UNHCR awarded Italy's Terre e Pace peace prize
News Stories, 7 August 2009
© F3 Press/G.Gabrielli
The ceremony awarding Italy's Terre e Pace peace prize to UNHCR took place in central Rome and was attended by politicians and international representatives.
ROME, August 6 (UNHCR) – UNHCR's work in Italy to protect the rights of asylum seekers was honoured Thursday when the agency was awarded the Terre e Pace peace prize.
The award, which is given to organizations and individuals deemed to have contributed to world peace, was accepted on behalf of the UN refugee agency by Regional Representative Laurens Jolles during a ceremony held in the shadow of Rome's famous Pantheon. Thursday's event was timed to mark the 64th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and was attended by national and local politicians, representatives from the Japanese embassy as well as staff of organizations that have received the peace prize in the past.
The prize's organizing committee said it chose UNHCR as this year's recipient because of its work to protect the rights of asylum seekers in Italy, many of who arrive in overcrowded boats from Libya. Accepting the award, Jolles said 2009 had been a difficult year for UNHCR in Italy as it sought ensure individuals' rights to international protection were upheld in the face of restrictive government policies which, in some instances, has included returning boats to Libya.
"This award is evidence that UNHCR is not alone in its conviction that safeguards for asylum seekers must be maintained, even on the high seas," said Jolles. "It is essential that those who seek refuge from persecution are able to access international protection and that borders are not closed to them."
Italy has rescued thousands of people in distress in the Mediterranean Sea, providing assistance and protection to those in need. In May, a new push-back policy was introduced and at least 900 people trying to reach Italy by sea have now been sent to other countries, mainly to Libya. UNHCR has expressed serious concerns about the impact of this new policy which, in the absence of adequate safeguards, can prevent access to asylum and undermines the international principle of non-refoulement.
Previous recipients of the Terre e Pace prize have included UNICEF, Doctors without Borders and the Italian Red Cross.
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
Angelina Jolie meets boat people in Malta, Lampedusa
Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie joined UNHCR chief António Guterres on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where they met with boat people who have fled unrest in North Africa.
More than 40,000 people, including refugees and asylum-seekers, have crossed the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats and descended on the small island since the beginning of the year.
The UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador flew to Lampedusa from Malta, which has also been a destination for people fleeing North Africa by boat.
Angelina Jolie meets boat people in Malta, Lampedusa
Fleeing Libya by sea
Thousands of people, mainly sub-Saharan Africans, are taking to the sea in ancient, leaky and overcrowded boats to escape war in their adopted homeland. Libya. The destination of choice is the Italian resort island of Lampedusa, some 600 kilometres north of Libya in the Mediterranean. Many of the passengers arrive traumatized and exhausted from the high seas journey. Others perish en route.
One Ivorian migrant describes life in Tripoli before leaving: "There was no peace. There was rifle fire everywhere. Then NATO started to bomb. We had nothing to eat. Some Libyans started to attack strangers at night, to steal your money, your mobile, whatever you have ... No way to stay there with them. Better to flee."
UNHCR estimates that one in 10 people die during the sea journey from Libya. Those bodies which wash ashore get a simple burial in Lampedusa's cemetery.
May 2011
Fleeing Libya by sea
Italy: Jolie and Guterres visit Lampedusa
Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie and UNHCR chief António Guterres see conditions for migrants, including refugees, on Italy's Lampedusa Island.
Malta: Angelina Jolie meets asylum seekers
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visits an old air force base on Malata and talks to asylum-seekers who have fled North Africa.
Italy Sea rescue
A Guardia di Finanza vessel, which normally operates against drug smugglers, arrives in Italy's Lampedusa Island with a group of boat people rescued at sea after fleeing Libya.
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