NGO ship Alan Kurdi has rescued 150 migrants from two boats off the coast of Libya. It is the only private rescue ship operating in the region right now. The coronavirus emergency could make it difficult for the ship to find a port for disembarkation.
The UN refugee agency is warning that the humanitarian crisis in Libya is becoming even worse. Fighting has increased and Libya's healthcare system is ill-prepared to handle a coronavirus outbreak. At least one person in Libya has died of Covid-19 so far.
The UN agencies for refugees, migration, and human rights, and the World Health organization have released a statement, calling on countries worldwide to protect the rights and health of refugees, migrants and stateless people amid the coronavirus pandemic.
There were at least 5,303 people who died on their migration journeys last year, according to new data released by the Missing Migrants Project. The largest number of deaths were recorded on the African continent and on the Mediterranean route.
In midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the German humanitarian organizaton Sea-Eye announced the launch of a new migrant rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea. The Alan Kurdi vessel left the Spanish port of Burriana on Monday.
The EU has agreed to launch a new mission in the Mediterranean to monitor the UN-mandated arms embargo on Libya. NGOs are critical of the bloc's policy on fighting human smuggling and arms trafficking.
Due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, UN refugee agency UNHCR has closed two of its facilities in the Libyan capital Tripoli until Tuesday, March 24. Hotlines for asylum seekers and refugees are still available, says UNHCR.
A report by the organization Doctors for Human Rights has found that 85% of migrants and refugees who reached Italy from Libya had been subjected to torture in the African country.
The organisation Mediterranea Saving Humans has announced the suspension of its migrant rescue operations at sea due to the coronavirus emergency.
Artist und activist Zehra Doan is auctioning of one of her artworks to help fund the migrant rescue missions of NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans.
Over 400 migrants have been picked up by the Libyan coast guard and returned to Libya over the weekend. That’s according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which called the action “unacceptable.”
In mid-February, round 300 migrants were intercepted at sea by the Libyan coast guard and transferred to a detention center at Sharah Zawiya, in the south of Libya's capital Tripoli. The center has been open for at least a year. Recently, it has been taken under the control of the UN-backed government and has become accessible to the IOM.