Tag Archives: Tunisia

by | 09 Mar 2011 · 06:53

Migrants Being Prevented from Leaving Libya

According to several media reports, Libyan soldiers have prevented up to 30,000 migrant workers from fleeing Libya to Tunisia.  “The migrant workers were rounded up and apparently held in Libyan immigration buildings near the Tunisian border last week, Ibrahim Osman of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told The Associated Press.”  If this information is correct, it would explain the sudden drop in the numbers of persons trying to cross in to Tunisia in recent days.  According to IOM, as of 8 March, 224,661 migrants have reached Libya’s borders with Tunisia, Egypt, Niger and Algeria.

Click here and here for articles.  (EN)

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by | 08 Mar 2011 · 07:12

“Non-Stop” Boat Arrivals Continue in Lampedusa; Maroni Says Libyan Smuggling Organisations Now Operating From Tunisia

Boats containing over 1000 Tunisians arrived in Lampedusa on Monday.  The boats are reportedly leaving Tunisia from the southern coast from the port of Zarsis and the island of Djerba, an area near the border with Libya.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said on Monday that “we know that criminal organizations that operated by moving illegal immigrants from Libya have reappeared and are now repositioning themselves in the south of Tunisia.  (“Al ministro dell’Interno Roberto Maroni che parla di altre ‘migliaia e migliaia di persone pronte a partire’ e lancia un allarme: ‘abbiamo notizia – spiega – che sono riapparse le organizzazioni criminali che operavano prima in Libia facendo partire i clandestini e che adesso si stanno riposizionando nel sud della Tunisia’.)  Maroni said that “Italian intelligence had reported ‘thousands and thousands of young people’ heading for … Zarzis and Djerba, and that it would require a ‘significant commitment’ from EU countries to block their departure.”

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

 

 

 

Credit: Lampedusa, ancora sbarchi dalla Tunisia-FOTOGALLERY- LASTAMPA.it:

 

 

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by | 08 Mar 2011 · 06:29

Marine Le Pen to Visit Rome and Possibly Lampedusa, to Denounce Lack of EU Migration Controls

Taking full advantage of her rise in the French presidential opinion polls (recent opinion polls give her 23-24% of the vote in the first round of the 2012 presidential election, outpolling Sarkozy and DSK among others), Ms. Marine Le Pen, the head of France’s Front National, announced that she will travel to Rome next week and, if possible, she will also visit Lampedusa for the purpose of denouncing what she characterises as a lack of EU migratory controls.  (“Lors de son déplacement [en Italie], elle entend dénoncer «l’incapacité de l’Union européenne à juguler le déferlement migratoire qui frappe l’île de Lampedusa» après la révolution tunisienne. La candidate FN à l’Élysée envisage également de se rendre ultérieurement sur l’île de Lampedusa. «Si je peux me rendre à Lampedusa, j’irai, bien sûr», a-t-elle assuré.”)

Le Pen has referred to the Tunisians who have reached Italy in recent weeks as “the vanguard of a new massive wave of immigration.”  (“d’«éclaireurs d’une nouvelle vague migratoire gigantesque».”)  Her official web site contains an updated press release on the situation in Lampedusa: “Lampedusa : pendant que les clandestins sont accueillis, le maire est poursuivi !”

Click here (FR) for article.

Click here (FR) for link to Le Pen’s web site.

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by | 07 Mar 2011 · 06:50

Over 1000 New Migrants Reach Lampedusa

Migrant arrivals in Italy continue with over 1000 migrants reaching Lampedusa in at least 11 different boats on Sunday.

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

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by | 04 Mar 2011 · 16:02

Agenda Items for 11 March Extraordinary Meeting of European Council

Discussion topics will include:

  • – measures to help overcome the dramatic events unfolding in Libya;
  • – mobilisation of further resources to meet the humanitarian situation created by the influx of returnees from Libya;
  • – challenges to the EU posed by irregular migration;
  • – the evacuation of EU citizens;
  • – support to the political transitions underway in Tunisia, Egypt and the broader region.

Click here for President Van Rompuy’s invitation letter.

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by | 04 Mar 2011 · 07:20

UN OCHA Situation Report 4 on Libya / UNHCR Update

OCHA Situation Report 4 on Libya.  “HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES:

  • United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened a meeting of United Nations agencies and regional organizations to discuss a coordinated approach to the humanitarian situation in and around Libya. He intends to appoint a special envoy responsible for coordinating the relief effort;
  • According to IOM, 172,874 people, mainly migrant workers, have left Libya to date;
  • The OCHA-led joint United Nations rapid assessment reported little evidence of destruction between the Egyptian border and Benghazi. There are concerns over the implications a fuel-supply cut will have on the continuity of water and power supplies for critical infrastructure;
  • According to the Financial Tracking Service, US$35.6 million has been contributed and $10 million pledged from donors in response to the crisis.”

Click here for OCHA Situation Report.

Click here for OCHA Map and Data update.

UNHCR – “GENEVA, March 3 (UNHCR) – An operation to evacuate tens of thousands of people from the Tunisian border and fly them home was under way on Wednesday. Under a programme led by UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 50 flights were planned on Thursday to take migrant workers, mostly Egyptians, back home. UNHCR flew home 177 people to Egypt on a first flight Wednesday evening…..”

Click here for UNHCR update.

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by | 04 Mar 2011 · 06:59

Satellite Imagery- Situation at Ra´s Ajdir, Libya-Tunisia Border Crossing Facility (3 MAR 2011)

From UNITAR/UNOSAT:  “Based on a rapid assessment of satellite imagery recorded this morning (3 March 2011 – 11:26 am local time) there are several thousand people located primarily within the Ra´s Ajdir border crossing facility along the Libyan-Tunisian border. There are multiple concentrations of people within different waiting and processing sites, as well as long lines of people and small vehicles waiting to move beyond the border into Tunisia. Although there are many permanent buildings in the area, there are no indications of emergency tent shelters available within the facility grounds for the thousands of people currently waiting. This report is part of an on-going satellite monitoring program of UNITAR/UNOSAT of the Libyan crisis and will be updated based on new satellite imagery tasking.”

Click on pictures below or here for links to images.

 

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by | 03 Mar 2011 · 06:43

UN OCHA Situation Report 3 on Libya

OCHA Situation Report 3 on Libya.  HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES:

  • On 1 March, an estimated 12,000 people were evacuated from the Tunisia-Libya border to Egypt by air and sea;
  • A United Nations joint rapid assessment mission is currently in eastern Libya proceeding to Benghazi to assess humanitarian needs;
  • The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator has allocated some US$5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to kick-start emergency efforts to help people fleeing violence in Libya.

Click here for Report.

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by | 03 Mar 2011 · 06:33

Migrant Arrivals in Lampedusa Resume; 10 Boats–500 Migrants Arrive During 24 Hour Period

After a week or so without any migrants arriving in Lampedusa, ten boats carrying approximately 500 persons arrived in Lampedusa and nearby Italian islands over a 24 hour period 1st-2nd March.  Improved weather conditions are the most likely explanation for the new boat arrivals.  Highlighting the difficulties of maritime surveillance, one of the migrant boats with 22 migrants landed on the island of Linosa, roughly halfway between Lampedusa and Malta, without being detected.

According to Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, to date 2,000 Tunisians have applied for some form of protection; less than 400 asylum requests have been made.  According to Maroni, most of the Tunisians have expressed a desire to go to other European countries, generally France or Germany.

Maroni said that Italy’s agreement with Tunisia limits repatriation of Tunisians to four persons per day and Italy is therefore currently negotiating with Tunisia to increase the number of persons who may be repatriated.  If the daily limit is not changed it would take years to return the thousands who have arrived in Italy.

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

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by | 03 Mar 2011 · 01:33

OCHA – Numbers of People Crossing into Neighbouring Countries from Libya

This report is produced by OCHA in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It was issued by Cairo and New York. It covers the period from 28 February to 1 March 2011.

 

IRIN - Numbers of People Crossing into Neighbouring Countries

 

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by | 02 Mar 2011 · 06:05

Human Rights First Backgrounder: States’ Obligations to Protect Refugees Fleeing Libya

Excerpts from the Backgrounder:

Currently, Tunisia and Egypt are experiencing an influx of people fleeing Libya. These persons include nationals of those two countries seeking to return home, as well as Libyans and smaller numbers of nationals of other countries in search of safety. Both Tunisia and Egypt, themselves emerging from turmoil, have kept their borders open and are receiving those fleeing Libya. …

All states affected by the ongoing crisis are bound to respect the following [core] principles governing the treatment of refugees….

Protection of refugees is a collective international responsibility. In practice, however, it is those countries that are closest to or most accessible from Libya and its neighbors that will be called upon to protect the majority of refugees who may seek international protection in the immediate term….

At a time when all countries in the region and their neighbors in the EU may see an increase in migration by people fleeing persecution and violence as well as worsening economic conditions, it is critically important that those who have a claim to international protection be given access to procedures to obtain it. The international community more broadly and the EU should assist those States that bear the brunt of this challenge in dealing with it in a way that is consistent with their international obligations. At the same time, Italy and other EU member states and institutions must refrain from pushing migrants back to Libya or any other country without identifying those in need of international protection and allowing those who need such protection to apply for it.

Click here for full document.

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by | 02 Mar 2011 · 05:50

UN OCHA Situation Report 2 on Libya

From the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Situation Report No. 2, 1 March 2011:

Libya – thousands of migrants stranded at Benghazi port;

Tunisia – 10,000 to 15,000 people arrived in Tunisia on 1 March, creating a huge bottleneck on the border due to a lack of onward transportation to their home countries. Thousands of people (including over 15,000 Bangladeshis) are stuck on the Libyan side of the border and are not allowed to cross. They are stranded and without access to food, health, water and sanitation;

Egypt – 5,000 to 7,000 migrants stranded in the border area at Saloum, in “no man’s land”. The Egyptian authorities are not allowing those without valid tickets and documentation to leave. According to IOM, these stranded migrants need food, water, blankets, shelter and proper sanitation facilities. IOM has established a registration process for migrants from African and Asian countries who cannot continue their journey into Egypt because of lack of travel documents or entry visas;

Niger – IOM is preparing for the arrival later this week of an estimated 2,000 Nigerians and other African nationals who have recently managed to cross Libya’s southern border at Gatrone.

Click here for full document.

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by | 02 Mar 2011 · 05:38

Italian Prosecutor to Open Criminal Investigations Against 6000 Tunisians for Illegal Immigration

The chief criminal prosecutor of Agrigento, Sicily, Renato Di Natale, has opened criminal cases on charges of illegal immigration against the Tunisians who arrived in Lampedusa over the past several weeks.  Cases have been opened against hundreds of Tunisians and additional cases will be opened as the migrants are identified.  The chief prosecutor described the opening of the criminal cases as routine procedure which would occur in any case involving the arrival of a suspected illegal immigrant.  The prosecutor said additional charges of providing false information could be added if it is discovered that a migrant provided a false name.  If an individual migrant were to be given status as a political refugee, the criminal case would be dropped.

Bringing criminal charges against traffickers or smugglers would seem reasonable, but it strikes me as a poor use of limited state resources to open criminal investigations against the overwhelming majority of the Tunisians who have arrived in Italy in recent weeks.  Even if the cases do not proceed, one would think that Italian authorities could respond to this situation differently.

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

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by | 01 Mar 2011 · 18:35

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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by | 01 Mar 2011 · 17:00

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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