Tag: migrants

Italy will allow its coast guard ship 'Ubaldo Diciotti,' carrying 177 rescued migrants to dock in Catania, Sicily. This comes after a standoff with Malta over where the ship should disembark. However, there are reports that the interior minister Matteo Salvini will not allow the migrants to disembark until he is assured that they will go elsewhere.

Italy has approved 10 new patrol boats and two larger ships for the Libyan coast guard, under the attempt of the Government to control migration. The new vessels will be deployed by the end of August. The ships were approved by the Italian Senate on Monday, August 6.

While restrictions on immigration can reduce overall migration, they can also provide the opposite results, as more migrants would try to use unauthorised channels. This was the finding of a new UCL-led research in collaboration with Royal Holloway and University of Birmingham.

An Italian towboat rescued 108 people in the Mediterranean and returned them to Libya. However, the United Nations said that this action may have broken the international law as migrants rescued in international waters cannot be returned to a place where their lives are put in danger.

The port city of Algeciras is warning that help is needed to cope with the increasing numbers of migrants crossing in southern Spain. Namely, Algeciras's mayor José Ignacio Landaluce called for help as illegal migration to Spain has been increasing for more than a year and arrivals by sea have risen dramatically in recent weeks.

European Commission is expanding on the concept of controlled centres and short-term measures to improve the processing of migrants being disembarked in the EU, and giving a first outline of the possible way forward for the establishment of regional disembarkation arrangements with third countries.

As about 40,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe via maritime routes in 2018 to date, the International Organization for Migration and UNHCR call for a common approach to implement a predictable and responsible disembarkation mechanism that prioritizes human rights and safety first.

Italy did not allow a commercial vessel carrying an Italian flag to bring ashore rescued migrants, committing to its policy not to accept immigrants. A commercial ship rescued 66 migrants on Monday, despite the fact that Libyan patrol boats were coming to retrieve them.

The humanitarian boat 'Open Arms', which was carrying 60 migrants, docked in Barcelona on Wednesday July 4, as it was scheduled. The ship ended up in Spain after Malta and Italy had rejected it. Despite the fact that the irregular immigration has decreased, European countries are polarized in their immigration policies.

Malta detained another humanitarian ship on Monday July 2. The ship normally rescues boat migrants off the coast of Libya, where two shipwrecks have cost the lives of 200 people recently. The Sea Watch 3 vessel requested to leave the port after maintenance was performed to it, but the port authority refused.