The IOM is concerned that migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean continue to be returned to Libya. In the last three days, around 400 have been returned, a further 90 people risk being returned and two people died.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have released a joint statement, calling on Malta and other EU states to find a way to bring some 160 migrants on board two private vessels on the Mediterranean to safety.
The EU's foreign minister has urged Malta to stop blocking a new Mediterranean Sea naval mission aimed at preventing the flow of weapons into Libya. Josep Borrell said the operation was needed to stabilize Libya and stop the "wave" of migrants from Africa.
The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Friday expressed grave concerns for the fate of hundreds of migrants returned to Libya by the coast guard this year who are now unaccounted for. The organisation stressed that it is ''unacceptable for people rescued at sea to be returned to abuse, trafficking, and war'' and reiterated its call to the European Union for urgent action to establish a clear and swift disembarkation mechanism to end returns to Libya.
Libya’s coast guard returned around 50 migrants to detention centers in Tripoli who had earlier been picked up at sea by a Maltese commercial vessel. At least five migrants have died and another seven remain missing from inflatable boats, on which the migrants had attempted to reach Europe, according to the UNHCR.
Dozens of migrants fled the port of the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday amidst shelling. Around 280 migrants were held there after Libyan coast guards intercepted them in their attempt to reach Europe by boat. Libya had classified its own ports unsafe and denied the landing.
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 a letter sent to Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, the EU's human rights watchdog has once again asked Italy to suspend its collaboration activities with Libya's controversial coast guard.
On Sunday, Italy sent Libyan authorities proposed changes to the 2017 Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on migrants. The Italian foreign ministry said the draft introduces "significant innovations" to ensure more protections to migrants, asylum seekers, and in particular people who are vulnerable to becoming victims of illegal traffickers across Libya.
A boat with at least 91 migrants on board floating in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast is feared missing. A hotline for migrants in distress at sea says Libyan authorities on Sunday refused to attempt to rescue the migrants because detention camps are "full". 93 other migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean on Sunday by a Spanish NGO.
The new agreement between Italy and the Libyan coastguard came into effect on Sunday for a period of three years. Backed by the European Union, it will continue to provide financial assistance for Libya to train the Libyan coastguard for migrant rescue operations.
The rescue organization Sea-Watch says Turkey has breached human rights by handing over a group of 30 migrants to the Libyan Coast Guard in the Mediterranean.