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| Europe |
| Italy: UN deplores return of migrants to Libya |
| 2009-05-08 |
| [ADN Kronos] The United Nations refugee agency on Thursday strongly criticised the direct repatriation to Libya of an estimated 227 migrants who had sent distress calls only 35 nautical miles south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. The operation had denied the migrants including possible asylum-seekers the protection they are entitled to under international conventions, the UN said. UNHCR expressed its "deep concern" over the incident in which Italian patrol vessels rescued the migrants after a day of heated debate between Italy and Malta over who was responsible for the future of the immigrants following their distress call late on Tuesday. The Italian coastal patrol vessels then accompanied the migrants to the Libyan port of Tripoli without stopping at an Italian port, a move hailed by Italy's interior minister Roberto Maroni as an "historic" turning point in the fight against illegal immigration. UNHCR said the incident marked a significant shift in policies by the Italian government and deplored what it described as a "lack of transparency" surrounding the incident. "I appeal to the Italian and Maltese authorities to continue to ensure that people rescued at sea and in need of international protection receive full access to territory and asylum procedures," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a statement. An estimated 75 percent of migrants who reached Italy by sea last year applied for asylum and 50 percent of them were granted some form of protection, UNHCR noted. The UN refugee agency's concerns were shared by human rights group Amnesty International. "By failing to protect the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers rescued at sea, the Italian and Maltese governments have breached their international obligations," the group said in a statement on Thursday. "The lives and safety of migrants and asylum-seekers have been placed at risk," said Amnesty's Europe and Central Asia programme director, Nicola Duckworth. "States must ensure that any international cooperation or assistance efforts, including border controls or immigration policies, do not result in human rights abuses," Duckworth added. Amnesty called on Italy and Malta to respect the basic rights of asylum-seekers, migrants and refugees. It also urged the Libyan authorities to introduce procedures to allow asylum seekers to apply for refugee status and give all those potentially in need of international protection access to the UNHCR in Libya. The entry into force this month of a bilateral agreement to combat illegal immigration between Italy and Libya allows joint maritime patrols in return for millions of dollars of Italian aid for Libya. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 STRASBOURG, MAY 7 - Libyàs decision this morning to accept responsibility for three boat-loads of emigrants sighted yesterday off the Italian island of Lampedusa, represents a "good signal to the whole of the EU". So said the Vice President of the EU Commission, Antonio Tajani, speaking on the sidelines of the plenary session of the Europarliament and on the eve of his visit to Valletta.European action also has to be in "harmony" with the immigrants' countries of origin, Tajani stressed, saying that the signal sent out by Libya today was a step in this direction. (ANSAmed). |
| Posted by: Classer 2009-05-08 02:37 |