update.
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Van Rompuy to Convene Extraordinary Meeting of European Council on 11 March
EC President Van Rompuy has called an extraordinary meeting of the European Council: “In light of the developments in our Southern Neighbourhood, and Libya in particular, I decided to convene an extraordinary meeting of the European Council. The meeting will take place on 11 March 2011 in Brussels at 11.30 am.”
Click here for full statement.
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Filed under European Union, Mediterranean, News
Update from Today’s LIBE Committee’s Discussions re Central Mediterranean
The Hungarian Presidency and LIBE have released summaries regarding today’s LIBE Committee meeting. Here are some points from the two summaries:
- Commissioner Malmström emphasized that, so far, migrants had not started coming to Europe from Libya, but the EU had to prepare for this possibility;
- Frontex Director Laitinen made it clear that the region should not be seen as a whole, but as separate countries with separate problems;
- Laitinen underlined that from Tunisia only economic migration could be seen so far, but for the moment, as Tunisian authorities have regained control of the migration flow, this had stopped, as well. Since 26 February, no migrants had arrived to Lampedusa.
- Laitinen also stressed that Italy was not the only entry point for migrants from North-Africa. Greece should not be forgotten in this context. Low-cost flights from North-Africa to Istanbul were operating, bringing many migrants who then were trying to enter the Schengen area through the Greek-Turkish border;
- Laitinen said that the possibility of extending Hermes to address Malta’s needs was being examined. More money and staff might be needed if the current emergency persists;
- MEPs urged Member States to accelerate work on the “asylum package” and stressed the need for solidarity as regards relocating migrants;
- Malmström said that most of the current migration from Tunisia to Lampedusa appears to be for economic reasons;
- Malmström said that “Frontex and Member States may not push away people in need of international protection”;
- MEP Simon Busuttil (EPP, MT) said the three main priorities in Libya are halting violence, sending humanitarian aid and planning for a possible immigration emergency. “What if a mass influx turns into Europe, is there a plan in the drawer to be pull out if this happens?” “Member States show no appetite for relocation.”
Click here and here for the two articles.
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Laitinen in Malta for Discussions
Frontex Director Ilkka Laitinen is in Malta today for discussions with Maltese officials about the situation in Libya and the possibility of a new migrant flow from Libya. It seems that the discussions concern the expansion of Joint Operation Hermes Extension or the creation of a new joint operation based in Malta. Before leaving Brussels earlier today, Laitinen said that “although the situation is fluid and until now no flows of asylum seekers to Europe has resulted, Frontex was preparing for such an eventuality.”
Click here (EN), here (IT) and here (IT) for articles.
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Filed under European Union, Frontex, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
Live Coverage, 1 March, 09:00, LIBE Meeting re Situation in the Central Mediterranean
LIBE will reconvene today, 1 March, 09:00-10:30, to discuss “the situation in the central Mediterranean…. They will consider the democratisation process in the region and its impact on migration flows and EU immigration and asylum policy. In attendance: Hungarian Presidency representative, H.E. Peter Györkös, Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner for Home Affairs and Ilkka Laitinen, Executive Director of Frontex, the EU border security agency.”
Click here for live coverage.
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Filed under European Union, Frontex, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
Austria Would Accept Up To 6000 Refugees from Libya if Needed
Austrian Interior Minister Maria Fekter said that while she doubts there will be a massive flow of refugees from Libya, if necessary, Austria would be in a position to accept up to 6,000 asylum seekers.
Click here (EN) and here (DE) for articles.
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Filed under Austria, European Union, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News
EU migration control made by Gaddafi?
An article from OpenDemocracy by Prof. Gregor Noll (Lund University) and Mariagiulia Giuffré (doctoral candidate at the School of International Studies, University of Trento):
“[T]here is a far-reaching consensus that a government [such as the Gaddafi Government] that uses indiscriminate lethal force to retain power is, as the diplomatic phrasebook has it, “unacceptable”. Yet, over the past six years, it has been perfectly acceptable for EU governments to outsource its border protection to an authoritarian leader with a dismal human rights record…. We, the citizens of the EU, should also be reminded that for over three years now, we have relied on Gaddafi and his state apparatus to keep asylum seekers and other migrants away from our doors….”
Click here for article.
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Filed under Analysis, European Union, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean
Blog du Monde Diplo: une démonstration de force navale; une petite armada converge en direction des côtes libyennes
Du blog de “Défense en ligne” écrit par Philippe Leymarie: “Guerre civile en Libye et options militaries.”
“Alors que le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU réuni vendredi dernier a décidé d’un embargo sur les armes et de sanctions contre le régime Kadhafi, la violence de la répression en Libye a incité les pays européens, qui n’envisagent pas d’intervention militaire pour le moment, à entamer une démonstration de force… navale, qui a pris forme en quelques heures, avec une célérité inhabituelle. Une petite armada converge en direction des côtes libyennes, dans ce qui pourrait, à terme, devenir une véritable opération, mêlant la dissuasion à l’humanitaire. …
“Dans la pratique, le déploiement de cette petite armada pourrait également constituer un cordon de sécurité afin d’éviter une fuite en masse par la mer de Libyens ou d’immigrés africains vers l’Europe – donnant plus de consistance à l’opération de surveillance « Hermès », entamée (sous la pression notamment de l’Italie, en première ligne) par l’agence européenne Frontex….”
Cliquez ici pour l’article complet.
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Filed under Analysis, European Union, Frontex, Libya, Mediterranean, United Nations
Annual number of asylum applications in select countries, 2004-2009
From Migration Policy Institute’s MPI Data Hub: annual number of asylum applications in select countries. I copied the data for years 2004-2009 below. Click here for the data for the years 1980-2009, footnotes, and source information.
| Countries of destination | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Australia | 3,201 | 3,204 | 3,515 | 3,980 | 4,771 | 6,170 |
| Austria | 24,634 | 22,461 | 13,349 | 11,921 | 12,841 | 15,830 |
| Belgium | 15,357 | 15,957 | 11,587 | 11,114 | 12,252 | 17,190 |
| Canada | 25,750 | 20,786 | 22,868 | 27,865 | 34,800 | 33,250 |
| Denmark | 3,235 | 2,260 | 1,918 | 1,852 | 2,360 | 3,750 |
| Finland | 3,861 | 3,574 | 2,324 | 1,505 | 4,016 | 5,910 |
| France | 58,545 | 49,733 | 30,748 | 29,387 | 35,404 | 41,980 |
| Germany | 35,613 | 28,914 | 21,029 | 19,164 | 22,085 | 27,650 |
| Greece | 4,469 | 9,050 | 12,267 | 25,113 | 19,884 | 15,930 |
| Ireland | 4,765 | 4,325 | 4,315 | 3,985 | 3,866 | 2,690 |
| Italy | 9,722 | 9,548 | 10,348 | 14,057 | 30,324 | 17,600 |
| Netherlands | 9,782 | 12,347 | 14,465 | 7,102 | 13,399 | 14,910 |
| Norway | 7,945 | 5,402 | 5,320 | 6,528 | 14,431 | 17,230 |
| Spain | 5,535 | 5,254 | 5,297 | 7,662 | 4,517 | 3,000 |
| Sweden | 23,161 | 17,530 | 24,322 | 36,373 | 24,353 | 24,190 |
| United Kingdom | 40,620 | 30,815 | 28,335 | 27,880 | 31,315 | 29,840 |
| United States | 44,972 | 39,240 | 41,101 | 40,449 | 39,362 | 38,968 |
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Filed under Australia, Belgium, Data / Stats, Denmark, European Union, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, UK, United States
España ha destinado al menos un 5% de la ayuda en África Occidental a control de fronteras e intereses comerciales
A new report from Entreculturas and Alboan:
“Casi 25 millones de euros de un total de 466 es la Ayuda Oficial al Desarrollo destinada a países de África Occidental cuestionada por contribuir más a intereses de la política de migraciones que al desarrollo humano y lucha contra la pobreza durante el periodo 2004-2008. Es una de las conclusiones del informe “Políticas de control migratorio y de cooperación al desarrollo entre España y África Occidental durante la ejecución del primer Plan África” presentado por Entreculturas y Alboan….”
Resumen: “En el marco de la coherencia de políticas a favor del desarrollo, y con el objetivo de investigar si la cooperación bilateral española está condicionada por intereses de control de los flujos migratorios, las ONG Alboan y Entreculturas presentan el informe ‘Políticas de control migratorio y de cooperación al desarrollo entre España y África Occidental durante la ejecución del primer Plan África’ que analiza el destino de la ayuda oficial al desarrollo (AOD). España durante los años 2004 – 2008 ha destinado 25 millones de euros de AOD a proyectos que tienen más relación con el control de fronteras e intereses comerciales que con el desarrollo humano y lucha contra la pobreza. Esto supone un 5,2% de del total de la ayuda de AOD bilateral en África Occidental.”
Click here (ES) or here (ES) for full report.
Click here (ES) for news article.
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Italian Defence Minister: Italy-Libya Friendship Agreement is “Defunct, Inoperative, Suspended”
Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa stated that “the Italy-Libya treaty is effectively defunct, inoperative, suspended.” In addition to the migration control provisions, the treaty also contains provisions which forbade Italy from participating in military actions again Libya.
La Russa also said that the Italian Finance Police officers who under the terms of the treaty were assigned to Libyan patrol vessels engaged in anti-migrant patrols have been withdrawn and are present at the Italian embassy in Tripoli.
Click here (EN), here (EN) (WSJ registration required), here (IT), and here (IT) for articles.
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Filed under Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News
Laitinen to Visit Malta to Discuss New Frontex Mission
The Malta Independent reported yesterday that Frontex Director Ilkka Laitinen will visit Malta shortly “with a view to organising a Frontex mission that would be hosted by Malta but, [Justice and Home Affairs Minister] Dr Mifsud Bonnici stresses, not under the infamous guidelines that are being disputed [before the European Court of Justice] by Malta, Italy and the European Parliament.” Dr Mifsud Bonnici said “I have also made it a precondition that if we are to host this Frontex mission, it would not be under those guidelines and there is an agreement on that.”
Malta’s primary objection to the Frontex Sea Border Rule is likely due to provisions which require that intercepted migrants be taken to the country hosting the Frontex mission under certain circumstances. The relevant provision provides:
“2. Disembarkation- 2.1. The operational plan should spell out the modalities for the disembarkation of the persons intercepted or rescued, in accordance with international law and any applicable bilateral agreements. The operational plan shall not have the effect of imposing obligations on Member States not participating in the operation. Without prejudice to the responsibility of the Rescue Coordination Centre, and unless otherwise specified in the operational plan, priority should be given to disembarkation in the third country from where the ship carrying the persons departed or through the territorial waters or search and rescue region of which that ship transited and if this is not possible, priority should be given to disembarkation in the host Member State unless it is necessary to act otherwise to ensure the safety of these persons.”
Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has previously said that the Sea Border Rule guidelines can be negotiated by member states on a mission by mission basis and that before a mission starts participating member states can agree on different rules of engagement, which might include the sharing of responsibility where not all intercepted migrants would be brought to country hosting the mission.
Click here for Malta Independent article.
Click here for previous post regarding Malmström’s comments.
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Filed under European Union, Frontex, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News
More Assets Dedicated to Frontex Joint Operation “Hermes Extension”; More EU and NATO Naval Forces Present in Central Mediterranean
The assets dedicated to Joint Operation Hermes Extension continue to increase, although at present there are only two coastal patrol boats (Italian) participating in the Frontex mission. Ten surveillance aircraft will soon be deployed. See the table with the list of resources below.
While the naval assets dedicated to JO Hermes Extension are minimal, there is a growing number of EU and NATO naval ships in the Central Mediterranean. Nicolas Gros-Verheyde (writing on the Bruxelles2 blog (FR)) has counted 14 naval ships from EU states that are present in the waters near Libya; the ships consist of destroyers, frigates, electronic surveillance ships, and supply and support ships. Additionally, Turkey has two naval ships in the area.
Some of the naval ships have already been used to evacuate European and other non-Libyan nationals from Libya. What additional activity the EU ships may engage in remains to be seen. They may become involved in military activities (presumably with UN authority (?)) and/or they may play a yet undetermined role should there be a sudden flow of migrants and asylum seekers from Libya. If there is a sudden and significant migratory flow, the naval ships should function in a search and rescue manner, but there is always the possibility that if faced with large numbers of migrants, the navy vessels may be used to interdict, blockade, or otherwise to try to prevent migrants from leaving Libya.
Click here for link to Frontex update regarding deployed assets.
Click here and here for Bruxelles2 postings. (FR)
Table: Resources available to JO Hermes Extension 2011 as of February 25, 2011.
| Italy (HMS) | 2 Coastal Patrol Vessel, 1 aircraft, 5 experts, 2 cultural mediators |
| Austria | 1 expert |
| Belgium | 2 experts |
| Denmark | 3-5 experts |
| France | 10 experts, 1 aircraft |
| Germany | 2 experts, 2 aircrafts |
| Hungary | 2 experts |
| the Netherlands | 1 aircraft, 2 experts |
| Portugal | 7 experts, 1 aircraft |
| Romania | 6 experts |
| Sweden | 1 expert |
| Switzerland | 2 experts |
| Spain | 4 experts, 1 aircraft (at a later stage) |
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Filed under Algeria, Data / Stats, European Union, Frontex, General, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News, Tunisia
MIGRANTS AT SEA 