#port_sûr

Sentenza Cassazione: Consegnare gli immigranti alla guardia costiera libica è reato

La Libia è un paese canaglia: bocciati Minniti, Conte e Meloni. Dice la sentenza della Cassazione, è noto che in Libia i migranti subiscono vessazioni, violenze e tortura. Quindi è un reato violare la legge internazionale e il codice di navigazione che impongono di portare i naufraghi in un porto sicuro

Il governo italiano (sia questo in carica sia quelli di centrosinistra che avevano Marco Minniti come ministro dell’interno) potrebbe addirittura finire sotto processo sulla base di una sentenza emessa dalla Corte di Cassazione.

Dice questa sentenza che la Libia non è un porto sicuro, e che dunque non si possono consegnare alla Libia (o favorire la cattura da parte delle motovedette libiche) le persone salvate da un naufragio.

Dice la sentenza, è noto che in Libia i migranti subiscono vessazioni, violenze e tortura. Quindi è un reato violare la legge internazionale e il codice di navigazione che impongono di portare i naufraghi in un porto sicuro.

Che la Libia non fosse un porto sicuro era stranoto. Bastava non leggere i giornali italiani per saperlo. La novità è che questa evidente verità viene ora formalmente affermata con una sentenza della Cassazione che fa giurisprudenza. E che, come è del tutto evidente, mette in discussione gli accordi con la Libia firmati dai governi di centrosinistra e poi confermati dai governi Conte e infine dai governi di centrodestra.

Accordi che si basarono persino sul finanziamento italiano e sulla consegna di motovedette – realizzate a spese del governo italiano – alle autorità di Tripoli. Ora quegli accordi devono essere immediatamente cancellati e in linea di principio si potrebbe persino ipotizzare l’apertura di processi (se non è scattata la prescrizione) ai responsabili di quegli accordi.

I reati per i quali la Cassazione con questa sentenza ha confermato la condanna al comandante di una nave che nel luglio del 2018 (governo gialloverde, Salvini ministro dell’Interno) consegnò alla guardia costiera libica 101 naufraghi salvati in mezzo al Mediterraneo sono “abbandono in stato di pericolo di persone minori o incapaci, e di sbarco e abbandono arbitrario di persone”. La Cassazione ha dichiarato formalmente che la Libia non è un porto sicuro.

Tutta la politica dei respingimenti a questo punto, se dio vuole, salta in aria. La Cassazione ha stabilito che bisogna tornare allo Stato di diritto, a scapito della propaganda politica. E saltano in aria anche i provvedimenti recentemente adottati dalle autorità italiane sulla base del decreto Spazza-naufraghi varato circa un anno fa dal governo Meloni.

Ancora in queste ore c’è una nave della Ocean Viking che è sotto fermo amministrativo perché accusata di non aver seguito le direttive impartite dalle autorità libiche. Ovviamente dovrà immediatamente essere dissequestrata e forse c’è anche il rischio che chi ha deciso il sequestro finisca sotto processo. Inoltre bisognerà restituire la multa e probabilmente risarcire il danno.

E quello della Ocean Viking è solo uno di numerosissimi casi. Certo, perché ciò avvenga sarebbe necessaria una assunzione di responsabilità sia da parte del Parlamento sia da parte della magistratura. E le due cose non sono probabilissime.

▻https://www.osservatoriorepressione.info/sentenza-cassazione-consegnare-gli-immigranti-alla-guardia

Italy’s top court: Handing over migrants to Libyan coast guards is illegal

Italy’s highest court, the Cassation Court, has ruled that handing over migrants to Libyan coast guards is unlawful because Libya does not represent a safe port. The sentence could have major repercussions.

Handing over migrants rescued in the Central Mediterranean to Tripoli’s coast guards is unlawful because Libya is not a safe port and it is conduct which goes against the navigation code, the Cassation Court ruled on February 17. The decision upheld the conviction of the captain of the Italian private vessel Asso 28, which, on July 30, 2018, rescued 101 individuals in the central Mediterranean and then handed them over to the Libyan coast guards to be returned to Libya.

The supreme court judges ruled in sentence number 4557 that facilitating the interception of migrants and refugees by the Libyan coast guards falls under the crime of “abandonment in a state of danger of minors or incapacitated people and arbitrary disembarkation and abandonment of people.” This ruling effectively characterizes the 2018 incident as collective refoulement to a country not considered safe, contravening the European Convention on Human Rights.

NGOs announce class action lawsuit

Beyond its political implications, the Cassation’s decision could significantly impact ongoing legal proceedings, including administrative actions. NGOs have announced a class action lawsuit against the government, the interior minister, and the Italy-Libya memorandum.

The case, which was first examined by the tribunal of Naples, focuses on the intervention of a trawler, a support ship for a platform, to rescue 101 migrants who were on a boat that had departed from Africa’s coast.

According to investigators, the ship’s commander was asked by personnel on the rig to take on board a Libyan citizen, described as a “Libyan customs official”, who suggested sailing to Libya and disembarking the rescued migrants.

The supreme court judges said the defendant “omitted to immediately communicate, before starting rescue operations and after completing them, to the centres of coordination and rescue services of Tripoli and to the IMRCC (Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) of Rome, in the absence of a reply by the first,” that the migrants had been rescued and were under his charge.

The Cassation ruled that, by operating in this way, the commander violated “procedures provided for by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and by the directives of the International Maritime Organization,” thus carrying out a “collective refoulement to a port deemed unsafe like Libya.”

Furthermore, the Cassation emphasized the commander’s obligation to ascertain whether the migrants wanted to apply for asylum and conduct necessary checks on accompanying minors.
’Cassation should not be interpreted ideologically on Libya’, Piantedosi

“Italy has never coordinated and handed over to Libya migrants rescued in operations coordinated or directly carried out by Italy,” Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said on February 19, when asked to comment the Cassation’s ruling. “That sentence must be read well — sentences should never be interpreted in a political or ideological manner,” he said.

Piantedosi contextualized the ruling within the circumstances prevailing in Libya at the time, citing efforts to assist Libya with EU cooperation. He highlighted the government’s adherence to principles governing repatriation activities and concluded by saying “there can be no spontaneity” and that “coordination” is essential.

▻https://twitter.com/InfoMigrants/status/1759901204501438649?t=ZlLRzR3-jQ0e6-y0Q2GPJA

Corte di Cassazione: la Libia non è un porto sicuro
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/1043753

Les migrants abandonnés en Méditerranée

Le navire humanitaire allemand Alan Kurdi est coincé en mer avec 150 personnes à bord, l’Italie et Malte ayant fermé leurs ports pour cause de coronavirus. En raison de la guerre qui sévit à Tripoli, la Libye refuse de faire débarquer sur son sol 280 migrants interceptés par les gardes-côtes libyens.
Il n’y a plus de port en Méditerranée centrale prêt à accueillir les demandeurs d’asile sauvés en mer. Les bateaux humanitaires se trouvent pris en étau entre les ports italiens et maltais, fermés pour cause de coronavirus, et les ports libyens, qui se ferment également pour cause de guerre.

L’Alan Kurdi, le bateau de l’ONG allemande Sea Eye, avait tout juste repris du service en mer depuis quelques heures, après plus d’un mois d’absence de navire humanitaire en Méditerranée, qu’il a été amené à secourir, lundi 6 avril au matin, 62 personnes qui avaient lancé un appel de détresse depuis leur embarcation de bois surchargée dans les eaux internationales au large de la Libye.

L’ONG rapporte que pendant le sauvetage, un hors-bord battant pavillon libyen les a menacés en tirant des coups de feu en l’air. Pris de panique, la moitié des migrants se sont alors jetés à l’eau, mais ils ont pu être sauvés par l’équipage de l’Alan Kurdi.

Les ports italiens décrétés « peu sûrs »

Quelques heures plus tard, le bateau était amené à secourir une deuxième embarcation, avec 82 personnes à bord dont une femme enceinte. Selon l’ONG, le bateau italien de ravitaillement de plates-formes pétrolières Asso Ventinove, présent à proximité du bateau en détresse, avait refusé de procéder au sauvetage.

En raison de la pandémie de Covid-19, les autorités italiennes et maltaises ont informé l’Allemagne qu’elles refusaient tout débarquement sur leurs côtes, même si une répartition des personnes sauvées entre les États européens était organisée. Le 7 avril, le gouvernement italien a publié un décret déclarant ses ports « peu sûrs » tant que durera l’urgence de santé publique.

Depuis, l’Alan Kurdi reste en mer avec, à son bord, les 150 personnes secourues. Une nouvelle errance en Méditerranée qui rappelle la crise de l’été dernier, lorsque sous, l’impulsion de son ministre de l’intérieur d’extrême droite, Matteo Salvini, l’Italie avait fermé ses ports.

Gorden Isler, président de Sea-Eye, veut croire que l’Allemagne saura leur venir en aide. « Le gouvernement fédéral a réussi à rapatrier 200 000 de ses propres citoyens de l’étranger dans un effort immense. Il doit être imaginable et humainement possible d’envoyer un avion pour 150 personnes en quête de sécurité en Europe du Sud », a-t-il plaidé.

Une situation « tragique » à Tripoli

De l’autre côté de la Méditerranée, la guerre bat son plein. Un an après le lancement, le 4 avril 2019, de l’offensive sur Tripoli par le maréchal Haftar et ses troupes de l’est libyen, le conflit a « dégénéré en une dangereuse et potentiellement interminable guerre par procuration alimentée par des puissances étrangères cyniques »,dénonçait la mission des Nations unies en avril dernier.

Selon elle, 150 000 personnes ont été forcées de fuir leurs foyers, et près de 350 000 civils restent dans les zones de la ligne de front, sans compter 750 000 autres qui vivent dans les zones touchées par les affrontements. Pour la troisième fois de la semaine, l’hôpital Al-Khadra de Tripoli a été bombardé. « Des éclats d’obus ont touché une salle d’opération et un chirurgien en train d’opérer un patient », précise le journal The Libya observer.

280 migrants bloqués au large de Tripoli

En raison de l’intensification des bombardements, y compris sur le port de Tripoli, les autorités libyennes ont refusé, le 9 avril, de laisser débarquer 280 migrants interceptés par les gardes-côtes libyens contraints de rester à bord du bateau, a alerté l’Organisation internationale pour les migrations (OIM). L’OIM, présent au point de débarquement pour fournir une aide d’urgence, a jugé la situation « tragique ».

Selon elle, au moins 500 migrants à bord de six bateaux ont quitté la Libye en une semaine en raison de l’intensification du conflit et de l’amélioration des conditions météorologiques. 150 d’entre eux se trouvent à bord de l’Alan Kurdi, et 177 sont arrivés en Italie (soit près de 3 000 depuis le début de l’année).

« Le droit maritime international et les obligations en matière de droits de l’homme doivent être respectés pendant l’urgence Covid-19 », revendique l’OIM. « Le statu quo ne peut pas continuer », dénonce-t-elle, en réclamant « une approche globale de la situation en Méditerranée centrale ».

▻https://www.la-croix.com/Monde/migrants-abandonnes-Mediterranee-2020-04-10-1201088875
#port_sûr #ports_sûrs

L’Italie - par un décret signé par 4 ministres - annonce le 7 avril que l’Italie ne peut plus être considéré un #POS (#place_of_safety) pour les migrants interceptés par des bateaux battant pavillon étranger hors des eaux nationales.

▻https://www.avvenire.it/c/attualita/Documents/M_INFR.GABINETTO.REG_DECRETI(R).0000150.07-04-2020%20(3).pdf

Nombreuses les réaction de dénonciation de cette décision par la société civile

–> l’appel du Tavolo Asilo (circulé hier sur la liste)
–> l’appel des ong de sauvetage en mer ►https://mediterranearescue.org/news/ong-decreto-porto-sicuro

–> un appel signé par parlementaires, sénateurs, conseillers régionaux et parlementaires européennes (de majorité gouvernementale)

Hier Malte annonce aussi la fermeture de ses ports

►https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/malta-says-it-cannot-guarantee-migrant-rescues.784571
pour ensuite décider - hier à 22:30 - de laisser débarquer un bateau avec à bord 61 migrant(e)s 41 heures après avoir lancé un sos (source : alarm phone) ▻https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1248503658188140545

Tripoli se déclare aussi un port non sure et refoulé un de ses propres motovedettes avec à bord 280 migrant(e)s, dont semblerait aussi femmes et enfants

▻https://www.avvenire.it/amp/attualita/pagine/tripoli-si-dichiara-porto-non-sicuro-e-respinge-una-propria-motovedetta-con
Selon l’OIM la Libye se déclare port non sures à cause de l’intensification du conflit qui toucherait aussi le port de Tripoli-
Le Gouvernement de Al Serraj déclarait de ne avoir presque plus le control du port de Tripoli.

Cette semaine serait autour de 500 les migrants partis des cotes libyennes. 67 ont pu arriver par leur moyen à Lampedusa, 150 sont toujours à bord du bateau Alan Kurdi (sans pouvoir trouver un port de débarquement) et les autres ont été interceptés par les « Gardes Cotes Libyennes ». 280 sont à bord d’une motovodette libyenne au large de Tripoli après etre en mer depuis 72heures.

–-> Message de Sara Prestianni, reçu via la mailing-list Migreurop, le 10.04.2020

#Malte #Libye

Migrants trapped on boat in Tripoli due to shelling

The plight of 280 migrants trapped on a boat in Tripoli harbour due to shelling has shown that EU states and other regional powers needed “a comprehensive approach to the situation in the central Mediterranean,” the International Organisation for Migration, a UN agency, has said. The Libyan coast guard intercepted the migrants en route to Europe, but port authorities refused to let them disembark due to the intensity of fighting.

▻https://euobserver.com/tickers/148047

The Covid-19 Excuse: Non-Assistance in the Central Mediterranean becomes the Norm

https://alarmphone.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2020/04/20200411_pic-for-statement-1024x768.jpg

The Covid-19 pandemic has allowed states to enact emergency measures which curtail the right and freedom to move, within Europe and beyond. While some measures seem justified in order to contain the spread of a dangerous virus, European authorities have used this health crisis to normalise the already existing practice of non-assistance at sea. In the central Mediterranean, the consequences are particularly devastating. These measures, implemented in the name of ‘saving lives’, have the opposite effect: people are left at serious risk of dying in distress at sea. Under the veil of the health crisis, European authorities are carrying out racist border security policies that make sea crossings even more dangerous and deadly.
Over 1,000 people try to escape Libya in one week

In only one week, 5-11 April 2020, over 1,000 people on more than 20 boats have left the Libyan shore. The Alarm Phone was alerted to 10 boats in total, two of which were rescued by Alan Kurdi on 6 April. Over 500 people are reported to have been returned to Libya within merely three days. Some of the survivors have informed us that six people drowned. Many of those returned were kept imprisoned on a ship at Tripoli harbour. Moreover, the fate of some boats remains unclear. At the same time, we have also learned of several other boats that reached Italy autonomously, arriving in Lampedusa, Sicily, Linosa and Pantelleria.

At the time of writing, 14.30h CEST on 11 April, four boats are still in severe distress at sea. The Armed Forces of Malta refuse to rescue a boat in the Maltese Search and Rescue (SAR) zone. The people on board tell us: “People are without water, the pregnant woman is so tired, the child is crying, so thirsty. Please if you don’t want to save us give us at least water.”
Creating a deadly Rescue Gap

In the central Mediterranean, a dangerous rescue gap is actively being created. European coastguards and navies, as well as the so-called Libyan coastguards are stating that they will not engage in SAR activities. One civil rescue boat, the Alan Kurdi, was able to rescue two boats in the current good weather period. However, with 150 people now on board, they are searching for a Port of Safety and cannot carry out further operations. All other rescue NGOs are not allowed or unable to carry out SAR operations.

For the Alarm Phone, the greatest challenge is the systematic withdrawal of European authorities from the central Mediterranean area. We have documented several scandalous delays and even acts of sabotage at sea. One of the boats that reached out to us was rescued by Italian authorities to Lampedusa only after it had fully crossed the Maltese SAR zone, with the Armed Forces of Malta refusing to intervene. Another boat already in the Maltese SAR zone with 66 people on board was rescued only after about 40 hours. The people on board told us that the Armed Forces of Malta tried to cut the cable of the engine, telling them: “I leave you to die in the water. Nobody will come to Malta.”

We have experienced irresponsible behaviour by European authorities in all distress cases that have reached the Alarm Phone. Routinely, the so-called “Rescue Coordination Centres” hang up the phone, refuse to take down new information, or are not reachable for hours.
“Libya is worse than the Corona virus”

We call on all European authorities to cease endangering the lives of people who seek to escape torture, rape, and war in Libya. Despite the Covid-19 crisis, Europe is still safe compared to Libya and has the resources to carry out vital SAR operations. People trying to flee from Libya are aware of the danger of crossing the sea and the spread of Covid-19 within Europe. Still, as they tell Alarm Phone: “Libya is worse than the Corona virus.”

▻https://alarmphone.org/en/2020/04/11/the-covid-19-excuse/?post_type_release_type=post

#coronavirus #solidarité #Migrants

Voir compile des effets délétères indirects de la pandémie :
►https://seenthis.net/messages/832147

Discours de #Erik_Marquardt dans le parlement européen :

"Ich möchte stolz sein auf unser Handeln als Europäer, aber ich kann mich nur dafür schämen wenn im Mittelmeer nicht nur tausende Menschen ertrinken die wir retten könnten, sondern mit ihnen auch die Europäische Werte im Mittelmeer ertrinken. Dabei kann das Sterben so einfach verhindert werden. Es gibt alleine in Deutschland über 70 Kommunen, die sich bereit erklärt haben Menschen aufzunehmen. Lasst es uns ihnen erlauben. Und wenn es Gesetze gibt, die das Lebenretten stärker bestrafen als das Sterbenlassen, dann lasst uns diese Gesätze ändern. Und wenn es Boote gibt, die retten könnten, dann lasst uns diese Boote verdammt noch mal schicken. Es wëre en Zeichen des Stärke zu sagen: „Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar. Auch auf dem Mittelmeer“

https://i.imgur.com/yusYjII.png

Source, twitter : ▻https://twitter.com/GreensEFA/status/1151541723371323394?s=19

Seven German mayors: Allow us to accept underage refugees

Mayor in seven German cities pled with the government for the right to welcome underage refugees from Greece. The move comes after the federal parliament rejected a motion to accept minors from Greek refugee camps.

A plea letter signed by the mayors of seven German cities has called on the federal government to allow the cities to accept underage migrants from refugee camps in Greece.

The mayors of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Potsdam, Hanover, Freiburg, Rottenburg and Frankfurt (Oder), as well as the interior minister of Lower Saxony, Boris Pistorius, signed the appeal. The plea came two days after the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, rejected a motion to admit thousands of underage asylum-seekers from Greek refugee camps.

“The situation on the Greek islands” has “dramatically worsened in the last few days,” read the joint statement, excerpts of which were published by the Hanover-based RND news network. “For children and women, in particular, the completely overcrowded camps, which lack the most necessary infrastructure, medical care and shelters, are untenable.”

Safe havens at the ready

The letter pointed out that around 140 German cities have already declared themselves “safe havens” and want to help additional refugees. The mayors demand that the government create legal avenues immediately to allow these cities to accommodate refugees.

According to the statement, the alliance Cities of Safe Havens, a network of 130 cities and communities in Germany, as well as other German municipalities have already declared their readiness “to immediately accept up to 500 unaccompanied minors under the age of 14 years within the framework of an emergency program, who are accommodated in unacceptable conditions on the Greek islands.”

It added that the reception capacities in the cities concerned have been examined, and they are “available for the accommodation and educational care of the children.”

The cities would prioritize “children whose parents are in many cases no longer alive and who are alone in the refugee camps.”

Waiting for a broader plan

The German government has been closely following the situation at the Greek-Turkish border after Turkey said in February it would no longer stop refugees from entering the European Union.

Turkey’s announcement, effectively shredding a 2016 migrant deal with the EU, caused thousands of migrants to head towards neighboring Greece and Bulgaria — two EU member states. Both countries have sent security forces to their respective borders with Turkey to prevent a massive influx of migrants.

Greece has already seen the number of refugees from Turkey increase annually, with more than 60,000 asylum-seekers landing on its Aegean islands in 2019. Refugee camps on the islands are over-crowded and have a shortage of food, clothing and medicine.

On Wednesday, the Bundestag voted down a motion by the Green party to admit 5,000 minors from Greek refugee camps. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who has taken a hard stance on migrants, has said Germany would only take in refugees as part of a broader European initiative.

Germany was one of the most sought after destinations during the European migrant crisis of 2015. The country saw more than a million asylum-seekers between January and December 2015.

▻https://amp.dw.com/en/seven-german-mayors-allow-us-to-accept-underage-refugees/a-52657792?maca=en-rss-en-eu-2092-rdf&__twitter_impression=true
#asile #migrations #réfugiés #villes-refuge #Allemagne
#Cologne #Köln #Düsseldorf #Potsdam #Hanover #Hanovre #Freiburg #Rottenburg #Frankfurt (Oder)

#Mare_Jonio ha salvato 49 persone da un naufragio: adesso l’Italia ci indichi un porto sicuro

La Mare Jonio di #Mediterranea_Saving_Humans, nave battente bandiera italiana impegnata nella missione di monitoraggio del Mediterraneo centrale ha soccorso, a 42 miglia dalle coste libiche, 49 persone che si trovavano a bordo di un gommone in avaria che imbarcava acqua.
La segnalazione era arrivata dall’aereo di ricognizione Moonbird della ONG Sea Watch che avvertiva di una imbarcazione alla deriva in acque internazionali.

Mare Jonio si è diretta verso la posizione segnalata e, Informata la centrale operativa della Guardia Costiera Italiana, ha effettuato il soccorso ottemperando alle prescrizioni del diritto internazionale dei diritti umani e del mare, e del codice della navigazione italiano.
Attenendosi alle procedure previste in questi casi e per scongiurare una tragedia, Mare Jonio ha tratto in salvo tutte le persone a bordo comunicando ad una motovedetta libica giunta sul posto a soccorso iniziato di avere terminato le operazioni. Tra le persone soccorse, 12 risultano minori.
Le persone a bordo si trovavano in mare da quasi 2 giorni e, nonostante le condizioni di salute risultino abbastanza stabili, sono tutte molto provate con problemi di disidratazione. Il personale medico di Mediterranea sta prestando assistenza.
La Mare Jonio si sta dirigendo in questo momento verso Lampedusa, ovvero verso il porto sicuro più vicino rispetto alla zona in cui è stato effettuato il soccorso. Nel frattempo, è in arrivo una forte perturbazione nel Mediterraneo centrale.
Abbiamo chiesto formalmente all’Italia, nostro stato di bandiera e stato sotto il quale giuridicamente e geograficamente ricade la responsabilità, l’indicazione di un porto di sbarco per queste persone.
Oggi abbiamo salvato la vita e la dignità di 49 esseri umani. Le abbiamo salvate due volte: dal naufragio e dal rischio di essere catturate e riportate indietro a subire di nuovo le torture e gli orrori da cui stavano fuggendo. Ogni giorno, nel silenzio a moltissime altre tocca questa sorte. Grazie ai nostri straordinari equipaggi di terra e di mare, alle decine di migliaia di persone che in tutta Italia ci hanno sostenuto, oggi quel mare non è stato più solo cimitero e deserto.

▻https://mediterranearescue.org/news/mare-jonio-ha-salvato-49-persone-da-un-naufragio-adesso-litalia-
#Méditerranée #ONG (même si c’est pas une ONG, mais une #initiative_citoyenne) #asile #migrations #frontières #mer_Méditerranée #sauvetage

Migranti, la Mare Jonio entra nel porto di #Lampedusa, la gdf la sequestra e convoca il comandante

I migranti scendono tutti a terra. La svolta dopo che i pm hanno aperto un fascicolo contro ignoti per favoreggiamento dell’immigrazione clandestina. Salvini: «Arrestateli»

▻https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2019/03/19/news/gdf_nega_via_radio_ingresso_in_acque_territoriali_nave_mare_jonio_prosegu
#fermeture_des_ports #ports_fermés #Italie #saisie

La direttiva di Matteo Salvini sulle frontiere non ha valore

“Il tempo e le condizioni del mare non sono buone e i naufraghi sono ancora sotto shock, dopo essere stati soccorsi al largo della Libia e aver passato la notte con il mare in tempesta”, racconta Lucia Gennari, avvocata dell’Asgi imbarcata a bordo della nave Mare Jonio, l’imbarcazione che batte bandiera italiana ed è in rada davanti all’isola di Lampedusa, a cinquecento metri dalla Cala dei francesi, con 49 persone a bordo, tra cui dodici minori. L’imbarcazione, gestita dall’organizzazione italiana Mediterranea Saving Humans, chiede di attraccare nel porto dell’isola, dopo aver soccorso i naufraghi il 18 marzo in un’operazione di salvataggio avvenuta a 42 miglia dalle coste libiche. La nave ha trovato un gommone in avaria, su indicazione dell’aereo Moonbird, e ha informato sia la guardia costiera libica sia la guardia costiera italiana che avrebbe provveduto al soccorso.

“Siamo arrivati a soccorrere i naufraghi che erano in difficoltà, i libici non erano sul posto, sono arrivati successivamente”, afferma Gennari, 32 anni, originaria di Mestre. “Poi ci siamo diretti verso nord perché la situazione atmosferica era pessima. Al momento la situazione a bordo è tranquilla, abbiamo viveri per qualche giorno, ma gli spazi sono ristretti, la nave è lunga 32 metri e le persone nella notte sono state male a causa delle cattive condizioni atmosferiche”, racconta la ragazza, che fa parte del gruppo di legali che seguono Mediterranea Saving Humans a partire dalla sua fondazione nell’autunno del 2018.

La nave batte bandiera italiana e quindi a differenza di altre imbarcazioni non gli può essere impedito di attraccare in porto. Tuttavia il ministro dell’interno Matteo Salvini ha già detto che la nave non potrà arrivare in un porto italiano e nella notte tra il 18 e il 19 marzo ha diffuso una circolare diretta alle autorità portuali, ai carabinieri, alla polizia, alla guardia di finanza e alla marina militare che invita a impedire l’ingresso nelle acque e nei porti italiani alle navi private che abbiano operato attività di ricerca e salvataggio nelle acque internazionali.

Secondo la circolare, i salvataggi che avvengono in acque internazionali che non sono coordinate dall’Italia, non possono concludersi nel paese. La circolare crea un’ambiguità sul significato di zona di ricerca e soccorso libica. Da una parte infatti le autorità internazionali hanno riconosciuto alla Libia la capacità di compiere soccorsi nelle acque internazionali, d’altro canto però la Libia non può essere considerato un posto sicuro in cui riportare le persone soccorse. Dopo la diffusione della circolare, a bordo della Mare Jonio sono saliti degli agenti della guardia di finanza. “Alle 8 di mattina a bordo è salita la guardia di finanza che sta raccogliendo informazioni sul salvataggio”, racconta Lucia Gennari. La procura di Agrigento ha aperto un fascicolo di indagine sul caso.

Linea dura

Il ministro dell’interno ha accusato i soccorritori di favoreggiamento dell’immigrazione clandestina: “Possono essere curati, vestiti, gli si danno tutti i generi di conforto, ma in Italia per quello che mi riguarda e con il mio permesso non mettono piede. È chiaro ed evidente che c’è un’organizzazione che gestisce, aiuta, e supporta il traffico di essere umani. O c’è l’autorità giudiziaria, che ovviamente prescinde da me che riterrà che questo non sia stato un soccorso e decide di intervenire legalmente, oppure il ministero dell’interno, che deve indicare il porto di approdo, non indica nessun porto”.

Secondo Salvini, la nave “ha raccolto questi immigrati in acque libiche, in cui stava intervenendo una motovedetta libica. Non hanno ubbidito a nessuna indicazione, hanno autonomamente deciso di dirigersi verso l’Italia per motivi evidentemente ed esclusivamente politici. Non hanno osservato le indicazioni delle autorità e se ne sono fregati dell’alt della guardia di finanza”. Il ministro su Twitter ha poi attaccato uno dei soccorritori della nave, Luca Casarini, ex leader dei movimenti del nordest attivi durante il G8 di Genova nel 2001. Per Lucia Gennari il governo deve dare l’autorizzazione all’attracco il prima possibile: “La direttiva Salvini è solo un’indicazione politica del ministero dell’interno, per applicarla le autorità portuali dovrebbero pubblicare un decreto di attuazione che sarebbe impugnabile perché viola diverse norme internazionali”.

Alessandro Metz, armatore della Mare Jonio, ha risposto alle accuse dicendo: “La direttiva è subordinata alle leggi e alle convenzioni internazionali, quindi o il governo decide di ritirare la propria firma da quelle convenzioni, trovandosi in una condizione di isolamento e rinnegando quella cultura giuridica che l’Italia rappresenta, essendo un popolo di naviganti”. Per Metz il governo deve indicare subito “un porto sicuro” di sbarco.

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Molti esperti hanno commentato la circolare diffusa dal ministero dell’interno sulla chiusura dei porti alle navi private che soccorrono persone in mare. Mario Morcone, ex capo di gabinetto del Viminale e direttore del Consiglio italiano per i rifugiati (Cir), si è detto estremamente preoccupato dalla direttiva Salvini: “È una circolare che esercita un astratto e un po’ ipocrita formalismo nell’analisi delle norme. Accetta il presupposto che i porti libici possano essere considerati sicuri e che l’attracco presso i porti tunisini e maltesi sia possibile. È una direttiva che non prende in alcuna considerazione il drammatico contesto reale”.

Anche Luigi Manconi e Valentina Calderone, presidente e direttrice di A buon diritto, hanno commentato: “Non esiste alcun provvedimento del consiglio dei ministri che abbia approvato una simile misura, illegale sotto il profilo normativo e costituzionale. Dunque i porti italiani erano e restano aperti, tanto più se a chiedere l’approdo è una nave italiana, battente bandiera italiana con equipaggio interamente italiano. E con 49 profughi soccorsi in mare in una zona più vicina alle coste italiane che ad altre coste (quelle di Malta, per esempio). Ovviamente, consegnare quelle persone alla guardia costiera libica e, di conseguenza, ai centri di detenzione di quel paese, avrebbe costituito una grave violazione del diritto internazionale”.

Per il giurista Fulvio Vassallo Paleologo della clinica dei diritti di Palermo, esperto di diritto del mare, “la direttiva tradisce puntualmente tutte le convenzioni internazionali, citate solo per le parti che si ritengono utili alla linea di chiusura dei porti adottata dal governo italiano, ma che non menziona neppure il divieto di respingimento affermato dall’articolo 33 della Convenzione di Ginevra, norma destinata a salvaguardare il diritto alla vita e alla integrità fisica delle persone. Questa omissione si traduce in una ennesima violazione del diritto interno e internazionale. Gravi le conseguenze per quelle autorità militari che dovessero dare corso a un provvedimento ministeriale manifestamente in contrasto con le Convenzioni internazionali e con il diritto dei rifugiati. Secondo l’Unhcr il diritto dei rifugiati va richiamato con funzione prevalente rispetto alle norme di diritto internazionale del mare e alle norme contro l’immigrazione irregolare”.

Infine per Vincent Cochetel, inviato speciale dell’Unhcr per il Mediterraneo centrale, “la legge del mare è molto chiara, la Libia non è un place of safety, un posto che può essere considerato sicuro. L’Italia e gli altri paesi del Mediterraneo sono sicuri”.

Intanto al largo di Sabratha, in Libia, c’è stato un nuovo naufragio: a darne notizia è l’Organizzazione internazionale per le migrazioni (Oim). Secondo Flavio Di Giacomo, portavoce dell’Oim in Italia, ci sono stati solo quindici sopravvissuti, ma i morti potrebbero essere decine. Secondo Di Giacomo dall’inizio del 2019 “oltre 1.280 persone sono partite dalle coste del Nordafrica verso l’Europa” e i morti sono stati almeno 154. “Un aumento esponenziale dei morti rispetto ai migranti sbarcati”, afferma Di Giacomo.

▻https://www.internazionale.it/bloc-notes/annalisa-camilli/2019/03/19/matteo-salvini-mare-ionio

Italian police escort migrant boat, open trafficking probe

An Italian charity ship was escorted into the port of Lampedusa by police on Tuesday after rescuing 49 Africans in the Mediterranean, with Interior Minister Matteo Salvini calling for the crew to be arrested.

A judicial source said a magistrate had ordered that the boat, the Mare Jonio, be seized as an investigation is launched into allegations of aiding and abetting human trafficking.

The vessel picked up the migrants, including 12 minors, on Monday after their rubber boat started to sink in the central Mediterranean, some 42 miles (68 km) off the coast of Libya.

The humanitarian ship immediately set sail for the nearby Italian island of Lampedusa, defying Salvini, the leader of the hard-right League party who has ordered the closure of all ports to boats carrying rescued migrants.

After initially being prevented from docking, the Mare Jonio was unexpectedly accompanied into port by police at nightfall as a storm approached.

The judicial source said the migrants would be allowed to disembark, while the boat would be impounded and the crew faced possible questioning.

“Excellent,” Salvini wrote on Twitter. “We now have in Italy a government that defends the borders and enforces the law, especially against human traffickers. Those who make mistakes pay the price,” he said.

The government has repeatedly accused charity rescue boats of being complicit with people smugglers, who charge large sums to help migrants get to Europe. The NGOs deny the accusation.

There was no immediate comment from the collective that organized Monday’s sea operation, “Mediterranea”. It said in an earlier statement that the rescue had been carried out in accordance with international human rights and maritime law.
ARRIVALS FALL

New arrivals to Italy have plummeted since Salvini took office last June, with just 348 migrants coming so far this year, according to official data, down 94 percent on the same period in 2018 and down 98 percent on 2017.

His closed-port policy has helped support for his League party double since March 2018 elections. However, humanitarian groups say his actions have driven up deaths at sea and left migrants languishing in overcrowded Libyan detention centers.

Salvini said on Monday the Mare Jonio should have let the Libyan coastguard pick up the migrants. Failing that, it should have taken them either to Libya or Tunisia rather than disobey initial orders not to enter Italian waters.

“If a citizen forces a police roadblock they are arrested. I trust the same thing will happen here,” Salvini said.

Mediterranea said its rescue operation had saved the migrants either from drowning or from being picked up by the Libyans and “taken back to suffer again the torture and horror from which they were fleeing”.

Last August, Salvini blocked an Italian coastguard ship with 150 migrants aboard for almost a week before finally letting it dock. Magistrates subsequently put him under investigation for abuse of power and kidnapping and have asked parliament to strip him of his immunity from prosecution.

The upper house Senate is due to vote on that on Wednesday, but the request looks certain to be rejected, with Salvini arguing that he acted in the national interest.

▻https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-italy/italys-salvini-in-new-migrant-boat-stand-off-idUSKCN1R021Q?il=0

Sequestro Mare Jonio. Indagato il comandante, che dice «Avrei dovuto lasciarli morire?»

Al vaglio degli inquirenti i contenuti delle comunicazioni via radio, in particolare gli alt intimati dalla Guardia di finanza e la decisione invece della nave di proseguire.

Favoreggiamento dell’immigrazione clandestina e rifiuto di obbedienza a nave da guerra previsto all’articolo 1099 del codice della navigazione. Sono questi i reati contestati al comandante Pietro Marrone della nave Mare Jonio, della Ong Mediterranea dal procuratore aggiunto di Agrigento Salvatore Vella e dal pubblico ministero Cecilia Baravelli. La Procura ha anche convalidato il sequestro della nave «Mare Jonio» fatto nella tarda serata di ieri dalla Guardia di finanza.

Pronta la replica dell’Ong: «Ovviamente nei prossimi giorni faremo ricorso contro il sequestro. Noi non godiamo di nessuna immunità, ma siamo certi di avere operato nel rispetto del diritto e felici di avere portato in salvo 49 persone», si legge in un tweet Mediterranea saving humans.

In quanto al comandante l’avvocato Fabio Lanfranco che, insieme alla collega Serena Romano, lo difende, fa sapere: «Abbiamo appreso che il comandante è indagato e che questo é prodromico al sequestro della nave, quindi è un atto dovuto. Non conoscendo gli atti stiamo ricostruendo il fatto. Il comandante si è comportato in modo estremamente corretto, ha salvato vite umane, il favoreggiamento a mio giudizio non sta né in cielo né in terra».

Ne è certo anche lo stesso comandante. «Sono tranquillo, ho fatto il mio dovere. Avrei dovuto lasciarli morire? Rifarei tutto per salvare le persone», ha detto Pietro Marrone ai cronisti prima di entrare nel comando Brigata Lampedusa della Guardia di finanza, accompagnato dai suoi legali, per essere interrogato dal pm di Agrigento.
La giornata

Giornata di interrogatori oggi a Lampedusa, sul caso della Mare Jonio, la nave della missione Mediterranea sequestrata e fatta attraccare ieri dopo circa tredici ore d’attesa al largo dell’Isola con 50 migranti a bordo, fatti infine sbarcare.

La procura di Agrigento ha aperto un’inchiesta per favoreggiamento dell’immigrazione clandestina. In serata era volato a Lampedusa il procuratore aggiunto Salvatore Vella. Sentiti dalla Guardia di finanza fino a notte il comandante Pietro Marrone il provvedimento di sequestro, e poi l’armatore Beppe Caccia. Si continuano a sentire persone informate, compreso il capo missione Luca Casarini.

Entro domani sera la procura dovrà decidere se convalidare il sequestro. Al vaglio degli inquirenti, in particolare, i contenuti delle comunicazioni via radio fra la Guardia di finanza che aveva intimato l’alt, chiedendo di non avvicinarsi al porto di Lampedusa, e il comandante dell’imbarcazione che ha disobbedito, decidendo di proseguire, a suo dire per questioni di sicurezza, per mantenere in assetto la nave in un mare fortemente agitato con onde alte.

Verificata anche la «catena di comando istituzionale», dal ministero dell’Interno alle forze dell’ordine intervenute intimando l’arresto dei motori alla nave di soccorso battente bandiera italiana.

INTERVISTA «Direttiva illegittima. Un abuso di potere come negli Stati autoritari» di Nello Scavo
Migranti trasferiti in hotspot, non ancora interrogati

Non sono stati ancora ascoltati dagli investigatori i 40 migranti soccorsi dalla Mare Jonio, che hanno trascorso la notte nell’ hotspot di Lampedusa dopo lo sbarco di ieri sera. Gli operatori del Centro li hanno rifocillati, alcuni di loro hanno pregato. «Sono bravi
ragazzi, educati e pacati» dicono dal centro dove la situazione è tranquilla. Non si sa quando lasceranno la struttura di contrada Imbriacola, anche perché le condizioni meteo-marine a Lampedusa non sono buone e sono previste in peggioramento.
Il comunicato di Mediterranea

«All’indomani dello sbarco dei naufraghi a Lampedusa il sentimento prevalente in Mediterranea è la gioia profonda di aver portato in salvo in un porto sicuro 49 persone sottratte ai pericoli della traversata e alle torture libiche. Sono entrate in Italia cantando ’libertà, liberta» perché per loro il nostro è ancora il paese dei diritti umani e della salvezza possibile" informa in una nota Mediterranea Saving Humans.

«Ieri sera è stato notificato al Comandante della Mare Jonio il sequestro probatorio della nave, su iniziativa della Polizia Giudiziaria, nello specifico la Guardia di Finanza. La contestuale identificazione del comandante è un atto dovuto per procedere al sequestro - si legge - Lo si accusa di non avere spento i motori, come ordinato dalla Guardia Costiera a poche miglia dalle acque territoriali italiane, mentre la Mare Jonio fronteggiava onde alte più di due metri, come si vede nel video che abbiamo diffuso ieri. Era un ordine impossibile da eseguire senza mettere in serio pericolo la sicurezza della nave e di tutte le persone a bordo, la cui tutela è l’obbligo prioritario di ogni comandante. Al momento non sono in corso interrogatori e non sono arrivate ulteriori notifiche. L’armatore di Mare Jonio è stato semplicemente convocato in capitaneria per le procedure di routine», sottolinea la Ong. «La nostra azione di obbedienza civile si è sempre mossa nel quadro giuridico delle norme vigenti, rispettando anche la loro gerarchia, avendo come bussola il diritto e i diritti che tutelano la vita e la dignità delle persone. Ancora una volta si potrà dimostrare che le navi della società civile sono gli unici soggetti del Mediterraneo centrale che agiscono con queste priorità», conclude la nota.

https://www.avvenire.it/c/2019/PublishingImages/f97a155a83634034855b3f5d22938e77/navejonio.jpg?width=1024#.jpg

▻https://www.avvenire.it/attualita/pagine/mare-jonio-interrogatori

L’ammiraglio. «Direttiva illegittima. Un abuso di potere, come negli Stati autoritari»

«Il provvedimento di chiusura del mare territoriale firmato dal ministro Salvini sospinge definitivamente il soccorso in mare nella pura strumentalizzazione politica con il rischio di creare, nella realtà operativa, situazioni ingestibili di confusione e di pericolo». Il contrammiraglio Vittorio Alessandro non nasconde la preoccupazione, specie dopo aver letto la direttiva di Salvini per fermare le Ong. «Un testo anomalo, chiaramente illegittimo e viziato di abuso di potere», dice l’ufficiale, ora in congedo. Temi che Alessandro conosce anche per essere stato a guida del reparto am- bientale marino della Guardia Costiera e per 3 anni a capo dell’ufficio relazioni esterne del comando generale, dal 2010 al 2013, gli anni delle primavere arabe e delle migliaia di sbarchi a Lampedusa.

Cosa non la convince?
La premessa della direttiva sta nella paventata ipotesi di “strumentalizzazione” delle convenzioni per la salvaguardia della vita umana in mare al fine di eludere le norme in materia di immigrazione clandestina. Una premessa del genere non vale a sospendere o a ridurre l’obbligo del soccorso (che si conclude con l’assegnazione di un porto sicuro), in quanto ogni principio a tutela dei diritti fondamentali (quello della libertà, per esempio, o il diritto alla salute) può essere strumentalizzato a fini illeciti, ma non per questo può essere ristretto.

Quindi si tratta di un’escamotage per scopi politici?
Tanto più quando, come nel nostro caso, il paventato rischio di un pregiudizio alla «pace, buon ordine, e sicurezza dello Stato costiero» è solo una lontana ipotesi mai constatata, e comunque perfettamente affrontabile allorché i naufraghi siano giunti a terra.

Perché ritiene che la direttiva non possa superare l’esame di un eventuale ricorso giudiziario?
Perché il provvedimento, per i suoi aspetti formali, è illegittimo. L’articolo 83 del codice della navigazione prevede, infatti, l’ipotesi della chiusura del mare territoriale (assai remota in un ordinamento che considera tali spazi aperti alla sosta e al transito inoffensivi delle navi) assegnandola alla esclusiva attribuzione del ministro delle Infrastrutture.

Invece cosa prevedono le nuove indicazioni degli Interni?
Il Viminale si interpone fra il vertice istituzionale dell’organizzazione marittima e del soccorso e la competenza operativa delle Capitanerie di Porto. Non, come giusto, con una missiva al ministro competente, ma con un proprio provvedimento indirizzato alle Forze di polizia e a una Forza armata, come negli stati autoritari.

Però si tratta di ipotesi che dovranno poi misurarsi con la realtà.
Ma è già successo proprio nel caso della Mare Jonio. La Guardia di Finanza ha ordinato, infatti, alla nave italiana di «fermare le macchine» in mezzo al mare agitato. Un ordine inaudito, sotto il profilo nautico: le macchine non servono soltanto a navigare, ma anche a difendersi dal moto ondoso, a mantenere a galla il natante. Non a caso la Guardia Costiera ha subito provveduto ad assegnare alla nave un punto di ancoraggio a ridosso di Lampedusa.

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Italy seizes migrant rescue boat Mare Jonio

A rescue boat carrying nearly 50 migrants has docked at the Italian island of Lampedusa. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini had denied the ship access to Italian ports, but relented in order to bring aid workers to trial.

Sicilian prosecutors on Tuesday ordered the seizure of the Italian-flagged ship “Mare Jonio.” The rescue boat was allowed to dock on the Italian island of Lampedusa while accompanied by coast guard ships following nearly two days at sea.

The decision ended a standoff between the migrant rescue boat and the Italian government. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini had earlier ordered authorities to deny the ship access to Italian ports.

Before issuing the permit to dock, prosecutors launched an investigation into possible aiding and abetting of illegal immigration. A move Salvini praised.

“Now in Italy there is a government that defends the borders and ensures respect for the law, most of all for human traffickers,” he said. “He who makes mistakes, pays.”

The group of 49 migrants, including 12 minors, were rescued by humanitarian group Mediterranea Saving Humans. “Those on board had been at sea for almost two days,” the NGO said in a statement. “(They) are exhausted and dehydrated.”

’Repressive’

Salvini has come under fire for attempting to block migrant rescue boats from docking at Italian ports.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International last year accused the Italian government of “repressive management of the migratory phenomenon.”

Italy has taken the brunt of a wave of migration after EU member states cut-off the so-called Balkan route. Nearly half a million irregular migrants have made the dangerous journey across the central Mediterranean and made landfall in Italy, according to the International Organization for Migration(IOM).

Rome has conceded that saving lives at sea is a priority, but maintains that national authorities must be obeyed and premeditated action to bring immigrants to Italy would amount to facilitating human trafficking.

Italy, with the support of the EU, has trained the Libyan coast guard to intercept boats carrying migrants in a bid to prevent migrants from reaching European shores.

▻https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/15804/italy-seizes-migrant-rescue-boat-mare-jonio?ref=fb

Le navire humanitaire « Mare Jonio » mis sous #séquestre en Italie

Le ministre de l’intérieur italien Matteo Salvini a lancé lundi 18 mars un avertissement aux organisations humanitaires qui recueillent des migrants au large de la Libye.

Le lendemain, le « Mare Jonio », un navire ayant secouru 49 migrants était bloqué au large de Lampedusa, et mis sous séquestre dans la soirée. Les membres de l’équipage ont été arrêtés.

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« Les ports ont été et restent FERMES ». C’est par un message lapidaire posté sur Twitter que le dirigeant de La Ligue et ministre de l’intérieur italien Matteo Salvini a annoncé lundi 18 mars que l’Italie ne laisserait pas débarquer les migrants secourus par les ONG.

https://i.imgur.com/Ys6AJed.png

Cet avertissement de Rome contre les ONG humanitaires intervient alors que le « Mare Jonio », affrété par le Collectif Mediterranea, aussi connu sous le nom de Mediterranea Saving Humans, venait de recueillir 49 migrants au large des côtes libyennes.
Le Mare Jonio bloqué puis placé sous séquestre.

Mardi 19 mars au matin, le navire humanitaire s’est positionné au large de Lampedusa, petite île italienne située entre l’île de Malte et la Tunisie, mais aussi dans la principale zone de passage des migrants en provenance des côtes libyennes. « En raison de conditions météo défavorables, il nous a été assigné un point d’ancrage à l’abri, à Lampedusa. Nous abriter était la priorité pour garantir la sécurité de toutes les personnes à bord », avait tweeté Mediterranea en fin d’après-midi.

Le ministère italien de l’intérieur a annoncé, mardi 19 mars au soir, que « les douanes sont en train de procéder à la saisie du navire Mare Jonio », précisant que « les interrogatoires des membres d’équipage pourraient avoir lieu dans les prochaines heures ». Mercredi 20 mars, de fait, la justice italienne a confirmé le placement sous séquestre du Mare Jonio dans le cadre d’une enquête pour « aide à l’immigration clandestine ».

Mediterranea, le soir même, a posté un message sur Twitter : « évidemment nous allons déposer un recours dans les prochains jours. Nous ne jouissons d’aucune immunité, mais nous sommes certains d’avoir agi dans le respect du droit et heureux d’avoir porté ces 49 personnes en lieu sûr ».
Un accord Italie – Libye au détriment des droits de l’homme.

Alors que Matteo Salvini menace de « sanctions » ceux qui « violent explicitement les règlementations (…) concernant les sauvetages », il ajoute au sujet du « Mare Jonio », « il ne s’agit pas d’une opération de sauvetage, c’est de l’aide à l’immigration clandestine ».

Fidèle à sa ligne politique, le leader de La Ligue (extrême droite) a quasiment stoppé les arrivées de migrants, invoquant l’accord passé entre la Libye et l’Italie, signé le 2 février 2017, et soutenu par l’Europe, qui prévoit un soutien logistique et financier de l’Italie et de l’UE aux garde-côtes libyens, chargés d’assurer la surveillance en mer dans leurs eaux territoriales. En échange, ces derniers empêchent les personnes quittant la Libye de se rendre en Europe.

Vincent Cochetel, envoyé spécial du Haut-Commissariat de l’ONU pour la Méditerranée centrale, a commenté sur Twitter que « le droit maritime est clair : la Libye n’est pas un lieu sûr (…). L’Italie et les autres pays méditerranéens, eux, le sont », légitimant ainsi le sauvetage des migrants par les ONG humanitaires.
Le 16 novembre 2017, les pratiques d’esclavage en Libye sur des migrants originaires d’Afrique subsahariennes avaient été révélées au grand jour à la suite d’une vidéo publiée par la chaîne américaine CNN. « La Libye est un pays déchiré par la guerre et où les personnes réfugiées et migrantes sont régulièrement détenues dans des conditions terribles en violation de leurs droits humains les plus élémentaires », précise une lettre ouverte à l’attention du ministre de l’intérieur Français, Christophe Castaner, et signée par une trentaine d’ONG européennes.
Quels navires humanitaires croisent encore en mer Méditerranée ?

De janvier à juin 2018 l’espace humanitaire continue de se rétrécir en Méditerranée, explique pour sa part l’ONG SOS Méditerranée. « Les garde-côtes libyens sont de plus en plus présents et effectuent des interceptions dans les eaux internationales au large de la Libye, conséquence d’un transfert de responsabilités de plus en plus systématique du Centre de coordination des sauvetages italien vers les garde-côtes libyens ».

La mise sous séquestre du « Mare Jonio » prive désormais un peu plus la Méditerranée d’aide humanitaire. D’autres embarcations européennes ont été empêchées de prendre la mer et de porter secours ces derniers mois : le « Juventa », le « Sea Watch », et l’« Aquarius ».

Matteo Salvini dresse un bilan positif de son action. « Moins de départs, moins d’arrivées, moins de morts », martèle-t-il.

L’Organisation Internationale pour les migrations (OIM) fait état de 152 morts et disparus en Méditerranée centrale depuis le début de l’année. Les chiffres sont par contre en augmentation au large de l’Espagne, devenue la principale porte d’entrée sur le continent.

En 2018, toujours selon l’OIM, 144 166 personnes ont migré vers l’Europe : presque 4 000 de moins qu’en 2017. Le nombre de personnes mortes en tentant la traversée a également baissé, à 2 299. Il est toutefois proportionnellement plus élevé que les années précédentes.

▻https://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Europe/Le-navire-humanitaire-Mare-Jonio-mis-sequestre-Italie-2019-03-21-120101032

–-> commentaire de Emmanuel Blanchard, via la mailing-list Migreurop :

Les rares journalistes français qui évoquent le Mare Jonio continuent de le présenter comme partie prenante d’un projet humanitaire. Le sauvetage en mer n’est pourtant qu’une des ambitions de cette coalition, soutenue par MIgreurop, qui a toujours défendu la dimension politique de son action. C’est également pour cela qu’elle est si durement attaquée par Salvini.

#Lampedusa, si teme che i migranti della Mare Jonio siano detenuti arbitrariamente nell’#hostpot dell’isola

Il «Progetto In Limine», che realizza monitoraggi nei centri di identificazione chiede l’autorizzazione di poter entrare urgentemente nei luoghi dove sono stati portati le persone sbarcate

▻https://www.repubblica.it/solidarieta/immigrazione/2019/03/23/news/lampedusa_si_teme_che_i_migranti_della_mare_jonio_siano_detenuti_arbitrar

Hotspot di Lampedusa: si teme che i migranti della Mare Jonio siano detenuti arbitrariamente

Le 50 persone soccorse dalla Mare Jonio e condotte all’Hotspot di Lampedusa il 19 sera sono da allora trattenute all’interno della struttura. ASGI chiede l’autorizzazione urgente all’ingresso nell’hotspot.

Inviata il 20 mattina alla Prefettura e alla Questura di Agrigento una richiesta di informazioni circa la condizione dei cittadini stranieri presenti nell’hotspot. Ad oggi non è stata ricevuta nessuna risposta.

In particolare nella richiesta inviata dall’ASGI, nell’ambito delle azioni promosse dal Progetto Inlimine, si richiedevano chiarimenti rispetto all’accesso alla protezione internazionale, alla tutela dei minori e all’eventuale privazione della libertà delle persone presenti.

Di fatto i cittadini stranieri, nel corso di questi giorni, non hanno lasciato la struttura e l’ente gestore ha comunicato per via telefonica a In Limine che non sussistono meccanismi di regolamentazione in merito all’uscita e al rientro dalla struttura delle persone presenti. L’ente gestore ha infatti sostenuto che trattandosi di un Centro di primo soccorso e accoglienza i cittadini stranieri debbano essere trattenuti al suo interno.

Questa situazione desta grandi preoccupazioni: l’hotspot è percepito dall’ente responsabile della sua gestione come un centro di detenzione e le autorità pubbliche responsabili sembrano assecondare tale visione. Il problema della detenzione illegittima all’interno dell’hotspot di Lampedusa era già stato sollevato dal Garante dei diritti dei detenuti in data 11 maggio 2017. In tale occasione il prefetto di Agrigento alla richiesta del perché non venisse permesso alle persone di uscire dal Centro aveva risposto “se vogliono possono uscire da un buco nella rete”. In seguito, nel febbraio del 2018 il Prefetto inviava una comunicazione all’allora ente gestore con l’indicazione di dotarsi di sistemi per consentire ai richiedenti asilo di circolare liberamente. A oltre un anno da tale comunicazione, tali sistemi non sono stati adottati.

Di fronte a questa allarmante situazione ricordiamo che la libertà personale è un diritto inviolabile, in quanto tale tutelato dalla Costituzione (art. 13) nonché da norme di diritto internazionale, tra cui l’art. 5 della Convenzione Europea dei Diritti Umani. La privazione della libertà può avvenire solo sulla base di norme che ne disciplinino tassativamente casi e modi, deve essere disposta da provvedimenti scritti e motivati e deve essere convalidata dall’autorità giudiziaria competente. Nel caso dei cittadini stranieri presenti a Lampedusa ci troviamo potenzialmente di fronte a tre diverse situazioni:

Il trattenimento nel corso delle procedure di identificazione. Tale forma di detenzione non è prevista da alcuna norma ed è quindi di per sé illegittima.

Per quanto concerne la privazione della libertà dei richiedenti protezione internazionale all’interno dei centri hotspot questa è prevista dall’art. 6 del D.lgs. n. 142/2015, che stabilisce che il richiedente asilo può essere trattenuto solo in appositi locali, al fine di determinare o verificare l’identità o la cittadinanza e, in ogni caso, esclusivamente ove vi sia un provvedimento scritto emesso e notificato dall’autorità competente e convalidato dall’autorità giudiziaria.

Per quanto riguarda i cittadini stranieri destinatari di provvedimenti di allontanamento l’unica eccezione al trattenimento presso i Centri per il rimpatrio è contenuta nell’art. 13, co. 5-bis, del Testo Unico sull’Immigrazione. Questo prevede che in caso di indisponibilità dei posti all’interno dei CPR tali cittadini possono essere trattenuti in strutture diverse e idonee nella disponibilità dell’Autorità di pubblica sicurezza solo dietro autorizzazione del giudice di pace e comunque non oltre le quarantotto ore successive all’udienza di convalida.

In base a quanto visto sopra si ritiene che la detenzione cui sono sottoposti i 36 adulti, nel centro di Lampedusa potrebbe essere illegittima, sia nella sua fase iniziale – ovvero durante l’identificazione –sia nei momenti successivi, a meno che non siano stati emessi i provvedimenti di trattenimento e non vi sia stata la relativa convalida.

Per quanto riguarda i minori, la situazione è evidentemente ancora più grave. Infatti, in nessun caso i minori non accompagnati possono essere trattenuti e devono essere accolti in “strutture governative di prima accoglienza a loro destinate” e, in caso di indisponibilità di posti in tali strutture, l’assistenza e l’accoglienza devono essere garantite dal Comune. Il trattenimento ovvero la permanenza dei minori nel centro hotspot è estremamente preoccupante in quanto illegittima e contraria al principio del superiore interesse del minore.

Si invitano pertanto le autorità competenti a fornire nel minor tempo possibile informazioni sulla condizione delle persone soccorse dalla Mare Jonio, sulla messa in campo delle garanzie previste per gli eventuali trattenimenti e sulle misure adottate per l’immediato trasferimento dei minori. In data odierna è stata inviata richiesta di ingresso all’hotspot di una delegazione del progetto al fine di verificare l’effettivo rispetto dei diritti delle persone presenti.

In ultimo, riteniamo sia indispensabile, dal punto di vista della società civile, prestare l’opportuna attenzione nei confronti delle procedure applicate alle 50 persone attualmente presenti a Lampedusa. Riteniamo, da questa prospettiva, che il tema del rispetto dei diritti e le potenziali frizioni tra diritto e prassi non si esauriscano con l’approdo e lo sbarco. Viceversa, è indispensabile continuare a mantenere alta la soglia dell’attenzione: va puntualmente garantito il rispetto dei diritti all’interno degli hotspot e nelle delicate fasi successive.

▻https://www.asgi.it/asilo-e-protezione-internazionale/lampedusa-mare-jonio-detenzione-hotspot

Felici di annunciare che #MareJonio è libera. Ci è stato notificato dalla Procura di Agrigento il dissequestro della nave. Andiamo avanti. A testa alta. #FreeMareJonio

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2rUqMKWwAo5s9w.jpg

Refugee Ships Are Trying To Call Them During Emergencies — But They Aren’t Answering

Twenty-nine calls from BuzzFeed News to a variety of numbers meant to summon the Libyan coast guard to help for drowning refugees in the Mediterranean went completely unanswered.

Four years after the refugee crisis first brought the horrors of the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to the world’s attention, hundreds of people continue to die each year hoping to reach Europe’s shores.

Over the course of 2016, the European Union determined that the coast guard in Libya, from whose shores many refugee boats set off, would to be the first call for groups undertaking rescue missions in hopes of saving the lives of those adrift at sea. Since last June, the main international body that issues guidelines on rescues at sea has agreed — Libya has the lead in the Mediterranean.

A BuzzFeed News investigation has found that five different phone numbers provided by Libyan officials as contact numbers for search and rescue missions are barely functioning, and when they do, the staffers manning the phones are unable to speak English, in violation of international law.

A reporter from BuzzFeed News tried to reach these five numbers on three different days and at six different times in a total of 30 contact attempts. Of those, 29 failed because the call was not answered. Among the numbers where no one could be reached were the two numbers listed in the international database for emergencies at sea — the UN International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Search and Rescue database. The IMO entry says that the Libyans should be available 24 hours a day.

The failure to adequately man the phones can have dire consequences. In 2016, at the peak of the crisis, more than 3,800 people are estimated to have died when attempting to make the crossing into Europe. According to the UN, the route between Libya and Italy was the most deadly, with one death for every 47 arrivals. That number has fallen but still remains high: 2,262 people were estimated to have died on the voyage last year.

In response to the surge in migrants and asylum-seekers, the European Union opted in 2016 to divert money and personnel from its own rescue missions to the Libyan coast guard, hoping to discourage migrants and asylum-seekers from making the trek in the first place. The program has been renewed several times since then, most recently in the form of a pledge of $52 million this January to pay for maritime surveillance equipment.

The UN database also lists a Gmail address as an official contact for the Tripoli mission. There are three further email addresses available that BuzzFeed News was able to locate, which are supposed to represent official contacts to the Libyan coast guard. One is a second Gmail account; the other is an address that belongs to the Italian Navy. None of the addresses contacted responded to BuzzFeed News requests for comment.

Other organizations have had little better luck contacting Tripoli. Sea-Watch, an NGO that provides search and rescue efforts in the Mediterranean, has also provided BuzzFeed News radio recordings of several attempts on different days to reach the Libyan coast guard.

Sea-Watch also provided a list of recorded attempts to reach the Libyan coast guard from the bridge of the Sea-Watch 3, one of their rescue ships. The list of 15 calls show 10 failed contact attempts — in five other cases, the Libyan side simply hung up.

Ruben Neugebauer, a crew member who also acts as spokesperson for Sea-Watch, told BuzzFeed News that the situation had become the new normal.

“The accessibility of the JRCC Tripoli is more than poor, it happens again and again that the control center is not accessible at all,” he said, using the Libyan mission’s official name. “If it can be reached, often only the local Arabic dialect is spoken.”

Under the terms of the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, which Libya has signed, all rescue coordination centers must be staffed around the clock and include staffers who speak English.

Neugebauer recalled one case where a person on the Libyan end of the call could not communicate in English, French, or Egyptian Arabic: “Even though it was an emergency, the JRCC Tripoli employee simply hung up before we were able to share the most necessary information.”

The operator’s lack of English language skills can also jeopardize the rescuers. Last November, a Libyan patrol boat intervened aggressively in an ongoing rescue mission. Five people died as a result.

The Aquarius, a ship jointly operated by NGOs Doctors Without Borders and SOS Mediterranee, has noted in its public logbook almost 30 unsuccessful attempts to reach the Libyans during missions since June 2018 alone. Nine unsuccessful attempts to reach Libyan units on the radio channel reserved for emergency calls are also listed in the logbook.

“For us, the JRCC Tripoli has never been reachable by phone so far,” Axel Steier, founder and chair of the NGO Mission Lifeline, told BuzzFeed News in an email. “Emails are answered after days.” BuzzFeed News asked Steier to estimate how often the Libyan authorities were available in cases of distress at sea in which Mission Lifeline’s rescue vessel was involved. His answer: “Zero percent.”

Ina Fisher, a spokesperson for Alarm Phone, another NGO focused on rescues, told BuzzFeed News that in only two cases did phone calls placed to numbers meant to belong to the Libyan coast guard actually get answered. One number turned out to belong not to the coast guard but a retired general, she said. In the other call, the voice on the other end of the line said they could not help but did ask if they’d managed to save the boat in question.

“We regularly send complaints to MRCC Rome about the JRCC’s inaccessibility, but again and again get the answer that the JRCC is working well,” Fisher said.

“According to our experience, in case of SAR events involving our assets, the communication with the relevant MRCC, including the Libyan one, has been satisfactory,” Antonello de Renzis Sonnino, a captain in the Italian Navy and spokesperson for Operation Sophia, the EU’s international rescue mission, said in response to a BuzzFeed News request for comment.

Last year, Italian and Maltese ports began refusing ships with refugees on board permission to enter their harbors, leaving ships to wait for days with refugees on board on the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, civilian sea rescuers have given up on contacting the rescue coordination center based in Rome and switched over to contacting the German Maritime Search and Rescue Association during emergencies in the Mediterranean, hoping to enlist them to contact the Libyans. The Germans, based out of the city of Bremen, are responsible for maritime search and rescue operations in the North and Baltic seas.

Even they don’t always manage to reach the Libyan coast guard. Christian Stipeldey, the German rescue association’s press officer, confirmed to BuzzFeed News: “In January 2019 we tried to reach Tripoli by telephone in one case. The connection was not established.” The mission in Rome “was already aware of this case,” Stipeldey said.

A spokesperson for the International Maritime Organization told BuzzFeed News that they were not in a position to comment on the reporting gathered for this article, adding that the IMO has no mandate to investigate the accessibility and reliability of regional command centers. A member state of the IMO could make such a request, however.

The German Federal Ministry of Transport is considering putting the work of the Libyan coast guard on the agenda at the next meeting of the IMO’s subcommittee responsible for sea rescues, the ministry confirmed to BuzzFeed News. The ministry also said that in talks with Libyan representatives, it has regularly demanded that the protection of refugees in sea rescue be guaranteed.

“You must appreciate that not every State can execute this function properly, especially if it has been under turmoil, like Libya,” George Theocharidis, a professor of maritime law and policy at World Maritime University in Sweden, told BuzzFeed News. “On the other hand, as every State has sovereignty, it is not possible to enforce those duties and it is left to the goodwill of States to perform what is required from them,” he added, noting that even the IMO can’t force a country to comply with the standards.

BuzzFeed News has also asked the European External Action Service, the responsible EU commissioner, for comment on the Libyans’ inaccessibility. It has not provided a response at this time.

Despite widespread knowledge of the problem, the confusion has not improved in recent months. A screenshot of an internal Sea-Watch chat provided to BuzzFeed News shows one crew member attempting to get in touch with the Libyans as recently as March 15. They were subsequently provided with a new phone number and instructed to speak very slowly.

When someone actually answered the phone, the chat reads, “it was a Russian-sounding man replying, saying in English that he didn’t speak English, only Russian.

“To my question, if anyone there spoke English, he replied, ‘Afternoon, English!’”

▻https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/marcusengert/libya-coast-guard-not-answering-emergency-refugee-rescue-cal

Rescued migrants hijack merchant ship off Libya

Migrants have hijacked a merchant ship which rescued them off the coast of Libya and it is now heading towards Malta, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Maltese authorities said on Wednesday.

The 108 migrants were picked up by the cargo ship #Elhiblu_1 and hijacked the vessel when it became clear that it planned to take them back to Libya, according to the website of Italian daily Corriere della Sera and Italian news agencies.

“These are not migrants in distress, they are pirates, they will only see Italy through a telescope,” said Salvini, who has cracked down on illegal immigration, including closing Italy’s ports to charity ships, since he took office in June last year.

A spokeswoman for Malta’s armed forces confirmed the ship had been hijacked and said Maltese authorities were monitoring its progress and it would not be allowed to dock in Malta.

“This is clearly a case of organized crime,” Salvini said on Facebook. “Our ports remain closed.”

Salvini, the leader of the right-wing League party, has been at the center of several international stand-offs over his refusal to let humanitarian ships dock in Italy.

This month parliament rejected a request by prosecutors to investigate him for kidnapping over a case in August when he blocked an Italian coastguard ship with 150 migrants aboard for almost a week off Sicily before finally letting it dock.

▻https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-hijacking/rescued-migrants-hijack-merchant-ship-off-libya-idUSKCN1R81YF?feedType=RSS&

Un pétrolier, détourné par les migrants secourus, arrive à Malte

Le pétrolier ravitailleur #Elhiblu 1, détourné par des migrants qu’il avait secourus mais qui ne voulaient pas être reconduits en Libye, est arrivé jeudi à Malte. Un commando de la marine maltaise en a repris le contrôle dans la nuit.

Ce navire de 52 mètres qui bat pavillon de Palau avait secouru mardi au large de la Libye 108 migrants, dont 31 femmes ou enfants, à bord de deux canots en détresse, signalés par un avion militaire européen. Mais alors qu’il s’approchait de Tripoli pour les débarquer mercredi, il a subitement fait demi-tour et mis le cap au nord.

Le ministre italien de l’Intérieur, Matteo Salvini, a immédiatement prévenu que le navire ne serait pas autorisé à pénétrer dans les eaux italiennes.

Or, l’Elhiblu 1 faisait route vers Malte, où la marine a pu entrer en contact avec le capitaine alors que le navire était à 30 milles des côtes.

Le contrôle « rendu au capitaine »

Le capitaine a répété plusieurs fois qu’il n’avait plus le contrôle du navire et que lui-même et son équipage étaient forcés et menacés par un certain nombre de migrants exigeant qu’il fasse route vers Malte", a ajouté la marine dans un communiqué.

Un patrouilleur a empêché le pétrolier de pénétrer dans les eaux territoriales de Malte et un commando des forces spéciales, soutenu par plusieurs navires de la marine et un hélicoptère, a été dépêché à bord « pour rendre le contrôle du bateau au capitaine ».

Escorté par la marine maltaise, le navire est arrivé tôt ce matin dans le port de La Valette, où l’équipage et les migrants doivent être confiés à la police pour déterminer ce qui s’est passé et les responsabilités.

https://www.rts.ch/2019/03/28/11/21/10324363.image?w=1500&h=843#.jpg

#IOM: Libya isn’t a safe haven for immigrants

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Libya cannot yet be considered a safe port, saying it is present at the disembarkation points to deliver primary assistance to migrants that have been rescued at sea.

In a statement on Tuesday, IOM added that following the migrants’ disembarkation, they are transferred to detention centres under the responsibility of the Libyan Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM) over which the Organization has no authority or oversight.

“The detention of men, women and children is arbitrary. The unacceptable and inhumane conditions in these detention centres are well documented, and IOM continues to call for alternative solutions to this systematic detention.” The statement remarks.

It indicates that the number of migrants returned to Libyan shores has reached over 16,000 since January 2018, and concern remains for their safety and security in Libya, due to the conditions in the detention centres.

“IOM only has access to centres to provide direct humanitarian assistance in the form of non-food items, health and protection assistance, as well as Voluntary Humanitarian Return support for migrants wishing to return to their countries of origin.” It explained.

The IOM also clarified that its access to detention centres in Libya is part of the efforts to alleviate the suffering of migrants but cannot guarantee their safety and protection from serious reported violations.

It said it advocates for alternatives to detention including open centres and safe spaces for women, children and other vulnerable migrants.

“A change of policy is needed urgently as migrants returned to Libya should not be facing arbitrary detention.” The statement reads.

IOM further explained that security and humanitarian situations in Libya remain dangerous, and reiterated that Libya cannot be considered a safe port or haven for migrants.

▻https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/iom-libya-isnt-safe-haven-immigrants
#Libye #ports_sûrs #port_sûr #asile #migrations #réfugiés #IOM #OIM

Migrants : #Castaner parle d’ONG complices des #passeurs, MSF dénonce « un glissement vers la droite »

Le ministre de l’Intérieur a accusé certaines ONG qui viennent en aide aux migrants de « se faire complices des passeurs ».

▻https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/entry/migrants-castaner-ong-passeurs-msf_fr_5ca7713ce4b0a00f6d3eeda3

Refugee rescue ship running out of food and water with 64 on board as European countries argue over who should let it dock

A newborn baby, five children and 20 women are among those on board the stranded vessel.
A ship carrying 64 refugees is stranded at sea and running out of food and drinking water while European countries refuse to let it dock.

The Alan Kurdi is a private rescue ship owned by Sea-Eye, a German NGO.

The group on the vessel includes 20 women, five children and one newborn baby, according to a spokesperson for Sea-Eye.

Staff on board rescued the group of refugees from a rubber dinghy near the Libyan coast last week and asked Italy and Malta, the two nearest countries, to open a port so the ship could dock.

But both countries refuse to accept humanitarian ships that patrol the Mediterranean to rescue refugees.

The Alan Kurdi has now spent six days at sea as European countries argue over who should accept the vessel.

Matteo Salvini, Italy’s anti-immigration deputy prime minister, said the rescue ship was not welcome in the country.

“A ship with a German flag, German NGO, German ship owner, captain from Hamburg. It responded in Libyan waters and asks for a safe port,” he said.

“Good, go to Hamburg.”

As supplies on the vessel run low, the European Union (EU) has entered discussions with its member states.

On Tuesday, Sea-Eye said it had informed Malta, which is nearest to the boat, about the scarcity of food on board.

Dominik Reisinger, a spokesperson for the organisation, said the “political question about the distribution of those rescued ... overshadows the human rights” of the refugees.

The vessel’s difficulties come after the aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) ended its refugee rescue missions in the area.

In December 2018, the group’s rescue vessel, Aquarius, was withdrawn from operations after what MSF alleged was a “sustained smear campaign” led by the Italian government.

Operation Sophia, the EU’s maritime rescue mission, has also been downgraded, in a move that was condemned by rights groups and charities when it was announced in March 2019.

The EU mission was credited with saving thousands of lives but no longer carries out maritime patrols in the Mediterranean, after Italy refused to receive the people rescued at sea.

A spokesperson for Amnesty International described the decision as an “outrageous abdication of EU governments’ responsibilities”.

The Alan Kurdi is named after the three-year-old boy whose body was found on a beach in Turkey in September 2015 at the height of the refugee crisis.

https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2019/04/09/11/sea-eye-alan-kurdi-.jpg?w968#.jpg

▻https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-rescue-ship-sea-eye-boat-eu-countries-refusing-to-let-it-dock

Avril 2019

#Alarmphone was called this morning at approx. 6am CEST by 20ppl, incl. women & children in distress off the coast of #Libya +++ They report that 8ppl have fallen into the sea and are missing. They lost their engine, water is coming into their boat. Authorities are informed.

Avec un fil twitter sur l’évolution de la situation :
▻https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1115945935601831940

Fin de l’histoire : les Libyens sont intervenus et ont ramené les migrants en Libye...

Li hanno ripresi i Libici. Il caso è chiuso. 15 ore senza interventi di soccorso. Governi europei, civilissime nazioni di grandi tradizioni e valori, sono riusciti a riconsegnare ai lager in una zona di guerra da cui scappavano, donne uomini bambini. Crimine e vergogna infinita.

▻https://twitter.com/RescueMed/status/1116054434742714368

Tweet de #sea_watch :

While today 8 people already drowned, 20 others are alive but abandoned in distress. Meanwhile the Dutch gov. keeps our ship blocked with random policy changes. #SeaWatch 3 could be there to save lives now, but that doesn’t fit the European migration policy of letting drown.

▻https://twitter.com/seawatch_intl/status/1115955541099057152

#Castaner persiste sur des « interactions » entre ONG et passeurs en Méditerranée

Après avoir affirmé que les ONG « ont pu se faire complices des passeurs » en Méditerranée, Christophe Castaner a tenté une mise au point mardi, dégainant deux « rapports de Frontex » censés démontrer des « interactions ». Emmanuel Macron lui-même juge que des humanitaires font « le jeu des passeurs ».

▻https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/100419/castaner-persiste-sur-des-interactions-entre-ong-et-passeurs-en-mediterran

Des ONG sont-elles « complices des passeurs » de migrants en Méditerranée, comme l’assure Christophe Castaner ?

Le ministre de l’Intérieur évoque « une réalité documentée » par Frontex. Mais l’agence européenne de contrôle des frontières dément.

▻https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/europe/naufrage-a-lampedusa/des-ong-sont-elles-complices-des-passeurs-de-migrants-en-mediterranee-c

211 députés allemands (CDU, SPD, FDP, Verts, LInke) lancent un appel pour demander la création d’une #structure_européenne venant aux secours des migrants en Méditerranée. CSU et AfD ne participent pas

▻https://twitter.com/pthibaut/status/1116727510304215040
#Allemagne

Avec la fermeture des ports aux ONG par l’Italie, les routes migratoires se déplacent vers #Malte :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/774624

La Mare Jonio torna a navigare. Siamo tutti coinvolti

In questo momento il rimorchiatore Mare Jonio e la barca a vela d’appoggio Alex stanno solcando il mare in direzione del Mediterraneo Centrale, la rotta migratoria più mortifera a livello globale. «Torniamo a navigare ancora una volta decisi a rispettare fino in fondo il diritto internazionale del mare, i diritti umani e i principi della nostra Costituzione – hanno scritto ieri gli attivisti sul profilo facebook della missione – Ringraziamo le migliaia e migliaia di persone diventate in questi mesi Mediterranea. È solo grazie al loro supporto che possiamo farlo».

La Mare Jonio era ferma dal 19 marzo scorso, quando tornò in Italia con a bordo 49 naufraghi salvati dalla morte o dal ritorno nell’inferno libico. Dopo l’apertura di indagini per favoreggiamento dell’immigrazione clandestina, il rimorchiatore era stato sottoposto a qualche giorno di sequestro probatorio presto revocato dalla procura di Agrigento. La nuova missione parte con la benedizione dell’arcivescovo di Palermo Corrado Lorefice che lunedì scorso ha incontrato Luca Casarini, capomissione di Mediterranea, affermando pubblicamente di essere dalla parte di chi salva esseri umani.

Ieri sera, invece, è stato pubblicato un comunicato congiunto degli equipaggi di Sea-Watch, Open Arms, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Sea-Eye, Alarm Phone, Seebrücke sulla vicenda che ha riguardato la nave Alan Kurdi. L’imbarcazione della ong Sea-Eye aveva salvato 64 persone il 3 aprile scorso. Solo ieri i naufraghi sono stati prelevati e fatti sbarcare dalle motovedette militari maltesi. L’attracco della nave nel porto di La Valletta, invece, non è stato autorizzato. I profughi saranno ora «redistribuiti» tra Germania, Francia, Portogallo e Lussemburgo.

«I negoziati intergovernativi portati avanti mentre le persone soccorse erano costrette a rimanere in condizioni non sicure in alto mare per oltre dieci giorni – recita il comunicato congiunto – sono pratiche illegittime e insostenibili che violano il diritto internazionale, i principi fondamentali dei diritti umani e non rispettano la dignità delle persone salvate». «Per noi, la società civile impegnata nel Mediterraneo centrale – continua il testo – la dignità e i diritti delle persone sono sempre una priorità assoluta e guidano tutte le nostre pratiche».

La missione di Mediterranea iniziata questa mattina si inserisce in un nuovo contesto politico, segnato dalla rinnovata instabilità libica e dall’escalation militare che interessa Tripoli. Il conflitto tra le milizie di Haftar e quelle di Serraj, sostenuto dal governo italiano e dall’Unione Europea, hanno reso evidente a tutti, amesso che ancora ce ne fosse bisogno, che la Libia non è un «paese sicuro». Chi continua a ripeterlo diffonde fake news e menzogne che producono morte e legittimano l’inferno dei lager, delle violenze, degli stupri.

A tutto questo bisogna reagire adesso. Mediterranea lo sta facendo. Lo stanno facendo gli equipaggi di mare, che hanno deciso di sfidare senza paura le aggressioni politiche e giudiziarie e i possibili comportamenti scomposti della cosiddetta «guardia costiera libica». Lo stanno facendo gli equipaggi di terra, che instancabilmente lavorano a livello economico, organizzativo e legale per rendere possibili le missioni. Dovrebbe farlo chiunque non accetta questa situazione, sostenendo come può la missione Mediterranea, che è completamente autofinanziata e ha urgente bisogno di nuovi fondi, ma anche preparandosi a mobilitarsi affinché nessuno resti solo, né in mare né in terra.

▻https://www.dinamopress.it/news/la-mare-jonio-torna-navigare-tutti-coinvolti

Nella direttiva contro Mare Jonio solo propaganda. Il Viminale rispetti i diritti umani

Apprendiamo che il Viminale ha dedicato, nella sua intensa attività di produzione di “direttive ad navem”, una nuova direttiva interamente dedicata alla nostra nave, Mare Jonio, salpata per la seconda missione del 2019 il 14 aprile scorso.

La direttiva appare scritta come se il Governo vivesse in un mondo parallelo. Nessun accenno alla guerra che infiamma la Libia e ai corrispettivi obblighi internazionali né alle migliaia e migliaia di persone torturate negli ultimi anni in quel Paese né a quelle annegate nel Mediterraneo centrale (in proporzione in numero sempre crescente, 2.100 nel solo 2018). Forse dovrebbero parlarsi tra Ministeri: la Ministra della Difesa italiana ha appena affermato infatti che “con la guerra non avremmo migranti ma rifugiati e i rifugiati si accolgono”.

Nelle considerazioni introduttive della direttiva in questione, si leggono una serie di slogan di propaganda, oltre che un elenco di bugie, peraltro relative a eventi al momento sotto l’attenzione della Procura di Agrigento nel corso dell’indagine che ci riguarda e che abbiamo accolto offrendo tutta la nostra collaborazione. Sappiamo infatti di avere sempre rispettato i diritti e il diritto, cosa che i governi europei, e il nostro in particolare, dovrebbero cominciare a fare in relazione a quanto avviene nel Mediterraneo Centrale.

La direttiva dice che la nostra presenza in mare sarebbe un incentivo per chi lascia la Libia: bisognerebbe appunto ricordare al Viminale che in Libia c’è una guerra, e che in ogni caso, come l’ONU e l’UE non perdono occasione di ricordare, quel paese non è mai stato un porto sicuro, ma piuttosto il teatro di “indicibili orrori”, stupri quotidiani, torture, esecuzioni sommarie per tutti i migranti, inclusi i bambini.

La direttiva dice che rischiamo di favorire l’ingresso di pericolosi terroristi. Auspichiamo che, una volta sbarcate nel porto più sicuro le persone eventualmente soccorse, questo governo sia in grado di effettuare tutte le indagini necessarie a garantire la sicurezza pubblica, ricordando però che i terroristi solitamente non viaggiano su barche che in un caso su tre affondano, ma che hanno ben altri mezzi per spostarsi.

La direttiva dice che avremmo rifiutato il coordinamento SAR di autorità straniere legittimamente responsabili. Ricordiamo che nel nostro soccorso avvenuto il 18 marzo, nessuna autorità ci ha ordinato alcunché, se non di stare lontani 8 miglia da un punto dal quale siamo rimasti ben più distanti per tutto il tempo. In ogni caso, ci auguriamo che la direttiva non faccia riferimento all’autorità libica, poiché in questo caso, si tratterebbe di una istigazione a delinquere: se già in precedenza era un reato riportare in Libia le persone soccorse, oggi, con la guerra in corso, è un’affermazione semplicemente criminale.

La cosiddetta guardia costiera libica, su delega e finanziamenti italiani, ha catturato per anni le persone in mare riportandole in quell’inferno e rimettendole in mano ai trafficanti, contrastati di fatto solo dalla presenza delle navi della società civile, le uniche a strappare le persone soccorse dalle mafie criminali. Sempre in relazione all’evento del 18 marzo, contrariamente alle menzogne riportate dalla direttiva, ricordiamo di avere fatto rotta verso l’Italia, obbedendo linearmente a quanto previsto dal diritto internazionale, in quanto Lampedusa era il porto sicuro più vicino per i naufraghi soccorsi.

La direttiva ci accusa infine di volere condurre nuovamente le stesse attività: lo confermiamo. Siamo di nuovo nel Mediterraneo, grazie alle tantissime realtà e persone che ci sostengono, per continuare nella nostra missione di monitoraggio e denuncia della violazione dei diritti umani, senza sottrarci mai all’obbligo giuridico ed etico di salvare le vite in pericolo e portarle in salvo.

Ci atterremo, nel farlo, esattamente come chiede la direttiva, alle vigenti norme nazionali e internazionali, cosa che implica l’impossibilità di fare alcun riferimento alla Libia, certi che anche l’illegittimità della sua zona SAR sarà presto definitivamente riconosciuta.

Diffidiamo altresì chiunque, e nella fattispecie il Ministro dell’Interno italiano, dal mettere in atto comportamenti che violino le leggi nazionali ed internazionali in materia di rispetto dei diritti umani e di obbligo di salvataggio in mare.

▻https://mediterranearescue.org/news/nella-direttiva-contro-mare-jonio-solo-propaganda-il-viminale-ri

Pourquoi l’extrême-droite européenne a quasiment réussi à faire interdire les sauvetages de réfugiés en Méditerranée

Des navires comme l’Aquarius ou le Sea Watch, affrétés par des associations, ont sauvé des dizaines de milliers de vies en Méditerranée. Mais depuis deux ans, les autorités italiennes et européennes ont multiplié les entraves. L’Italie leur a fermé ses ports depuis l’arrivée au pouvoir de Matteo Salvini et de son parti d’extrême droite. Il n’est pas le seul à harceler les sauveteurs. Des bateaux sont saisis ou bloqués à Malte, en Espagne, leurs équipages sont menacés de poursuites. Et ce, dans l’indifférence des autres gouvernements européens. Les réfugiés, eux, continuent de mourir ou sont interceptés par les garde-côtes libyens. Bilan d’un naufrage européen.

Quand une majorité d’électeurs français ont élu Emmanuel Macron contre Marine Le Pen en mai 2017, ils ne pensaient probablement pas que l’un de ses futurs ministres de l’Intérieur tiendrait le même discours que la candidate du FN et le reste de l’extrême droite européenne. C’est pourtant ce qui est arrivé le 5 avril. En marge du G7 des ministres de l’Intérieur, Christophe Castaner a déclaré que les ONG qui secourent des embarcations de migrants en péril en Méditerranée ont « pu se faire complices des passeurs ». C’est exactement l’argumentaire utilisé par Marine Le Pen un an plus tôt [1] en échos aux déclarations du ministre d’extrême-droite italien Matteo Salvini. Depuis que celui-ci est au pouvoir, les entraves mises aux organisations de sauvetage en mer ont redoublé.

En juin 2018, dès la formation du gouvernement de coalition entre la Ligue du Nord (extrême-droite) et le Mouvement 5 Étoiles (M5S), Matteo Salvini décide de fermer les ports italiens aux bateaux des organisations non-gouvernementales de sauvetage. L’Italie refuse alors le droit d’accoster à l’Aquarius, affrété par l’ONG française SOS Méditerranée, et au Lifeline, d’une association allemande, alors qu’ils ont recueilli à bord des dizaines de réfugiés. « Normalement, selon le droit maritime, les gouvernements ne peuvent pas fermer leurs ports à des embarcations », déplore une activiste française de l’ONG allemande Sea Watch, qui souhaite garder l’anonymat. Mais les autorités italiennes cherchent tous les prétextes possibles pour le faire.
Des accusations de collusion avec les passeurs, sans aucune preuve

Sur le front juridique, les attaques contre les ONG ont commencé depuis deux ans. Au printemps 2017, le procureur de Catane, en Sicile, déclare soupçonner une collaboration entre des organisations de sauvetage et des trafiquants d’êtres humains. Sans aucun élément de preuves, l’affaire s’est finalement dégonflée. Les menaces de poursuites judiciaires et de mises sous séquestre des navires se sont cependant poursuivies. En août 2017, le parquet de Trapani, toujours en Sicile, saisit le navire Luventa de l’ONG allemande Jugend Rettet. Raison invoquée : soupçon de collaboration avec des passeurs lors de trois opérations de sauvetage en 2016 et 2017 (voir le travail d’enquête qu’a réalisé à ce sujet le collectif de recherche Forensic Architecture, basé à l’université Goldsmiths de Londres). L’ONG avait refusé, avec d’autres, de signer le « code de conduite » que les autorités italiennes voulaient leur imposer. Le texte leur demandait notamment de s’engager à ne pas entrer dans les eaux territoriales libyennes.

« Notre navire se trouve en saisie préventive, fait savoir à Basta ! le président de Jugend Rettet, Julian Pahlke. La saisie peut être effectuée sans qu’aucune procédure judiciaire ne soit lancée. Elle est couverte par un paragraphe de loi anti-mafia ». Les autorités italiennes ont mis sous séquestre le navire de l’ONG allemande depuis plus d’un an et demi sans même qu’une procédure judiciaire ne soit ouverte ni contre l’ONG, ni contre ses membres. « Nous sommes allés jusqu’à la plus haute instance juridique italienne pour contester cette saisie », poursuit le jeune homme. En vain. L’ONG dit aujourd’hui préparer une plainte devant la Cour européenne des droits humains pour pouvoir récupérer son bateau.
Des navires saisis ou bloqués de manière arbitraire, sans procédure judiciaire

En mars 2018, c’est le navire de l’organisation espagnole Open Arms qui est placé sous séquestre par les autorités italiennes. Le procureur de Catane leur reproche d’avoir refusé de remettre aux garde-côtes libyens plus de 200 réfugiés secourus en mer. Une enquête pour organisation criminelle d’aide à l’immigration illégale est alors ouverte contre le capitaine du navire, le coordinateur et le directeur de l’ONG. Quelques mois plus tard, en novembre, la justice italienne déclare soupçonner l’Aquarius de traitement illégal de déchets toxiques. La menace d’un placement sous séquestre plane, mais l’accusation ne tient pas. La même année, le bateau de SOS Méditerranée reste coincé pendant des semaines dans le port de Marseille parce qu’il vient de perdre son pavillon, le pays de rattachement du bateau. Le Panama lui retiré l’immatriculation suite à une plainte de l’Italie. Juste avant, Gibraltar avait fait de même. Résultat : entre fin septembre et fin novembre 2018, plus aucun bateau d’ONG de sauvetage n’était présent au large de la Libye.

Tout récemment encore, début février 2019, le parquet de Catane a bloqué plusieurs jours l’un des navires humanitaires de Sea Watch. Il venait de débarquer avec 47 réfugiés secourus au large des côtes libyennes, après avoir été coincés des jours sur le bateau au large, parce que Salvini leur refusait l’accès au port. Le ministre menace aussi l’ONG de poursuites en justice. Le parquet a finalement considéré qu’aucun délit n’a été commis par l’ONG, mais ordonne des vérifications techniques, ce qui immobilise le navire. Sea Watch a dénoncé un blocage politique injustifié. Puis, c’est le Mare Jonio, affrété par le collectif d’activistes italiens Mediterranea, qui est saisi pendant huit jours, mi-mars, au port de Lampedusa. Il venait de secourir 49 personnes.
« Une preuve accablante que certains États abusent de leurs pouvoirs »

Le zèle des autorités italiennes pour bloquer les navires inspire aussi d’autres pays. Sea Watch rencontre des difficultés avec les Pays-Bas, le pavillon sous lequel ses bateaux naviguent. Après des travaux d’entretien, les autorités néerlandaises ont empêché leur bateau Sea Watch 3 de retourner en zone de sauvetage. « Jusqu’à ce que le gouvernement néerlandais soit sûr que nous nous conformions aux exigences techniques d’un nouveau règlement, Sea Watch est obligé de suspendre ses missions et sera probablement soumis à une nouvelle série d’inspections grotesques », a réagi l’ONG dans un communiqué. Les Pays-Bas invoquent des préoccupations pour la sécurité des personnes secourues si le navire doit rester longtemps en mer, faute de port prêt à les accueillir, comme cela arrive de plus en plus souvent.

« Nous ne pouvons être tenus responsables de l’état actuel des blocages prolongés et inhumains en mer. Au contraire, cette situation est une preuve accablante que certains États européens abusent de leurs pouvoirs », répond Sea Watch. Pour elle, les Pays-Bas, derrière des prétextes techniques, cherchent à empêcher les opérations de sauvetage en inventant « de nouveaux moyens pour contrôler les navires d’ONG dans le contexte de la politique migratoire ».

Une troisième ONG allemande, celle qui affrète le bateau Lifeline, a fait l’objet d’un long procès à Malte. En juillet 2018, les autorités maltaises ont laissé accoster le Lifeline avec plus de 200 personnes réfugiées, après une semaine d’errance en Méditerranée. Puis, Malte a mis le navire sous séquestre et engagé un procès contre le capitaine. L’accusation ? Ne pas avoir correctement enregistré le bateau. Le jugement doit finalement être rendu le 14 mai prochain. En Espagne aussi, les conditions se durcissent. En janvier, les autorités maritimes espagnoles ont refusé au navire d’Open Arms de repartir en mer. Il venait d’accoster dans un port du sud de l’Espagne avec plus de 300 réfugiés fin décembre.
Renvoyer les embarcations vers la Libye

« Des barrières se mettent en place à tous les niveaux pour qu’on ne puisse plus retourner dans la zone de sauvetage dans les eaux libyennes », analyse l’activiste française de Sea Watch. Depuis juin 2018, la Libye dispose de son propre Centre régional opérationnel de surveillance et de sauvetage en mer (Cross), un centre de coordination pour les sauvetages maritimes. La mise en place d’un tel centre sur le sol libyen fait partie du plan de la Commission européenne de 2017 pour réduire les flux migratoires en Méditerranée [2]. « La zone de sauvetage où nous naviguons est un carré au nord de Tripoli, vers lequel les courants et les vents emmènent les embarcations qui partent de la capitale libyenne. Avant, le Cross dont dépendait cette zone de navigation était Rome. Nous avions l’obligation de diriger les embarcations en difficulté vers les ports les plus proches du Cross de Rome, donc des ports italiens ou maltais. »

Avec la création d’un Cross à Tripoli, les embarcations peuvent être renvoyées vers la Libye. Alors même que, depuis début avril, des combats se déroulent, aux abords de Tripoli, entre les forces de l’Armée nationale libyenne autoproclamée du général Haftar, et les milices alliées au gouvernement reconnu par la communauté internationale. « Certains affrontements ont lieu également à proximité des centres de rétention des services de l’immigration à Qasr Ben Gashir et Ain Zara, où quelque 1300 personnes réfugiées et migrantes sont actuellement détenues », rappelle Amnesty International le 8 avril.
80 000 personnes sauvées en deux ans

En 2017, l’Union européenne a alloué 46 millions d’euros d’aide aux gardes-frontières et gardes-côtes libyens. En février, la France leur a même offert des navires [3]. L’objectif de ces généreux dons est de maintenir les migrants de l’autre côté de la Méditerranée. Pourtant, un rapport de l’Onu avertissait encore fin 2018 des « horreurs inimaginables » auxquelles sont confrontés les personnes migrantes en Libye. En novembre 2017, un documentaire de CNN montrait comment des migrants y étaient vendus comme esclaves.

La politique italienne et européenne semble avoir pour priorité d’empêcher les personnes d’arriver sur le sol européen, quel qu’en soit le prix en termes de violation des droits humains, de conséquences humanitaires, et de morts. En 2018, plus de 2200 personnes ont péri en tentant la traversée entre la Libye et l’Italie, mais aussi entre le Maroc et l’Espagne. Au moins 350 sont morts depuis janvier (selon les chiffre du Haut commissariat aux réfugiés de l’Onu, ici). Fin mars, l’Union européenne a décidé de retirer ses bateaux de l’opération Sophia des eaux méditerranéennes (des navires militaires français, italiens, allemands, espagnols ou belges placés sous commandement franco-italien). Même si ce n’était pas leur mission principale – qui était de lutter contre les passeurs –, ces navires avaient secouru environ 45 000 personnes depuis 2015. Sur la seule période allant de 2015 à avril 2017, les différentes ONG de sauvetage en Méditerranée ont de leur côté sauvé plus de 80 000 personnes (voir notre article et ce rapport d’Amnesty de juillet 2017).
« Nous n’avons plus de bateaux en mer pour le moment »

« Nous n’avons plus de bateau en mer pour le moment », signale l’activiste de Sea Watch. SOS Méditerranée, qui est à la recherche d’un nouveau navire, non plus. Le Lifeline est toujours bloqué à Malte, le navire de Jugend Rettet en Italie, et celui d’Open Arms en Espagne. Le Mare Jonio opère toujours. Et le navire Alan Kurdi de Sea Eye, une autre organisation allemande, a secouru le 4 avril 64 personnes au large de la Libye. Le gouvernement italien a déclaré qu’il ne le laisserait pas accoster. Il a fallu dix jours, et deux évacuations pour urgences médicales, pour que Malte laisse enfin le Alan Kurdi accoster. La France et l’Allemagne se sont engagés à accueillir une partie des 64 réfugiés.

Toute l’Italie n’est pas sur la ligne de Salvini. Des maires de gauche s’opposent publiquement à cette politique de fermeture des ports et au décret adopté en novembre qui ampute les droits des exilés. En mars, une manifestation antiraciste a réuni 200 000 personnes dans les rues de Milan. La justice italienne a même ouvert une enquête contre Salvini pour séquestration, pour les 46 réfugiés du Sea Watch à qui il avait refusé le droit de débarquer fin janvier. C’est la deuxième enquête de ce type lancée contre le ministre. La première avait été bloquée par le Sénat italien. En Allemagne, des dizaines de villes se sont déclarées « ports sûrs » ces derniers mois à l’appel de l’association Seebrücke. Ces communes se sont engagées à accueillir des personnes secourues en Méditerranée ou à soutenir les ONG de sauvetage.

►https://www.bastamag.net/Pourquoi-l-extreme-droite-europeenne-a-quasiment-reussi-a-faire-interdire-

Migranti sono in pericolo di vita, ma soccorritori italiani e libici non si capiscono: le intercettazioni

Alle 13.25 del 17 marzo scorso arriva a Tripoli una chiamata dal coordinamento di Roma che deve «girare» ai colleghi libici l’sos del gommone in avaria con a bordo 48 migranti in imminente pericolo di vita. Per la legge, al centralino di Tripoli dovrebbe rispondere 24 ore al giorno un ufficiale della guardia costiera locale in grado di parlare l’inglese. Gli italiani impiegheranno quasi due minuti a trovare l’ufficiale e quasi un quarto d’ora a comunicare – chiamando poi un interprete arabo - le coordinate del gommone.

▻https://video.repubblica.it/dossier/migranti-2019/migranti-sono-in-pericolo-di-vita-ma-soccorritori-italiani-e-libici-non-si-capiscono-le-intercettazioni/332460/333055
#gardes-côtes_libyens #vidéo

« Salvini répète que les ports sont fermés, comment pourrait-il admettre qu’à #Lampedusa, les migrants arrivent toujours ? »

Depuis l’été 2017, les arrivées depuis les côtes libyennes sont rarissimes mais la route traditionnelle entre la Tunisie et l’île italienne s’est rouverte, sur un mode plus « artisanal »

Les deux navires orange et blancs de la « guardia di finanza » n’ont pas bougé de la nuit. Immobiles, ils mouillent toujours à l’entrée du petit port de Lampedusa, qui s’éveille mollement en ce premier jour du mois de mai.

La lumière printanière est déjà là, mais les cohortes de touristes apportées par les compagnies charter ne sont pas encore arrivées. Bientôt les hôtels seront pleins, et cette île microscopique perdue au milieu de la Méditerranée, à moins de 150 km à l’est des côtes tunisiennes, sera complètement congestionnée. Mais pour quelques jours, les 5 000 habitants sont encore entre eux.

Il a plu une bonne partie de la nuit, si bien que peu de bateaux sont partis en mer. Du coup, l’activité dans l’anse est particulièrement réduite. A quai, les pêcheurs s’affairent en silence. A vrai dire, rien ne laisserait paraître qu’il s’est passé quelque chose de particulier dans la nuit. Et pourtant…

A quelques centaines de mètres de là, au pied de la mairie – un bloc de béton sans charme particulier, qui fait figure de centre du bourg –, une petite centaine d’habitants préparent les cérémonies de la fête des travailleurs, tandis qu’une mauvaise sono crache en boucle, à plein volume, des standards de la pop italienne des années 1970-1980. Air un peu fermé, teint buriné et écharpe au vent, le maire de l’île, Salvatore (dit « Toto ») Martello, passe d’un petit groupe à l’autre, discutant avec chacun à voix basse.

Il s’arrête près de nous et nous confie, comme s’il reprenait une conversation interrompue cinq minutes plus tôt : « On les cherchait partout et ils sont arrivés dans le port hier soir, un peu avant 23 heures, sous la pluie. Vingt personnes à bord, quinze hommes et cinq femmes. On les a immédiatement conduits au centre d’accueil, pour enregistrement ». « Ils », ce sont les migrants partis de Tunisie sur une barque de bois que, durant toute la journée précédente, les maigres moyens de secours subsistant dans la zone avaient recherché avec inquiétude.
Une situation inconfortable

On avait suivi leur équipée heure par heure, et, dans l’après-midi, on avait craint le pire pour les occupants de ce gros canot qui semblaient avoir été avalés par la mer. Les avions de reconnaissance avaient multiplié les manœuvres infructueuses, alors que le ciel menaçant compliquait de plus en plus les recherches. Et soudain, au milieu de la nuit, le canot est arrivé à bon port tout seul. Comme par miracle.

« Vous avez l’air surpris, mais ce genre d’arrivée est très fréquent, assure le maire. Les côtes africaines sont juste à côté, le trajet depuis la Tunisie n’est pas si difficile et les Tunisiens connaissent bien la mer. Seulement, pour l’instant, le gouvernement fait tout pour qu’on n’en parle pas. Vu que [le ministre de l’intérieur] Matteo Salvini répète partout que les ports sont fermés, comment pourrait-il admettre qu’ici, les migrants arrivent toujours ? »

Natif de l’île et figure historique de la gauche locale, Toto Martello a été réélu à la mairie de Lampedusa – il avait déjà occupé le poste de 1993 à 2002 –, à l’été 2017, après la défaite retentissante de la sortante, Giusi Nicolini, dont l’aura de pasionaria des droits des migrants avait fini par irriter une partie de la population de l’île. Moins militant que ne l’était sa devancière, il reste partisan de l’ouverture des ports, et de l’assistance aux personnes perdues en mer – comment pourrait-il en être autrement quand on est fils de pêcheurs ?

Aussi l’arrivée au ministère de l’intérieur du dirigeant de la Ligue, Matteo Salvini, en juin 2018 a-t-il placé l’île tout entière dans une situation inconfortable.

« Mes rapports avec la région Sicile, à laquelle Lampedusa est rattachée, sont très bons. Quand je suis allé à Bruxelles, il y a quelques mois, j’ai été reçu par le président du Parlement Antonio Tajani, le commissaire européen aux migrations Dimitris Avramopoulos et aussi des membres du staff de Federica Mogherini [à la tête de la diplomatie européenne],énumère Toto Martello. Mais quand j’écris au ministère de l’intérieur, il ne répond pas, il n’accuse même pas réception. Comme Salvini ne peut pas changer la situation à Lampedusa, il cherche à nous faire disparaître. Il veut qu’on nous oublie. »
« Bateaux mères »

Certes, en comparaison des années précédentes, la pression migratoire à Lampedusa a considérablement décru.

« Quand je suis arrivé sur l’île, en 2015, il y avait eu 23 000 arrivées enregistrées. En 2016 on était passé à 13 000, puis 9 500 et 2017 et finalement 3 500 en 2018. Le début de l’année a été marqué par une mer très difficile, si bien que le chiffre des arrivées doit être très bas, mais il n’est pas vraiment significatif », explique Alberto Mallardo, représentant de l’ONG Mediterranean Hope, émanation des églises protestantes italiennes, très active sur l’île.
« La porte de Lampedusa - porte de l’Europe » est une sculpture de Mimmo Paladino. Réalisée en 2008, elle rend hommage aux milliers de migrants arrivés sur l’île ces dernières années. | GIOVANNI CIPRIANO POUR

« La porte de Lampedusa - porte de l’Europe » est une sculpture de Mimmo Paladino. Réalisée en 2008, elle rend hommage aux milliers de migrants arrivés sur l’île ces dernières années. | GIOVANNI CIPRIANO POUR "LE MONDE"

Le « hotspot » de Lampedusa, où les migrants doivent être enregistrés avant de partir dans d’autres centres d’accueil, en Sicile ou sur le continent, était naguère plein à craquer. Il tourne désormais au ralenti, et on ne croise plus, comme c’était encore le cas en 2017, de groupes de demandeurs d’asile africains dans les environs de l’église.

Depuis l’été 2017, les arrivées depuis les côtes libyennes sont devenues rarissimes, et c’est plutôt la route traditionnelle entre les côtes tunisiennes et Lampedusa qui s’est rouverte, sur un mode plus « artisanal ». Mais l’équilibre de cette situation est très fragile, et pourrait être remis en cause en cas d’effondrement de l’actuel gouvernement de Tripoli.

Par ailleurs, les derniers mois ont vu un certain changement du mode d’arrivée des demandeurs d’asile. Après les grands bateaux contenant plusieurs centaines de migrants, qui ont cessé de venir après 2014, il y avait eu les canots gonflables, qui n’avaient plus pour objectif d’atteindre Lampedusa mais plutôt d’arriver dans les eaux internationales où ils étaient secourus par les navires de l’opération Sophia ou ceux des ONG.

Ce type de départs s’est tari depuis la mi-2017 et les accords avec la Libye.« Ce qui se développe actuellement, c’est un système dans lequel les migrants sont convoyés par des sortes de “bateaux mères”, détaille Alberto Mallardo. Ces embarcations sont assez importantes, elles peuvent faire le voyage jusqu’à Lampedusa ou la Sicile. Et une fois arrivés à proximité des côtes italiennes, elles débarquent discrètement leurs passagers dans de plus petites embarcations, de dix à douze personnes ». Puis les passeurs s’éloignent.
« Efficacité de la propagande mise en place par Salvini »

Observateur des incessantes mutations des routes migratoires, le journaliste Mauro Seminara, qui vit sur l’île depuis le milieu des années 2000, relativise l’importance des changements des derniers mois.

« Tout cela est très fragile, et peu évoluer à tout moment assure-t-il. Ce qui me frappe, en revanche, c’est l’efficacité de la machine de propagande mise en place par Matteo Salvini. Le 11 avril , un bateau avec 70 migrants est arrivé ici depuis la Tunisie. Le ministère de l’intérieur a affirmé qu’après 24 heures ils avaient tous été renvoyés chez eux, et ici, sur l’île, beaucoup l’ont cru. Alors même qu’on sait bien qu’une moitié est partie assez vite en Sicile, à Porto Empedocle, et que l’autre moitié est restée un temps à Lampedusa… »

Au-delà de cela, les observateurs de l’activité migratoire en mer savent bien que les « navires fantôme » qui arrivent à Lampedusa ne sont que la partie émergée de l’iceberg.

En effet, un navire qui arrive à Lampedusa, si petit soit-il, ne pourra pas passer inaperçu. En revanche, si le même débarque sur les côtes siciliennes, il est autrement plus facile de se fondre dans la nature. « Pour un navire qui arrive ici, assure Mauro Seminara, il y en a au moins trois ou quatre qui débarquent quelque part dans la région d’Agrigente, au sud de la Sicile, et dont on ne saura jamais rien. »

https://img.lemde.fr/2019/05/07/0/0/5023/3349/688/0/60/0/1dea655_AlO9JTUcsA3j810OTOL_KMVo.jpg

Colau ofrece Barcelona como “puerto seguro” para acoger migrantes a la deriva

La alcaldesa de la capital catalana apela directamente al presidente Pedro Sánchez y la vicepresidenta Carmen Calvo para ayudar a la oenegé Open Arms “a salvar vidas”

►http://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20180624/45375909848/ada-colau-barcelona-puerto-seguro-migrantes-deriva.html
#Barcelone #port_sûr

Berlin will Flüchtlinge aufnehmen

Die „#Lifeline“ darf in einem Hafen auf Malta anlegen. Berlins rot-rot-grüner Senat erklärt sich bereit, die Bootsflüchtlinge aufzunehmen.

►http://www.taz.de/!5516521

Barcelona urges Spain to allow migrant ship to dock

Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau is calling on Spain’s prime minister to grant the city docking rights to help a Spanish aid boat that rescued 60 migrants in the Mediterranean near Libya.

The Open Arms boat, run by Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms, was the cause of a political row Saturday between Italy and Malta, who both rejected taking in the aid boat’s migrants.

Mr Colau tweeted that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez should “save lives” because Barcelona “doesn’t want to be an accomplice to the policies of death of Matteo Salvini,” referring to Italy’s hard-line interior minister.

Mr Salvini, head of an anti-migrant party in the Italian coalition government, has vowed that no more humanitarian groups’ rescue boats will dock in Italy.

The Spanish vessel said it rescued the migrants Saturday — including five women, a nine-year-old child and three teenagers — after it spotted a rubber boat patched with duct tape floating in the sea. All the migrants appeared in good health.

"Despite the hurdles, we continue to protect the right to life of invisible people,’ said Open Arms.

Mr Salvini quickly declared that the rescue boat “can forget about arriving in an Italian port” and claimed the boat should go to Malta, the nearest port.

But Malta swiftly pushed back, with its interior minister contending that the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, was closer to the boat.

Earlier this month, Rome rejected the Aquarius ship carrying 630 migrants, forcing it to eventually dock in Spain.

“For women and children really fleeing the war the doors are open, for everyone else they are not!” Mr Salvini tweeted.

▻https://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/barcelona-urges-spain-to-allow-migrant-ship-to-dock-1.745767
#villes-refuge

Migrants rescue boat allowed to dock in Barcelona

A Spanish rescue boat which plucked 60 migrants from a patched-up rubber dinghy in the Mediterranean Sea near Libya has been given permission to sail to Barcelona, following another political row between Italy and Malta over where the vessel should dock.

The boat, Open Arms, run by Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms, said it rescued the migrants – including five women, a nine-year-old child and three teenagers – after it spotted a rubber boat patched with duct tape floating in the sea. All the migrants appeared in good health.

Italy’s right-wing interior minister Matteo Salvini quickly declared that the rescue boat “can forget about arriving in an Italian port”, and claimed it should instead go to Malta, the nearest port.

Malta swiftly pushed back, with its interior minister contending that the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, was closer to the boat.

►http://www.itv.com/news/2018-06-30/migrants-rescue-boat-allowed-to-dock-in-barcelona

#Palerme:

La Commission régionale de l’Urbanisme a rejeté le projet de pré-faisabilité du « #hotspot » à Palerme, confirmant l’avis du Conseil municipal de Palerme. L’avis de la Commission régionale reste technique. Le maire de Palerme a rappelé que "la ville de Palerme et toute sa communauté sont opposés à la création de centres dans lesquels la dignité des personnes est violée (...). Palerme reste une ville qui croit dans les valeurs de l’accueil, de la solidarité et des rencontres entre les peuples et les cultures, les mettant en pratique au quotidien. En cela, notre « non » à l’hotspot n’est pas et ne sera pas seulement un choix technique, mais plutôt un choix relatif à des principes et des valeurs".
> Pour en savoir plus (IT) : ►http://www.palermotoday.it/politica/hotspot-zen-progetto-bocciato-regione.html

– Leoluca Orlando, le maire de Palerme, continue de défier le gouvernement et les politiques migratoires de Salvini. La nouvelle querelle fait suite à une circulaire envoyée aux préfets et présidents de commissions sur la reconnaissance de la protection internationale. Matteo Salvini souhaite une accélération de l’examen des demandes et un accès plus strict au titre de séjour pour motif(s) humanitaire(s), un des avantages les plus accordés (cette année, ils représentaient 28% des trois titres de séjour prévus par la loi). La circulaire invite les commissions à être plus rigoureuses dans l’examen de la vulnérabilité.
> Pour en savoir plus (IT) : www.palermotoday.it/politica/migranti-polemica-orlando-salvini-querela.html ?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

– 8 Juillet, 18h : manifestation citoyenne des oppressé.es à Palerme.
> Pour en savoir plus (IT), lien vers l’évènement : ▻http://palermo.carpediem.cd/events/7342024-prima-le-oppresse-e-gli-oppressi-at-piazza-giuseppe-verdi

–-> Reçu via la mailing-list Migreurop

Migranti: parte l’offensiva degli amministratori locali contro la deriva xenofoba e razzista del Governo

Primo firmatario dell’appello «inclusione per una società aperta» Nicola Zingaretti; tra gli aderenti Sala, Pizzarotti e De Magistris.

Trentatré episodi di aggressioni a sfondo razzista da quando il governo Salvini - Di Maio si è insediato, tre solo nelle ultime ore; porti chiusi e criminalizzazione delle Ong; ruspe sui campi rom e una narrazione costante e diffusa che parla di invasione, sostituzione etnica, pericolo immigrazione: qualcuno ha deciso di non restare in silenzio e mostrare che esiste anche un’Italia che rifiuta tutto questo, rivendica lo stato di diritto e sostiene l’inclusione sociale come valore assoluto.

Per questo oggi stato lanciato - e ha già raccolto più di 200 adesioni in tutta Italia - il manifesto «Inclusione per una società aperta», ideato e promosso dai consiglieri regionali del Lazio Alessandro Capriccioli, Marta Bonafoni, Paolo Ciani, Mauro Buschini e Daniele Ognibene e rivolto a tutti gli amministratori locali che rifiutino «la retorica dell’invasione e della sostituzione etnica, messa in campo demagogicamente al solo scopo di ottenere consenso elettorale, dagli imprenditori della paura e dell’odio sociale; rifiutino il discorso pubblico di denigrazione e disprezzo del prossimo e l’incitamento all’odio, che nutrono una narrazione della disuguaglianza, giustificano e fanno aumentare episodi di intolleranza ed esplicito razzismo», col fine di costruire «una rete permanente che, dato l’attuale contesto politico, affronti il tema delle migrazioni e dell’accoglienza su scala nazionale a partire dalle esperienze e dalle politiche locali, con l’obiettivo di opporsi fattivamente alla deriva sovranista e xenofoba che sta investendo il nostro paese», come si legge nell’appello diffuso quest’oggi.

«In Italia viviamo una situazione senza precedenti», ha spiegato Alessandro Capriccioli, capogruppo di +Europa Radicali durante la conferenza stampa di lancio dell’appello insieme ai colleghi Paolo Ciani, Marta Bonaforni e Marietta Tidei. «Attraverso una strategia quasi scientifica è stato imposto un racconto sull’immigrazione che alimenta l’odio e lo sfrutta per ottenere consensi. Questo manifesto si rivolge agli amministratori locali che affrontano sul campo il tema dell’immigrazione con risultati virtuosi che spesso smentiscono quel racconto, ed è uno strumento per formare una rete istituzionale che potrà diventare un interlocutore autorevole e credibile in primo luogo di questo Governo, dettando indicazioni, strategie e proposte».

Paolo Ciani, capogruppo di Centro Solidale, ha sottolineato come «questa narrazione distorta sta portando a un imbarbarimento della nostra società. Gli episodi di questi giorni rappresentano solo la punta dell’iceberg di un atteggiamento diffuso: sappiamo tutti che esistono degli istinti bassi che appartengono a tutti gli esseri umani e che, se trovano una loro legittimazione nelle istituzioni, diventano un problema». Marietta Tidei, consigliera regionale del Pd ha posto l’attenzione sul fatto che «oggi viene raccontato solo il brutto dell’immigrazione, ma noi siamo qui per dire che c’è anche molto che ha funzionato: il programma Sprar è un esempio virutoso», mentre la capogruppo della Lista Civica Zingaretti Marta Bonafoni ha sottolineato come ciò che conta sia «la quantità e la pronta risposta che stiamo avendo: la distribuzione geografica ci dice che c’è un’altra italia, che con questo appello diventa una rete istituzionale che si pone come interlocutrice del Governo».

Oltre al Presidente della regione Lazio hanno già sottoscritto l’appello Beppe Sala, sindaco di Milano, Federico Pizzarotti, sindaco di Parma, Luigi De Magistris, sindaco di Napoli e più di 200 tra assessori e consiglieri regionali, sindaci, presidenti di municipi e consiglieri comunali e municipali da ogni parte d’Italia.

►http://www.repubblica.it/solidarieta/immigrazione/2018/08/03/news/migranti_parte_l_offensiva_degli_amministratori_locali_contro_la_deriva_x
#xénophobie #racisme #anti-racisme

Espagne : #Bilbao accueille de plus en plus de migrants

Dernière étape avant la France ou une autre destination, Bilbao accueille de plus en plus de migrants débarqués sur les plages du sud de l’Espagne. Le Pays basque, connu pour être doté d’un réseau de solidarité citoyenne très développé, prend en charge le sort de ces migrants en transit. C’est le cas de l’association #Ongi_Etorri_regugiak - « Bienvenue réfugié » - qui depuis trois mois aide un groupe de 130 subsahariens livrés à eux-mêmes.

Dans la cour de récréation, une vingtaine d’Africains jouent au football en attendant l’heure du dîner. C’est dans cette ancienne école primaire du quartier populaire de Santuxtu, transformée en centre social, que sont hébergés ces migrants âgés de plus de 18 ans. Tous ont débarqué en zodiac sur les côtes espagnoles, puis ont été transportés jusqu’à Bilbao dans des bus affrétés par les autorités espagnoles. Mais à leur arrivée, ils sont très vite livrés à eux-mêmes.

La solidarité d’une centaine de personnes a permis d’aider ces migrants et de prendre la relève des autorités locales comme le souligne Martha, une des volontaires. « On a ouvert ce dispositif entre personnes qui n’ont aucun moyen économique, c’est autofinancé, et on apprend sur le tas un peu de tout, explique-t-elle. Il y a des gens qui restent dormir pour voir si tout se passe bien. On est là pour les accompagner, pour créer aussi le lien avec les gens d’ici, avec la ville. C’est très émouvant de voir comment s’est créée une chaîne de solidarité entre différents quartiers peu à peu, qui ne devrait pas s’arrêter là et on espère qu’elle ne va pas se rompre ».

Parmi ces migrants, Zacharia, un Camerounais de 29 ans, désigné chef cuisinier. C’est lui qui prépare les repas pour les 130 personnes avec les vivres donnés par les habitants du coin. Il espère l’obtenir l’asile politique, mais il va devoir attendre six mois pour avoir son premier rendez-vous avec les autorités, ce qui le préoccupe.

Les autorités basques ont promis de se pencher sur le sort de ces migrants, mais d’ordinaire, ils sont très peu à choisir de rester au Pays basque. La plupart décident de continuer leur périple vers le nord de l’Europe avec ou sans aide.

▻http://www.infomigrants.net/fr/post/11498/espagne-bilbao-accueille-de-plus-en-plus-de-migrants

#Atlanta says NO to detention and YES to increased legal services and support for family reunification:

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Issues Executive Order to Permanently End City of Atlanta Receiving ICE Detainees

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has signed an Executive Order directing the Chief of the Atlanta City Department of Corrections to take the necessary action to permanently stop receiving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees under the current agreement with the United States Marshals Service.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DmgcSxiVsAEKZEJ.jpg

#USA #Etats-Unis

How Cities Are Demanding a Greater Voice on Migration

Cities are developing their own solutions to help fast-growing migrant and refugee populations in urban areas. Cities expert Robert Muggah describes the swell of initiatives by urban leaders and what it will take to overcome the barriers ahead.

Most refugees and internally displaced people live in cities. Yet urban leaders are regularly excluded from international discussions about refugee response.

Robert Muggah, cofounder of the Brazil-based think-tank the Igarape Institute and Canadian risk consultancy The SecDev Group, is among a growing chorus of city and migration experts calling for that to change. His recent paper for the World Refugee Council describes how cities are developing their own solutions and offers a blueprint for better cooperation.

“Cities will need resources to scale up their activities,” Muggah told Refugees Deeply. “This may require changes in laws so that cities can determine their own residence policies and keep tax revenues generated by migrants who move there.”

Refugees Deeply talked to Muggah about how city leaders are championing new approaches to displacement and the barriers they’re trying to overcome.
Refugees Deeply: Are the global compacts on refugees and migration a missed opportunity for a smarter international approach to urban refugees and migrants?

Robert Muggah: The international response to the urbanization of displacement has been woefully inadequate. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in particular, was remarkably slow to empower cities to assume a greater role in protecting and assisting refugees and other groups of concern. And while it has made some modest improvements, the UNHCR’s strategic plan (2017–21) makes just one reference to urban refugees – acknowledging that they constitute the majority of the agency’s caseload – but offers no vision or concrete recommendations moving forward.

The global compacts on migration and refugees were never going to be revolutionary. But so far they have been a disappointment seen from the vantage point of cities. While still under review, the new compacts only tangentially address the central role of urban authorities, businesses and civic associations in supporting displaced populations. While they offer a suite of sensible-sounding proposals to ensure a more predictable approach to protection and care and “regularize” population movements more generally, they are silent on the role of cities. The global compact on refugees mentions the word “urban” just four times and “cities” just once. These omissions have not gone unnoticed: cities and inter-city networks are agitating for a greater voice.

The global compacts on migration and refugees were never going to be revolutionary. But so far they have been a disappointment seen from the vantage point of cities.
Refugees Deeply: What are some of the main political and institutional blockages to better equipping cities around the world to protect and care for migrants and refugees?

Muggah: For most of the 20th and 21st centuries, nation states have actively resisted giving cities more discretion in responding to issues of cross-border and internal population displacement. Cities will not find recourse in international law, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also have nothing to say about urban displacement. More positively, the nonbinding New Urban Agenda offers more concrete direction on cooperation between national and subnational authorities to address the needs of refugees and internally displaced people.

Cities have also received comparatively limited support from international organizations to support urban refugees and displaced people. On the contrary – the UNHCR has instead emphasized the need to reduce assistance and promote self-reliance. Under immense pressure from U.N. member states, and host states in particular, the UNHCR sought to limit refugees from moving to cities where possible. UNHCR made tentative gestures to move beyond the minimalist approach and advocate for refugee rights in cities in the 2000s, but a camp-based model prevailed. There were concerns that the focus on refugees in cities could antagonize host countries, many of whom saw displaced people as a threat to domestic and international security.
Refugees Deeply: What are some of the factors common to the most proactive and innovative cities on these issues?

Muggah: A growing number of cities are demanding a greater voice on issues of migration and displacement. Earlier in 2018 a small delegation of cities – led by New York – sent recommendations to improve the overall wording and content of the Global Compact. Likewise, in 2017, the International Organization for Migration, together with the United Cities and Local Government (UCLG), assembled 150 cities to sign the Mechelen Declaration demanding a seat at the decision-making table. And in 2015, Eurocities also issued a statement on refugees in the wake of the influx of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. They set up Solidarity Cities, which provides support to help cities deliver services and identify effective long-term solutions to protect social cohesion and integration.

Cities are also getting on with developing legislative and policy frameworks to welcome refugees and promote protection, care and assistance. Good examples include more than 100 “welcoming cities” in the U.S. that have committed to promoting integration, developing institutional strategies for inclusion, building leadership among new arrivals and providing support to refugees. Meanwhile, some 500 jurisdictions describe themselves as “sanctuary cities.” Despite threats of cuts to funding, they are resisting federal efforts to enforce immigration law and are on the front line of supporting refugees. In the U.K., at least 80 “cities of sanctuary” offer another approach to providing compassionate solutions for refugees. Large and medium-sized cities across Europe are also adopting similar strategies, in cooperation with Eurocities – a network of major European cities founded in 1986.

While it can generate tension with federal counterparts, these city-level responses can help contribute to greater safety and economic progress in the long run. Cities, states and countries with sanctuary policies tend to be safer and more prosperous than those without them. Sanctuary cities can build trust between law enforcement agencies and migrant communities. Likewise, the economies of sanctuary cities, towns and counties are largely more resilient than nonsanctuary counterparts, whether measured in terms of the population’s income, reliance on public assistance or labor force participation.
Refugees Deeply: Many cities face financial and political limitations on their ability to respond to refugee crises. Where have you seen good examples of devolution of power and resources helping cities to respond better?

Muggah: There are countless examples of cities strengthening their protection and care for urban refugees in a time of austerity. In New York, for example, city authorities launched ActionNYC, which offers free, safe legal assistance for migrants and refugees in multiple languages. In Barcelona, the SAIER (Service Center for Immigrants, Emigrants and Refugees) program provides free advice on asylum and return, while Milan works with the UNHCR and Save the Children to offer services for unaccompanied minors.

Montreal established the BINAM (Bureau d’integration des nouveaux arrivants a Montreal) program to provide on-the-job training and mentoring to new arrivals, and Sao Paulo has created municipal immigration councils to help design, implement and monitor the city’s policies. Likewise, cities such as Atlanta and Los Angeles are requiring that migrants – in particular, refugees – have equal access to city facilities, services and programs regardless of their citizenship status.

Cities are also banding together, pooling their resources to achieve greater influence on the urban refugee agenda. Today there are more than 200 intercity networks dedicated to urban priorities, ranging from governance and climate change to public safety and migration. Several of them have dedicated guidelines on how cities can protect and care for refugees. For example, the Global Parliament of Mayors, established in 2016, focuses on, among other things, promoting inclusive cities for refugees and advocating on their behalf. The International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities and the UCLG are others, having teamed up with think-tanks and international agencies to strengthen information-sharing and best practices. Another new initiative is Urban20, which is promoting social integration, among other issues, and planning an inaugural meeting in October 2018.
Refugees Deeply: Most cities at the forefront of refugee crises are in the Global South. What recommendations would you offer to ensure that international responses to urban displacement do not become too North-centric?

Muggah: This reality is often lost on Northern policymakers and citizens as they seek to restrict new arrivals and reduce overseas assistance. The Carnegie Mellon University’s Create Lab and the Igarape Institute have developed a range of data visualization tools to highlight these trends, but a much greater effort is required to educate the public. These outreach efforts must be accompanied with a dramatic scaling-up of assistance to redressing the “causes” of displacement as well as supporting front-line cities absorbing the vast majority of the world’s displaced populations.

https://newsdeeply.imgix.net/20180921035546/EMcGregor_Protest0701181.jpg?w=640&fit=max&q=60&dpr=2#.jpg

Création de l’#association_nationale des #villes et #territoires accueillants

À l’heure où l’échec des politiques migratoires européenne et nationale entraîne une montée des populismes tout en restreignant les droits humains fondamentaux, nous, élu.e.s de villes et collectivités, décidons de nous unir sous une bannière commune : celle de l’accueil inconditionnel.

Nous demandons ainsi que l’Etat assume ses missions et assure les moyens pour créer des solutions d’accueil, d’hébergement et d’accompagnement plus nombreuses et plus qualitatives que celles existantes aujourd’hui. Cela doit passer par la mise en place d’une stratégie nationale d’accueil afin de répartir et d’accompagner l’effort de solidarité.

Nous l’enjoignons à respecter le droit et ses engagements internationaux (Protocole de Quito de l’ONU, Convention de Genève), européens (Pacte d’Amsterdam) et nationaux (Code des Familles et de l’Action Sociale)

Néanmoins, dépositaires d’une tradition d’accueil et de valeurs humanistes, nous, élu.e.s locaux et territoriaux, mettons en oeuvre et expérimentons déjà sur nos territoires, au quotidien, des réponses aux impératifs de l’urgence humanitaire et d’inclusion de tout un chacun, même quand l’Etat est défaillant.
Surtout, nous agissons en responsabilité, conformément à nos obligations règlementaires et législatives.

L’association que nous avons constituée à Lyon 1er le 26 septembre 2018, rassemble tout.e.s les élu.e.s promouvant l’hospitalité, source de politiques inclusives et émancipatrices. Fort.e.s de notre expérience, animé.e.s par la volonté d’agir collectivement, nous donnerons à voir que des solutions dignes sont possibles et adaptées à chaque situation locale. Il n’y a pas UNE politique d’accueil, mais autant que de particularismes locaux.

Elle permettra de mettre en avant toutes les réussites locales en matière d’accueil sur notre
territoire et les réussites que cela engendre lorsque chacun assume ses responsabilités.
Elle permettra aussi, la mise en commun de bonnes pratiques, l’accompagnement de territoires volontaires, la mobilisation autour d’enjeux liés aux politiques migratoires, la proposition de mesures adaptées. En partenariat avec toutes les forces vives volontaires : acteurs associatifs, citoyen.ne.s, universitaires, juristes, militant.e.s, etc.

Nous souhaitons la bienvenue aux élu.e.s de tous horizons et de tout territoire, qui, partageant nos valeurs humanistes et notre volonté politique, veulent rejoindre notre association.

Damien CARÊME, Maire de #Grande-Synthe, Président de l’Association
Catherine BASSANI, Représentante de la ville de #Nantes
Philippe BOUYSSOU, Maire d’#Ivry-Sur-Seine
Marie-Dominique DREYSSE, Maire-adjointe de #Strasbourg
Gérard FROMM, Maire de #Briançon
Corinne IEHL, Elue de #Lyon 7ème arrondissement
Myriam LAÏDOUNI-DENIS, Elue de la #Région_Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bernard MACRET, 4ème Adjoint aux Solidarités Internationales, #Grenoble
Halima MENHOUDJ, Adjointe au Maire de #Montreuil
Jaklin PAVILLA, 1ère Adjointe au Maire de #Saint-Denis
Nathalie PERRIN-GILBERT, Maire du 1er arrondissement de Lyon
Eric PIOLLE, Maire de #Grenoble
Laurent RUSSIER, Maire de #Saint-Denis
Bozena WOJCIECHOWSKI, Adjointe au Maire d’Ivry-sur-Seine

▻https://blogs.mediapart.fr/fini-de-rire/blog/280918/creation-de-l-association-nationale-des-villes-et-territoires-accuei
#villes_accueillantes #territoires_accueillants #France
#ANVITA

Italie : Palerme, l’exception ?

Palerme, ancienne « capitale » de la mafia sicilienne, se revendique aujourd’hui capitale de la tolérance et de l’accueil des migrants, à contre-courant de la politique du gouvernement italien.

▻https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/030273-684-A/arte-reportage

How Cities Can Shape a Fairer, More Humane Immigration Policy

National governments do not have all the answers on immigration says Bristol mayor Marvin Rees. Ahead of a mayors’ summit he outlines a better city-led response.

People have always been on the move, both within nations and across borders, but increasingly migrants tend to settle in cities. This puts cities and their responses at the heart of the conversation, something we are looking to highlight at the Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM) Summit here in Bristol.

There is a steady upward trend in the number of people who have left their homelands voluntarily for economic or other reasons, or who are forced to leave their homes as refugees or displaced persons for reasons of conflict or environmental disaster. Population diversity in most developed countries can be attributed to international migration, whereas in developing nations it is mostly internal migration that contributes to this diversity.

This is an important moment in the United Kingdom’s approach to the issue of migration. The upcoming Immigration Bill, expected toward the end of this year, will bring unprecedented reform of U.K. immigration policy. At the same time, the scandal over the treatment of the Windrush generation has brought to public consciousness the impact of this government’s “hostile environment” policy and the burdensome bureaucracy the Home Office is inflicting on individual human lives. A fairer, more compassionate system is needed, one in which no one is detained without knowing why and when they will be released. It is everyone’s legitimate right to enjoy a family life with loved ones and to realize the aspiration to provide for oneself and one’s family and contribute to society through employment.

However, national governments clearly do not have all the answers. Around the world, it is cities that are increasingly collaborating nationally and across borders, learning from each other and replicating good practice. Cities’ experiences have to be included in the national debate on how to take advantage of the full potential of migration and drive a change in policies and mind-set to ensure that migration is embraced as an opportunity rather than seen solely as a challenge.

That is why this will be high on the agenda at the GPM summit opening on October 21, with almost 100 mayors representing both developed and emerging states in attendance. Cities are where migrants interact with communities, society and, if only indirectly, with the host country. The social, economic, political and cultural activities in a city can play a crucial role in countering the anxiety and fears associated with migration, and help integration and inclusivity. Where the right policies and practices are in place, migration can bring huge benefits to communities and cities, fueling growth, innovation and entrepreneurship.
City Responses

City responses to migration and refugees have been varied and multifaceted but they are characterized by the theme of inclusion, with city leaders attempting to design and implement policies that allow newcomers to contribute to, and benefit from, the flourishing of their new communities. These responses are rooted in an approach that is both principled and pragmatic – seeking to uphold human rights and dignity while at the same time identifying practical solutions to the challenges affecting local residents. At a time when, at national and international level, migration has been used by some as a political weapon to stoke resentment and tension, this city perspective has never been more vital in bringing both humanity and reality back into public discourse.

In seeking to develop inclusive solutions on migration, cities across the globe are innovating and developing new models of best practice.

Amsterdam has adopted a programme called “Everyone’s Police,” which encourages the reporting of crimes in the interest of more effective policing and community engagement.

New York City has created the I.D. NYC scheme, a government-issued identification card available to all residents regardless of immigration status that enables people to access a variety of services and discounts in the city.

Barcelona supports children and families applying for family reunification by providing comprehensive and personalized guidance on the legal, practical and psychological aspects of the process.

Sao Paulo has established the Coordination of Policies for Migrants’ Unite within its municipal structures to promote city policies for migrants across departments and disciplines and in a participative manner.

Amman has welcomed almost 2 million migrants and refugees in the last two decades as a result of conflicts in neighboring countries. And cities in Uganda have played a key role in implementing national policies designed to allow refugees to own land and set up businesses.

These are just a handful of examples of the great work already being done by many cities on these issues. These innovations will be examined in detail at the GPM summit, with city representatives sharing their valuable learning and experience.

A number of initiatives and networks have been established to support and catalyze such innovations and share best practice across different city contexts, from the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Migration to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth – and many more. Together these networks provide a wealth of resources and insight for cities seeking to make inclusion a reality.
A Voice for Cities on the Global Stage

Despite this vital work on the ground, cities remain underrepresented on the global stage when it comes to key decision-making on migration and refugee issues. This is the challenge the GPM summit will address.

The GPM has already been actively engaged in the negotiations on the United Nations global compacts on migration and refugees. As the mayor of Bristol I become the first city leader to speak in the deliberations on the compact on migration in May 2018.

At the summit we will debate and decide how, collectively, we can take a leadership role for cities in the implementation of the global compacts. We will hear from other key international stakeholders, as well as from mayors with direct and varied experience. And we will agree on practical steps to enable cities to implement the compacts in their areas of influence.

The price of inaction is huge – a critical global diplomatic process could once again largely pass cities by and leave national-level politicians bickering over watered-down commitments. The potential prize is just as significant – a recognized seat at the table for cities to review and implement global compacts, and a range of practical resources to maximize the contributions that migrants and refugees can bring to our communities.

Our conversations in Bristol represent a critical opportunity to better grasp the key issues for cities related to migration and integration, and to amplify the voice of city leaders in international policymaking relating to migrants and refugees.

https://newsdeeply.imgix.net/20181019112646/GERMANY-POLITICS-PROTEST1.jpg?w=640&fit=max&q=60&dpr=2#.jpg

Migranti, «Venite al porto di Napoli, vi accogliamo»

E sul fronte migranti: «Io faccio una proposta ai timonieri di navi: la prossima volta che avete un problema per le autorizzazioni avvicinatevi alle acque territoriali di una città povera ma dalla grande dignità. Avvicinatevi al porto di Napoli. Noi disponiamo di due gommoni come Comune, un po’ malandati ma funzionanti. Vi assicuro che ci sono pescatori democratici e tanta gente in grado di remare e venire a prendere. E mi metto io nella prima barca, voglio vedere se ci sparano addosso».

▻https://napoli.repubblica.it/cronaca/2018/12/01/news/incontro_con_de_magistris_a_roma_nasce_terzo_fronte_-213118777/?ref=fbpr

Italie : #Palerme, l’exception

En juin, il a été l’un des premiers à proposer d’accueillir l’Aquarius et ses passagers indésirables : Leoluca Orlando, le maire de Palerme, s’affiche comme l’un des plus farouches opposants à la politique migratoire du gouvernement italien. Il milite entre autres, pour la disparition du permis de séjour et la libre-circulation des personnes.

Ces trois dernières années, la capitale sicilienne a accueilli des dizaines de milliers de migrants. Ils sont nombreux à y être restés et, parmi eux, beaucoup de mineurs isolés. Pour les prendre en charge, une multitude d’associations travaillent main dans la main avec le soutien de la mairie.
Reportage à Palerme, où les initiatives se multiplient, à contre-courant de la politique du ministre de l’intérieur, Mateo Salvini.

►https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/084352-000-A/italie-palerme-l-exception

signalé par @sinehebdo
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/743236

Le temps est venu pour des villes solidaires...

https://i.imgur.com/lZX74on.png

Stuck at Sea for over 6 days – the New Year for the rescued on Sea-Watch 3 must start ashore!

Already on Saturday, the crew of the Sea-Watch 3 has saved 32 people from drowning, including four women, three unaccompanied minors, two young children and a baby. Five countries (Italy, Malta, Spain, Netherlands, Germany) refused to take responsibility and grant the rescued a port of safety for Christmas.
In Germany only, more than 30 cities and several federal states have declared themselves to be safe havens and are willing to accept those rescued from distress at sea.

▻https://sea-watch.org/en/stuck-at-sea-for-over-6-days-without-port-of-safety

NYC to Fund Health Care for All, Including the Undocumented, Mayor Says

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a $100 million plan that he said would provide affordable “healthcare for all,” reaching about 600,000 people, including undocumented immigrants, low-income residents not enrolled in Medicaid and young workers whose current plans are too expensive.

The plan, which de Blasio dubbed “NYC Care,” will offer public health insurance on a sliding price scale based on income, the mayor said during an interview Tuesday morning on MSNBC. It will begin later this year in the Bronx and will be available to all New Yorkers in 2021, and would cost at least $100 million once it reaches full enrollment, according to the mayor’s office.

The proposed city-funded health insurance option would assign a primary care doctor to each plan participant and help patients find specialists if needed. De Blasio said the plan, which would be financed out of the city’s public health budget, would ultimately be cost effective by reducing hospital emergency room visits by uninsured patients and by improving public health.

The program builds upon the city’s $1.6 billion a-year Department of Public Health and Mental Hygiene budget and the separately funded public hospital system, which already serves 475,000 under-insured and uninsured patients annually, including undocumented immigrants, in more than 11 hospitals and 70 neighborhood clinics. The city already has an insurance plan, MetroPlus, that will be used as the template for the coverage. The program may take two years to get “to full strength,” de Blasio said.

▻https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-08/nyc-to-fund-health-care-for-all-including-the-undocumented

#NYC #New_York

Avec la « ville-refuge », ce serait un nouveau concept de Ville qui pourrait émerger, un autre droit d’asile, une autre hospitalité qui transformerait le droit international

Intervenant devant le Parlement international des écrivains pour répondre à un appel lancé en 1995 pour constituer un réseau de villes-refuges susceptibles d’accueillir un écrivain persécuté, Jacques Derrida s’interroge sur les implications de cette proposition. Une Ville peut-elle se distinguer d’un Etat, prendre de sa propre initiative un statut original qui, au moins sur ce point précis, l’autoriserait à échapper aux règles usuelles de la souveraineté nationale ? Peut-elle contribuer à une véritable innovation dans l’histoire du droit d’asile, une nouvelle cosmopolitique, un devoir d’hospitalité revisité ? Inventer cela peut être considéré comme une utopie, mais c’est aussi une tâche théorique et critique, urgente dans un contexte où les violences, les crimes, les tragédies, les persécutions, multiplient les réfugiés, les exilés, les apatrides et les victimes anonymes.

Le droit d’asile est un vestige médiéval, qui a survécu aux guerres du 20ème siècle. Appeler les villes à renouer avec cette tradition en accueillant les réfugiés comme tels, sans leur proposer ni la naturalisation, ni le retour dans leur région d’origine, implique de déborder les limites fixés par les traités entre Etats souverains. On peut imaginer une nouvelle figure de ville, une ville franche qui bénéficierait d’un statut d’exemption, d’immunité, comparable à celui qui est encore parfois attaché à certains lieux, religieux ou diplomatiques.

On trouve la notion de ville-refuge dans la bible, chez certains stoïciens grecs, chez Cicéron, Saint Paul (qui la sécularise), dans la tradition médiévale et religieuse (les églises comme lieu de « sauveté »). Les Lumières en héritent et Kant, dans son Article définitif en vue de la paix perpétuelle, en donne une formulation rigoureuse mais restrictive : (1) il limite l’hospitalité au droit de visite, excluant le droit de résidence ; (2) il la fait dépendre du droit étatique. Pour faire progresser le droit, il faut analyser ces restrictions. D’une part l’hospitalité selon Jacques Derrida est une Loi, un droit inconditionnel offert à quiconque, un principe irréductible ; mais d’autre part il faut répondre à l’urgence, à la violence et à la persécution. Cela peut ouvrir la possibilité d’une expérimentation - dans la pratique et dans la pensée, d’une autre idée du cosmopolitisme et de la démocratie à venir.

https://www.idixa.net/Images/NG/sola1r-ax-qu2artier.jpg

En France, le droit d’asile est assez récent. La constitution de 1946 ne l’accorde qu’aux pesonnes persécutées à cause de leur action « en faveur de la liberté », une définition élargie en 1954 (par suite de l’adhésion à la Convention de Genève de 1951) à ceux dont la vie ou la liberté se trouve menacée « en raison de leur race, de leur religion ou de leurs opinions politiques ». L’application de cette Convention n’a été élargie aux personnes hors d’Europe et aux événements survenus après 1951 qu’en 1967. Mais les Etats-nations n’acceptent, en pratique, d’accorder ce droit que sous des conditions qui le rendent parfois presque impossible. En France, il faut que l’exilé ne puisse attendre aucun bénéfice économique de son immigration. Souvent, devant l’imprécision des règles, on laisse la police faire la loi - une confusion inquiétante, voire ignoble, comme le dénonçait Walter Benjamin, quand les limites de l’action de la police deviennent insaisissables, indéterminées. Le droit d’asile implique une subordination stricte de toutes les administrations policières au pouvoir politique.

▻https://www.idixa.net/Pixa/pagixa-1308210805.html
via @nepthys

#Jacques_Derrida und die Idee der Zufluchtsstädte

https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/media/thumbs/f/f4933866b79f2393f1a3db90f3884049v1_max_635x357_b3535db83dc50e27c1bb1392364c95a2.jpg?key=bb8db7#.jpg

Nach islamistischen Anschlägen in Algerien Anfang der 90er-Jahre flohen viele Kulturschaffende aus dem Land. Zusammen mit anderen internationalen Intellektuellen initiierte der französische Philosoph Jacques Derrida von Staaten unabhängige Zufluchtsorte für Verfolgte. Welche Kraft hat diese Idee heute?

Der Exodus arabischer Intellektueller in den Westen hat eine lange Tradition. Vor über 20 Jahren wütete der islamistische Furor in Algerien. Viele Journalisten wurden damals ermordet, den Überlebenden blieb nur die Flucht ins westliche Ausland. Dieses Horrorszenario wiederholt sich heute in Syrien. Karim Chamoun, ein in Mainz lebender Radiojournalist, gibt den syrischen Flüchtlingen eine Stimme. Seine Landsleute informiert er über die eskalierenden Zustände in der Heimat. Offenbar – so berichtet Chamoun – läuft dem regierenden Assad-Clan die noch verbliebene Bildungselite davon:

„In den letzten 18 Monaten sind sehr viele Pro-Assad-Intel­lektuelle ausgewandert und sind in Deutschland gelandet. Viele sind in der jetzigen Zeit ausgewandert, vor Angst, vor Terror. Die haben keine Organisation, die sie vereint.“

Das Medieninteresse für Syrien lässt vergessen, dass schon vor über 20 Jahren islamistische Fanatiker eine tödliche Hetzjagd auf Journalisten und Künstler veranstalteten. Der Algerier Tahar Djaout war in den 80er-Jahren bekannt für seine Kommentare im Wochenmagazin Algérie-Actualité. Anfang 1993 gründete Djaout Ruptures – „Brüche“ –, eine Zeitschrift, die sich als Stachel im Fleisch einer autoritär regierten Gesellschaft verstand. Die Redakteure fürchteten allerdings nicht nur die Zensur, sie bangten um ihr Leben, da die „Islamische Heilsfront“ ihnen offen den Kampf angesagt hatte. Im Mai 1993 wurde Tahar Djaout vor seiner Haustür in Algier ermordet. Der Journalist war nicht das erste Opfer der Islamisten, aber das prominenteste. Unzählige andere folgten.

Tahar Djaouts Ermordung war ein Fanal für die französische Intelligenz. Nicht länger wollte man sich auf den mutlosen internationalen PEN verlassen. Der Philosoph Jacques Derrida und der Soziologe Pierre Bourdieu, die lange Zeit in Algerien gelebt hatten, fühlten sich den Algeriern, den Opfern eines langen, erbitterten Bürgerkrieges gegen die französische Kolonialmacht, eng verbunden. Sie wollten den „Terrainverlust“ der Intellektuellen, einer Elite ohne Macht, wettmachen.
Die Öffentlichkeit wachrütteln

Christian Salmon, Gründer des Straßburger Zirkels „Carrefour de littérature“, startete eine Unterschriftenaktion. Weltweit verbündeten sich namhafte Schriftsteller mit den verfolgten Algeriern. Salmon schrieb:

„Algerische Journalisten und Schriftsteller, die glücklich einem Attentat entkommen sind, müssen sich verbergen, während sie vergeblich auf ein Visum warten. Sie harren ungeduldig vor unseren Grenzen. Hunderte algerische Intellektuelle, dem Hass islamistischer Attentäter ausgeliefert, verdanken ihr Überleben entweder purem Glück oder der Überbeschäftigung der Henker. (…) Wir sagen jetzt: Es reicht! Genug der Morde in Algerien! Schriftsteller, Künstler und Intellektuelle zeigen ihren Widerstand. In aller Deutlichkeit sagen wir: Keine Demokratie ohne Solidarität, keine Zivilisation ohne Gastfreundschaft.“

Aus Solidarität mit den algerischen Kollegen kamen im November 1993 im Straßburger „Carrefour de littérature“ zahlreiche internationale Autoren zusammen, um die Öffentlichkeit wachzurütteln. 200 Schriftsteller unterzeichneten den Appell. Bei einer rituellen Aktion wollte man es aber nicht belassen: Unter der Leitung des indischen Autors Salman Rushdie, der seit der Fatwa Ayatollah Chomeinis von den iranischen Häschern verfolgt wurde, gründeten sie das Internationale Schriftsteller-Parlament. Währenddessen rief Rushdie, zusammen mit Straßburgs Bürgermeisterin Catherine Trautmann und dem Generalsekretär des Europarats, zur Gründung von Zufluchtsstädten auf – von „villes- refuges“, um verfolgten Schriftstellern und Künstlern Asyl zu gewähren. Salman Rushdie schrieb das Gründungsdokument:

„Heute widersetzt sich die Literatur ein weiteres Mal der Tyrannei. Wir gründeten das Schriftsteller-Parlament, damit es sich für die unterdrückten Autoren einsetzt und gegen ihre Widersacher erhebt, die es auf sie und ihre Werke abgesehen haben. Nachdrücklich erneuern wir die Unabhängigkeitserklärung, ohne die Literatur unmöglich ist, nicht nur die Literatur, sondern der Traum, nicht nur der Traum, sondern das Denken, nicht nur das Denken, sondern die Freiheit.“
Kommunen können schneller auf neue Situationen reagieren

Catherine Trautmann stellte später die Initiative der „villes-refuges“ vor, die zuvor vom Internationalen Schrift­steller-Parlament beschlossen wurde:

„Es kommt darauf an, dass multikulturell sich verstehende Städte bereit sind, Gedankenfreiheit und Toleranz zu verteidigen. Die in einem Netz verbundenen Städte können etwas bewirken, indem sie verfolgte Künstler und Schriftsteller aufnehmen. Wir wissen, dass Euro­pa ein Kontinent ist, wo über alle Konflikte hinweg Intellektuelle leben und schreiben. Dieses Erbe müssen wir wach halten. Die bedrohten Intellektuellen müssen bei uns Bürgerrecht erhalten. Zu diesem Zweck sollte ein Netz der Solidarität geschaffen werden.“

Das Projekt der „villes-refuges“ war anfangs äußerst erfolgreich: 1995 beschlossen Vertreter von mehr als 400 europäischen Städten die „Charta der villes-refuges“. Eine Resolution des Europäischen Parlaments förderte ein weltweites Netz von „villes-refuges“. Straßburg und Berlin gehörten zu den ersten „Zu­fluchts­städten“, es folgten Städte wie Venedig und Helsinki.

Die Skepsis gegenüber den nationalen und überstaatlichen Organisationen wächst. Kommunen, die politische Macht auf lokaler Ebene ausüben, seien imstande, wesentlich schneller und flexibler auf neue, unvorgesehene Situationen zu reagieren, meint der amerikanische Politikwissenschaftler Benjamin Barber:

„Der Unterschied zu Staaten liegt in der Eigenart der Städte: Sie sind zutiefst multikulturell, partizipatorisch, demokratisch, kooperativ. Städte interagieren und können viel erreichen, während Staaten eigensinnig sind und gemeinsames Handeln behindern. Die Welt globaler Demokratie führt uns nicht zu Staaten, sondern zu Städten. Demokratie entstand in der griechischen polis. Sie könnte ein weiteres Mal in der globalen kosmopolis entstehen.“

Jacques Derrida ist im Oktober 2004 gestorben. Angesichts der unlösbar scheinenden Flüchtlingsprobleme wäre der Philosoph heutzutage ein verantwortungsvoller und sachkundiger Diskussionspartner. Vielleicht würde er darauf hinweisen, dass sich die Gesetze der Gastfreundschaft keineswegs geändert haben. Denn auch heute müssen Pflichten und Rechte, Grenzen und Freiheiten neu austariert werden. Im Interesse beider – der Gäste und der Gastgeber.

▻https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/villes-refuges-jacques-derrida-und-die-idee-der.976.de.html?dr
#Derrida
via @nepthys

#ICORN

The #International_Cities_of_Refuge_Network (ICORN) is an independent organisation of cities and regions offering shelter to writers and artists at risk, advancing freedom of expression, defending democratic values and promoting international solidarity.

Writers and artists are especially vulnerable to censorship, harassment, imprisonment and even death, because of what they do. They represent the liberating gift of the human imagination and give voice to thoughts, ideas, debate and critique, disseminated to a wide audience. They also tend to be the first to speak out and resist when free speech is threatened.

ICORN member cities offer long term, but temporary, shelter to those at risk as a direct consequence of their creative activities. Our aim is to be able to host as many persecuted writers and artists as possible in ICORN cities and together with our sister networks and organisations, to form a dynamic and sustainable global network for freedom of expression.

▻https://icorn.org
#réseau #art #artistes #liberté_d'expression #écrivains

#New_Sanctuary_Coalition

The New Sanctuary Coalition of #NYC is an interfaith network of congregations, organizations, and individuals, standing publicly in solidarity with families and communities resisting detention and deportation in order to stay together. We recognize that unjust global and systemic economic relationships and racism form the basis of the injustices that affect immigrants. We seek reform of United States immigration laws to promote fairness, social and economic justice.

▻http://www.newsanctuarynyc.org
#New_York

#Eine_Stadt_für_Alle

Eine Stadt, aus der kein Mensch abgeschoben wird, in der sich alle frei und ohne Angst bewegen können, in der kein Mensch nach einer Aufenthaltserlaubnis gefragt wird, in der kein Mensch illegal ist. Das sind die grundlegenden Vorstellungen von einer Solidarity City. In einer solchen Stadt der Solidarität sollen alle Menschen das Recht haben zu leben, zu wohnen und zu arbeiten. Alle Menschen soll der Zugang zu Bildung und medizinischer Versorgung gewährt werden. Alle Menschen sollen teilhaben und das Stadtleben mitgestalten können – unabhängig von Aufenthaltsstatus, finanziellen Möglichkeiten, Hautfarbe, Geschlecht, Sexualität, Religion,…
In vielen Städten in Deutschland, Europa und der ganzen Welt ist der Prozess, eine Solidarity City zu werden schon in vollem Gang.

https://i.imgur.com/RDjHMkk.png

▻https://solidarity-city.eu/de
#solidarity_city

The Cities Refugees Saved

In the cities where the most refugees per capita were settled since 2005, the newcomers helped stem or reverse population loss.

Mahira Patkovich was eight years old in 1997 when her family left Bosnia. After a long and complicated war, Muslim families like hers had found themselves without jobs, food, and any semblance of safety. So they sought refuge in America.

The first year in their new home in Utica, New York, Patkovich felt uprooted—torn from her childhood and everything she knew, and thrust into an alien environment. She knew no one and didn’t speak English. But as time went by, she began to acclimate.

“The next thing you know, you’re home,”she says in a recent mini-documentary by New American Economy, a bipartisan immigration reform group, and Off Ramp Films. “This is home.”

Patkovich, the film shows, is now thriving. She works at the office of the Oneida County Executive, owns a small business, and is on her way to a master’s degree. She is also pregnant, and excited to raise her first-born in a community she loves.

Utica—it’s clear—saved Patkovich and her family. But the truth is: They’re helping to save this town as well. Like many Rust Belt cities, Utica suffered enormously in the second part of the 20th century, losing jobs and bleeding out residents as major employers like General Electric and Lockheed Martin shuttered or left the Mohawk Valley.

Adam Bedient, director of photography and editor at Off Ramp Films grew up in the nearby town of Clinton in the 1980s and ’90s. He wasn’t tracking Utica’s trajectory too closely then, in part, because not much was happening there. What he remembers of Utica in that era is a typical fading factory town, a place where shuttered storefronts and exposed bricks belied neglect. “Foundationally, there were beautiful things there, they just didn’t look cared for,” he says.

Now, he’s working on a full-length feature about the refugee communities in Utica, and when he drives through town, he finds it simmering with new life. Old buildings are getting refurbished. Construction cranes bob up and down. And at the center of town is a long-vacant historic Methodist church that has been renovated and converted into a beautiful mosque—a symbol of the new Utica.

Without its new Bosnian community, Utica would have faced a 6 percent population drop.

“It’s really symbolic—it was previously a church that was going to be torn down,” Bedient told CityLab. “The Bosnian community bought it from the city, and now it’s a part of the skyline.”

For CityLab, NAE crunched the numbers on the 11 cities that have resettled the most refugees per capita between 2005 and 2017 to gauge how welcoming these newcomers affected overall population. In almost all cases, refugee resettlement either stemmed population loss or reversed it completely. Without its new Bosnian community, for example, Utica would have faced a 6 percent population drop. With them, the city saw a 3 percent gain.

But what Andrew Lim, NAE’s director of quantitative research, found surprising was that this list didn’t just include industrial towns hungry for newcomers—places like Syracuse, New York, and Springfield, Massachusetts; it also features places in the South and Sunbelt. Take Clarkston, Georgia, for example, a diverse Atlanta exurb of 13,000 (whose young mayor you may recognize from a recent episode of Queer Eye). Since the 1970s, Clarkston has taken in tens of thousands of refugees from various parts of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. In Bitter Southerner, Carly Berlin recently explained how it gained its nickname as the “Ellis Island of the South.”

As many white residents fled farther out to more fashionable developing Atlanta suburbs, Clarkston became perfect for refugees, with its hundreds of vacated apartments and access to public transportation, a post office, and a grocery store, all within walking distance. The little city became one of now 190 designated resettlement communities across the country.

Using the data NAE extracted from the Census Bureau and from the Department of Homeland Services, CityLab’s David Montgomery created this nifty chart to show exactly how much refugees boosted or stabilized population in these 11 cities:

https://i.imgur.com/nZrpliT.png

But the pipeline that funneled refugees into cities like Utica is being closed up. In 2018, the Trump administration lowered the maximum number of refugees it takes in for the third year in a row—to 30,000, which is the lowest in three decades. Resettlement agencies, from Western Kansas to Florida, are having to close shop.

Some places are already seeing the effects. In cities with large concentrations of refugees and refugee services, recent arrivals have been waiting for loved ones to join them. Because of the slash in numbers being accepted, some of these people have been thrust into uncertainty. Muslim refugees from countries listed in the final travel ban have been doubly hit, and may not be able to reunite with their families at all.

But the effects of the Trump-era refugee policy don’t just affect individual families. In Buffalo, New York—another Rust Belt city that has been reinvigorated by new residents from refugee communities—medical clinics have closed down, housing developments have stalled, and employers have been left looking for employees, The Buffalo News reported. The loss for refugees hoping to come to America appears to also be a loss for the communities they might have called home

The biggest argument for refugee resettlement is that it is a moral imperative, many advocates argue. Refugees are human beings fleeing terrible circumstances; assisting them is just the right thing to do. Foes of taking refugees—most notoriously, White House advisor Stephen Miller, who is quoted as saying that he would “be happy if not a single refugee foot ever touched American soil again” in a new book by a former White House communication aide—point to the perceived costs and dangers of taking in more. Past analyses shows little basis to that fear. In fact, cities with large refugee populations have seen drops in crime, per a previous NAE’s analysis. And according to NBC News, an intelligence assessment that included inputs from the FBI concluded that refugees did not pose a major national security threat. The Trump administration dismissed its findings.

▻https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/01/refugee-admissions-resettlement-trump-immigration/580318
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