Italy: UNHCR welcomes Italian journalists' charter
Briefing Notes, 13 June 2008
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 13 June 2008, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
We welcome the final approval yesterday by the Italian Council of Journalists' Associations of a code of conduct on reporting of asylum and migration issues. The document, known as the "Rome Charter'" was drafted by the Journalists' Association and the Italian National Press Federation in collaboration with UNHCR.
The Rome Charter will provide Italian journalists with guidelines to ensure that information on asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and victims of human trafficking is balanced and accurate. The Charter also calls for migration and asylum issues to be included in journalism courses and establishes an independent Monitoring Centre which will monitor media coverage of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.
UNHCR believes this code of ethics will lead to the correct use of language and adequate protection for all those who have requested and obtained protection in Italy, without prejudicing the right to information.
The issue of immigration has been widely discussed in recent months in Italy and there have been several cases of attacks against foreigners.
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
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
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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