http://www.newdelhitimes.com/eu-and-the-libya-migrant-problem123/
EU and the Libya Migrant Problem
Published On: Mon, Oct 3rd, 2016 By New Delhi Times Bureau
Libya has become the latest flashpoint of the European Union’s migration crisis. According to estimates provided by the International Organisation for Migration, there were 278,327 migrants that arrived to Europe by sea, as of 31 August 2016. During the same reporting period, there were 3,168 people recorded dead or missing. Of them, 106,461 migrants arrived to Italy, as of 28 August, and 2,726 deaths were recorded along the Central Mediterranean Route, compared to last year’s figures, when 116,147 migrants arrived to Italy between 1 January and 31 August 2015. Refugees from African and Middle East countries make use of Libya as a springboard to enter Europe, via the Mediterranean route, risking their lives mostly using decrepit boats. The relatively short distance between Libya’s shoreline and Italy’s island of Lampedusa encourages more refugees to risk the journey. Libya, a nearly failed state, also provides a safe haven for human traffickers who exploit the country’s lawlessness. As an element of EU comprehensive response to the migration issue, Operation EUNAVFOR MED Sophia was established by the EU Council on 18 May 2015 to respond to the swelling number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Libya.
The Operation came into being after a series of mass drowning and the ‘strong commitment to act’ pledged by the European Council following the death of 800 migrants after a boat overturned off the Libyan coast on 19 April 2015. The headquarters of the operation are located in Rome under the leadership of Rear Admiral Enrico Credendino. 24 EU Member States contribute to the operation as of now. At the moment operation Sophia Task Force comprises of 5 ships (1 Italian light aircraft carrier, 1 German auxiliary ship, 1 British survey ship, 1 Spanish frigate, 1 German mine hunter), 3 organic helicopters (2 Italian, 1 Spanish) and 3 air assets (Luxembourg, Spain and France). The common budget of the operation amounts to Euro 11.82 million.
The mission’s core mandate is to undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture and dispose of vessels and enabling assets used or suspected of being used by migrant smugglers or traffickers, in order to contribute to wider EU efforts to disrupt the business model of human smuggling and trafficking networks in the Southern Central Mediterranean and prevent the further loss of life at sea. Since 7 October 2015, as agreed by the EU Ambassadors within the Security Committee on 28 September, the operation moved to phase 2 International Waters, which entails boarding, search, seizure and diversion, on the high seas, of vessels suspected of being used for human smuggling or trafficking. On 20 June 2016, the European Council extended the mandate of Operation Sophia until 27 July 2017, and reinforced it adding two supporting tasks – training of the Libyan coastguards and navy, and contributing to the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya. EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia has been designed to conduct in four phases. The first phase consist of gathering information and deploying forces in order to have gather information about the modus operandi of human trafficking and smuggling activities. This phase has reached its completion. The second phase entails the boarding, search, seizure and diversion of smugglers’ vessels on the high seas within the parameters set by international law and the framework of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR).
The third phase mandates the EU to undertake operational measures against vessels and related assets suspected of being used for human smuggling or trafficking inside the coastal states territory, subject to the UNSCR framework. The fourth phase or the final phase will consist of withdrawal of forces and completion of the operation. EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia will operate under the principle of ‘non-refoulement’ in international law that prohibits the expulsion, deportation, return or extradition in a third country. According to experts on European Security, Operation Sophia is the first EU operation that addresses both the internal as well as the external security threat, and encompasses a coordinated efforts of both civilian and military crisis management dimension. It may be mentioned here that there have been some voices that have been apprehensive of the Operation. The most prominent among these is the review by House of Lords EU Committee which says that although the operation has succeeding in carrying out its separate search and rescue obligations, there is little prospect of a naval mission like Operation Sophia overturning the business model of people smuggling.
The European Commission has responded to such criticism by stating that the Operation helped to save more 13,740 lives, among which more than 850 children, and after only seven months of operation at high seas, Operation Sophia has contributed to apprehend and transfer to relevant Italian authorities 69 suspected smugglers; the Operation itself has neutralised 114 vessels and contributed to the neutralisation of additional 208 asset. High Representative of the European Union for External Action Service, Federica Mogherini, comments on the results achieved by the initiative known as EUNAVFOR MED – Operation Sophia thus: “This part of our strategy is up and running, it’s operational, it’s producing results, and it’s something on which Europe is united, not only in decision making but also in operational terms”.
Received on Mon Oct 03 2016 - 10:10:32 EDT