Helping Migrants Held in Libya

Europe, Africa ministers agree to help migrants held in Libya

BERN (Reuters) - European and African ministers agreed on Monday to try to improve conditions for migrants in Libya and seek paths such as scholarships for Africans to reach Europe legally, to cut the death toll from smuggling across the Sahara and Mediterranean.

The deadly trek across the desert from sub-Saharan Africa through Libya and over sea to Italy is now the main route used by refugees and other vulnerable migrants heading to Europe, after Turkey closed the other main route via Greece that brought in nearly a million people in 2015.

Almost 115,000 migrants have landed on Italian shores so far this year. Almost 2,750 are known to have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean, the U.N. International Organization for Migration said on Friday, and the death toll in the Sahara desert is thought to be at least twice as high.

European and African officials say the numbers reaching Europe have finally been falling over the past few months due to better efforts to fight smuggling. But that has also left tens of thousands of migrants trapped in Libya, often detained in conditions rights groups say are dangerous and inhumane.

Interior ministers belonging to the “Central Mediterranean contact group” met in Switzerland to discuss the crisis.

While they talked about law enforcement measures to combat smuggling, their final statement focused more on efforts to alleviate the journey’s harm.

Ministers from Algeria, Austria, Chad, France, Germany, Italy, Libya, Malta, Niger, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tunisia and Mali were among those backing the statement.

“We had a very intensive exchange, because the questions we are dealing with are very demanding issues,” Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said after the meeting.

“This is why we concentrated on protecting refugees. We had many people with different viewpoints sitting around the table, but nonetheless, on this point we all agreed.... We want to improve the situation of migrants and refugees, particularly in Libya.”

Sommaruga said an improvement in the situation on the central Mediterranean route would be possible only if countries joined together to help stabilize Libya.

The ministers said they would work closely with Libyan authorities to ensure detained migrants and refugees were held with respect for human rights and humanitarian standards, and promised to secure priority release from detention for vulnerable people such as children and victims of torture.

They also pledged to create economic alternatives to smuggling, including pilot projects for pathways for Africans to reach Europe legally, such as scholarships and apprenticeships.

“We risk this time to be seen as a dark chapter in European history. If we wish to change that situation, we must get together with those states which themselves are very severely affected by migration,” Sommaruga said.


Additional reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi in Zurich; Writing by Tom Miles; Editing by Peter Graff

From: Reuters.com (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants/europe-africa-ministers-agree-to-help-migrants-held-in-libya-idUSKBN1DD1VI ) 

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RESPONSE:

Audience: I think that the intended audience of this article is mainly for people who are involved with the Libyan migrant, like various countries in Europe who have been and will be providing support, the Libyan migrants and their families, and also other North African countries for their governments and people to know what is going on.

Bias: I think that the general bias is towards the Libyan migrants and the governments/ministers that have made the decision to the migrants to get the appropriate help that they need to get proper licensing and care. In general, I think that the tone of this article is very positive.

Opinion: I previously did an article talking about the hardships and conditions that the Libyan migrants face every day in the detention center, where they send most of their years. Finding that their conditions were terrible, even to the point of lacking basic rights to food and water. I think that it is great that ministers and governments from African countries have come up with the idea to help their own people instead of just waiting for other countries or organizations to aid the people. I hope that what they say they are actually going to carry out. This includes the providing the basic rights, like food, water, and electricity, and also helping them with the process of getting the appropriate documents to go start their new lives in a European country and also proper document for people to get an education. I think that it is great that the Libyan migrants have been recognized, which can create recognition for other migrants around the world.