UN agencies call for action on Mediterranean migration

UN agencies call for action on Mediterranean migration

Dozens of African migrants were rescued this week from what international migration agencies say is the largest shipwreck this year off the Libyan coast, but the death of at least 45 others has renewed attention to policies that fail to protect Mediterranean Sea migrants. The International Organization for Migration (IOM)…

Some 25 African migrants die each week – on the continent

Some 25 African migrants die each week – on the continent

About 25 African migrants die every week – some 1,300 annually – before they ever leave the African continent or take the risks of the dangerous Mediterranean Sea or Gulf-route journeys. That’s according to International Organization of Migration, which has published new numbers through its Missing Migrants Project (MMP) report….

Italy allows 27 minors to leave rescue ship at Lampedusa

Unaccompanied minors aboard the Spanish sea rescue ship Open Arms were permitted to disembark at the Italian port of Lampedusa on Saturday, one day after the head of the rescue organization warned the situation aboard the ship – where migrants have been trapped for two weeks – was rapidly deteriorating….

UNHCR laments Italy’s approval of stiff migrant rescue penalties

The United Nations refugee agency responded quickly on Tuesday to a decision made by Italy’s parliament that will impose harsher penalties against those people and organizations involved in migrant search and rescue on the Mediterranean Sea. The UNHCR said that under the changes, fines for private vessels that rescue migrants…

Morocco imposes new visa rules to deter EU-bound migrants

The Government of Morocco, under pressure to stem the tide of African migrants crossing into Spain, has established new entry visa rules for travelers from some African nations. Reuters reports that the new requirements apply in up to seven countries that have historically had no visa requirement to visit Morocco….

Amnesty: Europe complicit in Libya’s migrant human rights crisis

European governments share responsibility in the exploitation and torture of thousands of African migrants trapped in Libya, driven by “a policy of containment” that leaves them at the mercy of Libyan authorities and human traffickers they actively support, Amnesty International said Tuesday. The human rights organization released a new report,…