Malta: Spanish trawler waits offshore, UNHCR calls for EU burden-sharing
Briefing Notes, 18 July 2006
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 18 July 2006, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The Spanish fishing trawler "Francisco Catalina", which rescued 51 people (42 men, 8 women and a baby, most of them apparently from Eritrea) in the Mediterranean on Friday (14 July), has been standing off the Maltese coast since Saturday and still has not been authorized to dock in Malta.
UNHCR has been in contact with the Maltese authorities to express humanitarian concern for the group, some of whom may be refugees in need of international protection, and to underline the urgent need to disembark them as soon as possible in a place where they can receive assistance.
UNHCR fully understands the difficulties and concerns of the Maltese authorities and the considerable challenges posed by the repeated arrivals of mixed groups of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in various Mediterranean countries. However, given the urgency of the situation and for practical considerations, UNHCR is appealing to governments in the region to allow the disembarkation and admission of the 51 people to their territory, at least on a temporary basis.
UNHCR is also calling on EU member states to work with and support Malta to find an appropriate solution to this kind of situation in a spirit of solidarity and burden-sharing.
UNHCR praises the captain and crew of the "Francisco Catalina" for their humanitarian act and requests all the relevant authorities to do everything in their power to ensure that the trawler can continue its journey as scheduled as soon as possible and with minimum further disruption.
All in the same boat: The challenges of mixed migration around the world.
Implementation of the 10-Point Plan in Different Regions
Regional Stakeholder Conferences
- Regional Conference on Refugee Protection and International Migration in Central Asia
(Almaty, Kazakhstan, 15-16 March 2011)
- Regional Conference on Mixed Movements and Irregular Migration from the East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region to Southern Africa
(Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, 6-7 September 2010)
- Regional Conference on Refugee Protection and International Migration in the Americas: Protection Considerations in the Context of Mixed Migration
(San José, Costa Rica, 19-20 November 2009)
- Regional Conference on "Refugee Protection and International Migration in the Gulf of Aden"
(Sana'a, Yemen, 19-20 May 2008)
- Regional Conference on Refugee Protection and International Migration in West Africa
(Dakar, Senegal, 13-14 November 2008)
Expert Roundtables
Stocking of the 10-Point Plan Project
The link between movements of refugees and broader migration attracts growing attention.
Migrants are different from refugees but the two sometimes travel alongside each other.
2007 Nansen Refugee Award
The UN refugee agency's Nansen Awards Committee has named Dr. Katrine Camilleri, a 37-year-old lawyer with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Malta, as the winner of the 2007 Nansen Refugee Award. The Committee was impressed by the political and civic courage she has shown in dealing with the refugee situation in Malta.
Dr. Camilleri first became aware of the plight of refugees as a 16-year-old girl when a priest visited her school to talk about his work. After graduating from the University of Malta in 1994, she began working in a small law firm where she came into contact with refugees. As Dr. Camilleri's interest grew in this humanitarian field, she started to work with the JRS office in Malta in 1997.
Over the last year, JRS and Dr. Camilleri have faced a series of attacks. Nine vehicles belonging to the Jesuits were burned in two separate attacks. And this April, arsonists set fire to both Dr. Camilleri's car and her front door, terrifying her family. The perpetrators were never caught but the attacks shocked Maltese society and drew condemnation from the Government of Malta. Dr. Camilleri continues to lead the JRS Malta legal team as Assistant Director.
2007 Nansen Refugee Award
Drifting Towards Italy
Every year, Europe's favourite summer playground - the Mediterranean Sea - turns into a graveyard as hundreds of men, women and children drown in a desperate bid to reach European Union (EU) countries.
The Italian island of Lampedusa is just 290 kilometres off the coast of Libya. In 2006, some 18,000 people crossed this perilous stretch of sea - mostly on inflatable dinghies fitted with an outboard engine. Some were seeking employment, others wanted to reunite with family members and still others were fleeing persecution, conflict or indiscriminate violence and had no choice but to leave through irregular routes in their search for safety.
Of those who made it to Lampedusa, some 6,000 claimed asylum. And nearly half of these were recognized as refugees or granted some form of protection by the Italian authorities.
In August 2007, the authorities in Lampedusa opened a new reception centre to ensure that people arriving by boat or rescued at sea are received in a dignified way and are provided with adequate accommodation and medical facilities.
Drifting Towards Italy
Sighted off Spain's Canary Islands
Despite considerable dangers, migrants seeking a better future and refugees fleeing war and persecution continue to board flimsy boats and set off across the high seas. One of the main routes into Europe runs from West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands.
Before 2006, most irregular migrants taking this route used small vessels called pateras, which can carry up to 20 people. They left mostly from Morocco and the Western Sahara on the half-day journey. The pateras have to a large extent been replaced by boats which carry up to 150 people and take three weeks to reach the Canaries from ports in West Africa.
Although only a small proportion of the almost 32,000 people who arrived in the Canary Islands in 2006 applied for asylum, the number has gone up. More than 500 people applied for asylum in 2007, compared with 359 the year before. This came at a time when the overall number of arrivals by sea went down by 75 percent during 2007.
Sighted off Spain's Canary Islands
Greece: A Way into Europe
Desperate Syrian refugees take deadly risks to get to Europe.
Romania: Saad's Dilemma
Saad, an Iraqi journalist covering politics, was targeted, kidnapped and held captive for three months. After escaping, he paid a smuggler to take him to Europe. We spoke with him in Romania, where he has begun building a new life.
Mexico: Fleeing Central American Gang Violence
Tens of thousands of people make their way to Mexico on mixed migration routes every year. They include victims of gang violence who need protection.
| 
| 
| 
