Mediterranean Sea arrivals: UNHCR calls for access to protection
Briefing Notes, 9 January 2009
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 9 January 2009, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The Ministers of Interior of Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta are due to meet in Rome on Tuesday, 13 January, to discuss the problem of irregular migrants arriving by sea. UNHCR understands that this question may also be discussed at the informal meeting of EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Prague on 15 January. In this context, UNHCR appeals to EU Member States to ensure that people seeking asylum have access to territory and to fair procedures for examining their claims.
During 2008, out of a total estimated figure of more than 67,000 people crossing to Europe by sea, some 38,000 persons arrived in Italy and Malta alone, mostly after transiting through Libya. The vast majority applied for asylum, and more than half of those claiming asylum were found to be in need of international protection. With few opportunities to enter the EU by regular means, thousands of people threatened by persecution and serious human rights violations in their home countries have no choice but to take the dangerous sea route. This highlights the vital need to ensure that State agreements and measures to tighten borders do not block access to safety for those seeking protection in the EU.
Attention has recently focused on large numbers of persons landing on the Italian island of Lampedusa. UNHCR appreciates the efforts made by States along the Mediterranean to rescue people in distress at sea. We also recognize that boat arrivals put significant strains on the resources of those countries. People seeking asylum must nevertheless be allowed to disembark in a safe place, where they can receive information about their rights and have a genuine opportunity to file an asylum application which will be considered in a fair procedure. Sending refugees back to countries where they cannot enjoy effective protection could violate Member States' international obligations to refrain from refoulement.
Available data shows many boat arrivals are persons originating from Somalia and Eritrea. According to preliminary figures for 2008, about 75 percent of those who arrived in Italy by sea applied for asylum, and around 50 per cent of them were granted refugee status or protection on other humanitarian grounds. Nearly all people who arrived irregularly by sea in Malta applied for asylum and some 60 percent were recognized as being in need of international protection. This shows that the Mediterranean Sea is indeed an "asylum route" for many people fleeing violence and persecution.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
| 
| 
| 
