Massimo Sestini—Polaris - Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa on the Mediterranean.
Joint Statement on Migrants Mediterranean Crossings
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for International Migration and Development Peter Sutherland, and Director-General of the International Organization for Migration William Lacy Swing
A tragedy of epic proportions is unfolding in the Mediterranean. We, the undersigned*, strongly urge European leaders to put human life, rights, and dignity first today when agreeing upon a common response to the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean.
The European Union is founded on the fundamental principles of humanity, solidarity and respect for human rights. We urge EU Member States to demonstrate moral and political leadership in adopting a holistic and forward-looking action plan centred upon these values.
The European Union response needs to go beyond the present minimalist approach in the 10 Point Plan on Migration, announced by the EU on Monday, which focuses primarily on stemming the arrival of migrants and refugees on its shores. As a paramount principle, the safety, protection needs, and human rights of all migrants and refugees should be at the forefront of the EU response. EU leaders must look beyond the present situation and work closely with transit and origin countries both to alleviate the immediate plight of migrants and refugees and address in a more comprehensive way the many factors that drive them to resort to such desperate journeys by sea. Enforcement alone will not solve the issue of irregular migration, but could increase the risks and abuse faced by migrants and refugees.
We would therefore encourage bold, collective action to expand the range of measures under consideration to include:
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Setting in place a State-led, robust, proactive, and well-resourced search-and-rescue operation, urgently and without delay, with a capacity similar to Mare Nostrum and a clear mission to save lives.
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Creating sufficientchannels for safe and regular migration, including for low-skilled migrant workers and individuals in need of family reunification, and access to protection where needed, as safe alternatives to resorting to smugglers.
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Making a firm commitment to receive significantly higher numbers of refugees through EU-wide resettlement, in addition to current quotas, and on a scale which will make a real impact, combined with other legal means for refugees to reach safety.
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Bolstering arrangements to support those countries receiving the most arrivals (Italy, Malta, and Greece) and to distribute responsibility more equitably across the European Union for saving lives and protecting all those in need.
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Combatting racist and xenophobic rhetoric vilifying migrants and refugees.
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António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Peter Sutherland, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for International Migration and Development
William L. Swing, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration
http://time.com/3827557/migrant-boat-capsizing-mediterranean-europe/
More migrant women making dangerous Mediterranean boat crossing – Many are victims of abuse & trafficking
November 7, 2014 - Despite increasingly dangerous sea conditions, irregular migrants are continuing to across the Mediterranean, bringing the total number of arrivals in Italy this year to 154,075, according to figures newly released by the country’s Ministry of the Interior.
The number of migrants arriving in Italy by sea in the month of October was 15,279, a slight decrease from the 26,107 who arrived in September. The overall total of arrivals has now reached just under four times the number of arrivals recorded during the same period last year (38,882).
Syria remains the top sending country with 36,351 migrants in 2014, followed by Eritrea (33,872), Mali (8,899), Nigeria (8,031), Gambia (6,787), Palestine (5,044) and Somalia (4,965.) The increase in the number of Palestinians was notable fewer than 1,000 arrived in Italy through the first six months of 2014.
Although October number represented a 40 per cent drop from the number of arrivals during September, IOM officials in Rome noted some worrying trends in the flow: among them, the growing presence of women, many considered potential victims of trafficking.
In 2014 there has been an alarming increase in the number of women arriving: 23,735 in 2014 compared to 7,658 in 2013, said IOM Italy Chief of Mission Federico Soda. particular we have noticed a sharp increase in arrivals of young women from Nigeria. Over 1,290 Nigerian women have arrived so far this year, a more than 300 per cent increase from the 392 who arrived in the same period during 2013.
IOM has established under the framework of the Praesidium project, co-financed by the Italian Ministry of the Interior and the European Commission two anti-trafficking teams in Sicily and Apulia whose job it is to detect and identify victims of exploitation.
We have to move fast. We start to talk to them immediately at the harbour, as soon as they land, and before they can be approached by those who organized their journey,said Soda.
According to IOM counter trafficking specialists, many of the women interviewed confirmed that they had been sent to Italy as sex workers. In some cases, their statements led to the arrest of their alleged traffickers. A number of the women also reported being raped.
According to Soda, many girls come from the Edo State in Nigeria, where they were told that finding well-paid work in Italy is relatively easy.
They soon understood that they had been cheated. During the trip they were repeatedly raped or forced to prostitute themselves in near slavery condition. Many ended up in brothels in Libya and were then sent on to Italy by the traffickers. Many of them had to swear an oath to repay the money for the trip in a voodoo ceremony, a psychological manipulation that sometimes makes it difficult to persuade them that they don’t need to pay off the to their exploiters, he said.
IOM – International Organization for Migration
Извор: WUNRN – 24.04.2015
