Speaking at a discussion on international migration convened by the UN General Assembly this week, the UN Special Rapporteur Francois Crepeau warned that the recent Lampedusa migrant boat tragedy could be repeated. There have been 232 fatalities so far, with many victims reportedly still within the sunken vessel.
Mr Crepeau warned that “If countries continue to criminalise irregular migration, without adopting new legal channels for migration, especially for low-skilled migrants, thus limiting possibilities for asylum seekers and migrants to securely and regularly reach safe destinations, the number of migrants risking their lives on dangerously overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels over perilous sea routes can only increase”.
Click here for a summary of Mr Crepeau’s comments.
In a symbolic gesture the Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Friday 04 October that “[T]he hundreds who lost their lives off Lampedusa yesterday are Italian citizens as of today”. The status of those who survived the incident appears to be less clear. Indeed, Mr Crepeau’s comments above appear to be a direct criticism of an Italian law passed by the previous government by which “clandestine immigrants” are considered illegal and could be susceptible to fines of up to €5000.
On a visit to Lampedusa, Italian Minister of Integration Cecile Kyenge hinted at a change in the law dealing with irregular migrants; “[T]he rules must be changed, we can’t just have to approach immigration with repression, but we need also one of acceptance”.
Click here to read an EUObserver article.
The incident has also cast a spotlight on EU migration law. Under the Dublin Regulation it is up to the nation of refugees’ first port of call to consider their request for asylum and to house them while there requests are being processed. There have been calls to ease the burden on those Mediterranean states that are on the frontline of mass migration from Northern Africa and more recently war torn Syria. Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament has called for a wider distribution of the burden across the European Union, an issue he has termed a “problem for all EU member states”.
Click here to read an article in The Spiegel Online International about the issue.