Lives lost in the Mediterranean Sea: who is responsible?

EMBARGO UNTIL 02h00 CET, THURSDAY 29 MARCH
Provisional version – as adopted in committee on 29.03.2012

Lives lost in the Mediterranean Sea: who is responsible?

Report

Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons

Rapporteur: Ms Tineke STRIK, Netherlands, Socialist Group

Summary

The starting point for this report is that at least 1 500 people are known to have lost their lives attempting to

cross the Mediterranean in 2011. This report however focuses on one particularly harrowing case in which a

small boat left Tripoli with 72 people on board and after two weeks at sea drifted back to Libya with only nine

survivors. No one went to the aid of this boat, despite a distress call logged by the Italian Maritime Rescue

Coordination Centre, which pinpointed the boat’s position. There were also a number of alleged direct contacts

between the boat in distress and other vessels, including a helicopter that dropped biscuits and water, but

never returned, two fishing vessels, both of which refused to provide assistance, and a large military vessel

which came into close contact with the boat, but ignored obvious distress signals.

From this story, a catalogue of failures became apparent: the Libyan authorities failed to maintain responsibility

for their Search and Rescue zone, the Italian and Maltese Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres failed to

launch any search and rescue operation, and NATO failed to react to the distress calls, even though there were

military vessels under its control in the boat’s vicinity when the distress call was sent (including the Mendez

Núñez which was estimated to have been 11 miles away although this distance is disputed by Spain) The flag

States of vessels close to the boat also failed to rescue the people in distress. Furthermore, two unidentified

commercial fishing vessels also failed to respond to the direct calls for assistance from the boat in distress.

Alongside these failures, a number of shortcomings contributed to the distress calls not being answered,

including gaps in the maritime legal framework and a failure by NATO and the individual States militarily

involved in Libya to anticipate adequately for an exodus of asylum seekers and refugees. Perhaps of most

concern in this case is the alleged failure of the helicopter and the naval vessel to go to the aid of the boat in

distress, regardless of whether these were under national command or the command of NATO.

In this case, many opportunities for saving the lives of the persons on board the boat were lost. A series of

recommendations are made in the draft resolution to reduce the likelihood of similar tragedies in the future.

There is also a request for further information from NATO and relevant member States to identify or carry out

an investigation into the identity of the helicopter and ship that allegedly failed to go to the rescue of the boat in

distress.
http://assembly.coe.int/CommitteeDocs/2012/20120329_mig_RPT.EN.pdf
Appendix


Reconstruction of the itinerary and of the drifting of the “left-to-die” boat29

29 FORENSIC OCEANOGRAPHY: Charles Heller, Lorenzo Pezzani and Situ Studio.

Drift Model: Richard Limeburner, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

This work is produced in the framework of the ERC funded Project “Forensic Architecture” – Goldsmiths, Centre for Research Architecture and towards a report that will be published in April 2012.
http://assembly.coe.int/CommitteeDocs/2012/20120329_mig_RPT.EN.pdf

DRIFT MODEL CREDITS: Ocean currents were obtained from the MyOcean website

(http://www.myocean.eu.org/index.php/products-services/catalogue). MyOcean provides data mainly from EuroGOOS Regional alliances which have deeply contributed to structure the European

Operational Oceanography community. The ocean currents were actually provided by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) in Italy. INGV uses NEMO (Nucleus for European Modeling of

the Ocean), a state-of-the-art modeling framework for oceanographic research, operational oceanography, seasonal forecasts and climate studies. See http://www.nemoocean.eu/. Wind data at the

Lampedusa Island airport was obtained from EuroWeather (http://www.eurometeo.com/english/home). Weather data at Libyan meteorological stations was unreliable in early 2011.

dove sono i nostri figli

Mercoledì 28 Marzo 2012 13:34

COMUNICATO STAMPA

OUELADDNA FINN dove sono i nostri figli

?WAITING NEWS ...

"Se mio figlio è morto, datemi indietro il suo cadavere. Se è vivo, ditemi dove sta. E se è morto, come è morto?".  Alle domande di Samir, padre di Mohamed, è necessario dare una risposta. E subito. Perchè ha già aspettato troppo.

Mohamed è uno dei 236 ragazzi partiti nella Primavera del 2011 di cui si sono perse le tracce.
I giovani sono partiti a bordo di quattro imbarcazioni, salpate una il primo, una il 14 e due il 29 marzo del 2011. Hanno lasciato le coste tunisine alla volta dell'Italia, così come hanno fatto altre 23 mila persone in quei mesi di apertura straordinaria delle frontiere. Di quei 23 mila, circa 1500 sono morti in mare e altri 236 sono scomparsi nel nulla.

Le famiglie di questi giovani si sono costituite in comitato e da un anno lottano affinchè le istituzioni italiane e tunisine facciano luce su questo mistero. Quasi un anno fa il Comitato ha chiesto ai governi che si attuasse un confronto delle impronte digitali dei loro figli con quelle registrate in questi mesi nei Centri di Identificazione ed Espulsione italiani, ma ad oggi ancora non è arrivata nessuna risposta ufficiale. Da due mesi una delegazione di familiari tunisini è in Italia.

E se fossero stati italiani, sarebbe stato lo stesso?

A 360 giorni dalla scomparsa dei ragazzi, Stalker, in collaborazione con Amisnet e con la partecipazione del Comitato dei familiari dei dispersi, porta la voce delle famiglie tunisine in Italia: un ambiente sonoro raccoglie i frammenti delle testimonianze dei familiari e avvolge il sefseri, tipico velo femminile tunisino, di Saida, su cui in arabo sono stati calligrafati i versi del suo canto: un messaggio per il figlio di cui ci ha fatto latori.

L'installazione sarà inaugurata il 30 marzo alle 17 a Gibellina (TP) alla Fondazione Orestiadi nel quadro della mostra “Islam in Sicilia, un giardino tra due civiltà”.

Lo stesso giorno, davanti all’Ambasciata tunisina a Roma alle 12 e davanti all’Ambasciata italiana a Tunisi, due presidi promossi dalla campagna “Da una sponda a un'altra. Vite che contano” denunceranno ancora una volta l'immobilismo delle autorità di fronte a questa vicenda.

Ci appelliamo a tutte le istituzioni democratiche, affinchè con gli strumenti di controllo e di sicurezza con i quali sorvegliano costantemente il Canale di Sicilia si risponda alla domanda che da un anno assilla i familiari di questi ragazzi: "dove sono i nostri figli?"

In questi giorni, con l'arrivo della Primavera, le partenze dalle coste nordafricane sono riprese. Quanti altri cadaveri dovranno essere ancora ingoiati in questo breve braccio di mare?

Quanti altri dispersi dovremo cercare?

Per contatti:
0039 – 328-2912150
0039 – 348-7039211
waitingnews2012@gmail.com

Israel's arrest of Bedouin man sheds light on Sinai kidnappings of African refugees

Rahat resident allegedly secured ransom payments for gang that abducted Eritrean and Sudanese refugees; Israel Police says 'well-oiled' system of kidnappers working in concert with Hebron money changers.

By Yanir Yagna

A Bedouin resident of southern Israel was charged last week with serving as an accomplice to a criminal organization that kidnapped Eritrean and Sudanese nationals in the Sinai Peninsula and extorted their families for ransom.

The indictment Yusuf al-Qarnawi was presented by Israel's State Prosecutor's Office Be’er Sheva District Court on Friday and elucidates the alleged inner workings of the gang.

	African refugees and labor migrants in a park near the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv.
	Photo by: Daniel Tchetchik

According to the charges, al-Qarnawi was approached in June 2011 by two alleged kidnappers, one a resident of Sinai and the other from the Gaza Strip, who requested his help in picking up ransom from family members of people they had kidnapped.

Al-Qarnawi was allegedly told to call the family and friends of the asylum seekers kidnapped in the Sinai and receive the ransom payment, according to the indictment, after which he handed the money over to the kidnappers.

The indictment states al-Qarnawi accepted five payments monthly between June 2011 and February 2012, for which he was paid $300 for ransom payments of $20,000 or less, and $450 for ransom payment of more than $20,000.

The indictment goes on to elaborate the gang’s alleged mode of operation. In June 2011, they allegedly kidnapped an Eritrean citizen, held him captive with another 70 prisoners, all blindfolded. During his captivity, he was starved, beaten, and forced to call his family and ask that they pay a $25,000 ransom, under threat of death.

Shortly after, al-Qarnawi sent his brother to pick up a $15,000 ransom from the victim’s family. A day later, they allegedly demanded the family hand over an additional $10,000.

In another case presented in the indictment, two Eritrean women were abducted. They were held chained in captivity in a house with another 40 other kidnapped persons. While in captivity, they were starved, beaten with sticks and tortured by electric shock. One the kidnappers raped one of the woman, says the indictment.

The indictment says that the kidnappers demanded $40,000 for each of the women, threatening that were they not to receive the stated ransom in full they would remove their kidneys and sell them instead. To show the families the seriousness of their intent, the kidnappers would call the victims’ families and let them hear their cries. Al-Qarnawi picked up the ransom for these two victims in person.

Commander Moti Asor of the Israel Police Southern District (Lachish Region) Counter Terror Unit, who headed the investigation, explained how the gang worked:

 “The Sudanese and Eritrean citizens travel through the Sinai on their way to Israel. In the Sinai there are families that specialize in smuggling. They charge them money to get them across the border," he said. "About a year ago, these families decided to institutionalize the practice – they started hold the refugees captive and demand ransoms from them ranging between $39,000 to 40,000."

 “The refugees held by them are given an opportunity to call their families and friends in Israel," said Asor. "At a later point the kidnappers threaten the kith and kin and have them listen to them torture their loved ones.”

 “There is a well-oiled system of kidnappers from Gaza and Sinai, working in concert with money changers in Hebron," he added. "They reached Al-Qarnawi. He was in transport and knew traders in Gaza, that how they found him. They would send him to meetings in Tel Aviv to pick up the money. After the money was received they’d free the prisoner. Al-Qarnawi confessed his part in five cases, but we believe there are many more. There are family members that are afraid to file complaints with the police because they are illegal aliens.”

	Al-Qarnawi at the Be’er Sheva District Court on March 23, 2012.
	Photo by: Eli Hershkovitz

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-s-arrest-of-bedouin-man-sheds-light-on-sinai-kidnappings-of-african-refugees-1.420598

A year after the tragedy of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean in March 2011

A year ago between the months of March and April has consumed the tragedy for hundreds of refugees fleeing the war in Libya, Africans fleeing the persecution of the rebels who accused him of being supporters of ragime. Racism against blacks was rampant and that it continues to persist.More than 1,500 people died at sea from the Beginning of the revolt against the Libyan regime in 2011, there are cases still unclear, as the boat started March 22, 2011 burthen 335 adults over 20 children dozens of pregnant women, entire families have disappeared into thin air.We are waiting for the new Libya clarify that those responsible who have caused thousands of desperate charging them like beasts on tramp steamers delivered him to death, these leaders who are still free to Libya or refugees in neighboring countries must meet before the law .Just as the mystery behind the failure to rescue drifting boats, the most striking case is that the boat collision with 72 people, women and children, who left the Libyan cosete the night of March 25, 2011, which were spotted by a elicuottero , who gave him water to drink some cookies to eat, but leaving them to their fate without sending help. In the days following were spotted by fishing vessels and military ships, including an aircraft carrier. No one has rescued because of this omission of relief, after 15 days adrift, 63 of 72 people died, not counting children born or brought into the wombs of their mothers.This horrible crime committed by ships on a mission to protect civilians from the fury of the Libyan regime, have not been able to have compassion for migrants fleeing the war that the interventionist countries have helped to create it.We await clarity and justice prevail throughout the investigation now underway of the European Parliament, but we expect is to determine the perpetrators of this crime, and people who have istituzini ommesso their responsibilities, or worse, having given orders to ignore the demands of help they were launched.Our appeal to the European Parliament to bring clarity and justice.
Fr. Mussie Zerai
Tel. +39.3384424202
Tel. +41(0)765328448

Un Anno dopo la Tragedia dei migranti morti nel Mediterraneo Marzo 2011

Un anno fa tra il mese di Marzo e Aprile si è consumata la tragedia per i centinaia di profughi in fuga dalla Libia in guerra, Africani in fuga dalla persecuzione dei ribelli che gli accusavano di essere sostenitori del ragime. Dal razzismo contro i neri che dilagava e che continua a persistere.
Piu di 1500 persone morte in mare dall'Inizio della rivolta contro il regime libico nel 2011, ci sono casi ancora poco chiari, come quel barcone partito il 22 marzo 2011 carco 335 adulti piu di 20 bambini decine di donne incinte, intere nuclei famigliari scomparsi nel nulla.
Siamo in attesa che la nuova Libia chiarisca, che i responsabili che hanno spinto migliaia di disperati caricandoli come bestie sulle carrette del mare gli hanno consegnati alla morte, questi responsabili che oggi sono ancora liberi in Libia o rifugiati nei paesi limitrofi devono rispondere dinanzi alla legge.
Altrettanto mistero si cela dietro ai mancato soccorso dei barconi alla deriva, il caso piu eclatante è quello del gommone con abbordo 72 persone, donne e bambini, che è partito dalla cosete libiche la notte del 25 Marzo 2011, che sono stati avvistati da un elicuottero, che gli ha dato acqua da bere dei biscotti da mangiare, ma lasciandogli al loro destino senza mandare soccorsi. Nei giorni successivi sono stati avvistati dai peschereci e navi militari, tra cui da una portaerei. Nessuno gli ha soccorsi a causa di questa ommissione di soccorso, dopo 15 giorni alla deriva, morirono 63 dei 72 persone, senza contare bambini nati o portati  nel grembo delle loro madri.
Questo orribile crimine commesso da navi in missione per proteggere i civili dalla furia del regime libico, non sono stati capaci di avere pieta dei migranti in fuga dalla guerra che i paesi interventisti hanno contribuito a crearla.
Attendiamo chiarezza e giustiza dall'inchiesta tutto ora in corso del Parlamento Europeo, ma ci attendiamo che vengano individuati i responsabili di questo crimine, le persone e istituzini che hanno ommesso le loro responsabilità, o peggio ancora che abbiano dato ordini di ignorare le richieste di aiuto che sono stati lanciati.
Il nostro appello al Parlamento Europeo di fare chiarezza e giustizia.
Don Mussie Zerai
Tel. +39.3384424202
Tel. +41(0)765328448

Appeal from the Ordinaries of the Holy Land regarding human trafficking and hostages in Sinai

Jerusalem, March 20, 2012




The Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land expresses its deep concern about the horrific situation of African asylum seekers who are being held hostage in the Sinai and calls for an immediate end to human trafficking. On December 5, 2010, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI already drew the attention of the international community to "the victims of traffickers and criminals, such as the drama of the hostages, Eritreans and of other nationalities, in the Sinai desert". Since that time the situation of these victims has only worsened.



We, the heads of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, urge the civil authorities in Egypt and in Israel as well as the international community to intensify their efforts to fight the ongoing trafficking in human beings in Sinai, their abuse, humiliation, torture, rape and murder. Those fleeing their countries of origin because of war and violence must be protected from criminal abuse at the hands of those who seek to take advantage of them. We are particularly horrified to learn of the appalling fate of the women and children.



We remind the civil authorities in Egypt and in Israel of their obligations to respect international human rights law provisions and standards regarding the treatment, the protection of dignity and physical and psychological integrity, and the right to due process and fair trial of asylum seekers and migrants.



We congratulate those activists in Egyptian and Israeli human rights organizations who provide help to the victims of human traffickers and assure them of our moral support and prayers.



In communion with the organizations seeking to draw attention to the plight of these people and to help them, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land:



- calls for greater awareness regarding the plight of those being imprisoned, held for ransom, tortured and abused in Sinai;



- calls on the civil authorities in Egypt and Israel to act decisively against the traffickers, closing their bases of activities, prosecuting the criminal elements involved in these crimes on both sides of the Egyptian-Israeli border, assisting their victims and providing refuge for them as well as protecting these populations from the traffickers;



- calls for support of those organizations and individuals engaged in advocacy, assistance to and counseling of the victims.



Furthermore, the Catholic Ordinaries commit themselves to the spiritual care of the Catholics among the asylum seekers and ask the Israeli authorities to permit chaplains and their assistants access to those asylum seekers imprisoned in confinement facilities in Israel in order to offer them the spiritual solace they might seek from the Church.



« For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. » (Matthew 25:35-36)



+ Fouad TWAL

Patriarch of Jerusalem for Latins

President Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries

+ Giacinto-Boulos MARCUZZO

Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Israel



+ Michel SABBAH

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem emeritus

President Ep.Comm. Justice and Peace

+ William SHOMALI

Latin PatriarVicar for Jerusalem, Palestine



+ Antonio FRANCO

Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine

Apostolic Nuncio for Israel and Cyprus

+ Kamal-Hanna BATHISH

Latin Auxiliary Bishop emeritus



+ Giorgio LINGUA

Apostolic Nuncio for Jordan

+ Selim SAYEGH

Latin Auxiliary Bishop emeritus



+ Elias CHACOUR

Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Akka

Msgr Joseph KELEKIAN

Armenian Catholic Exarch of Jerusalem



+ Yaser Al-AYYASH

Melkite Cath. Archb. Petra&Philadelphia

Fr. Pierbattista PIZZABALLA, O.F.M.

Custos of the Holy Land



+ Boutros MOUALLEM

Melkite Cath. Archbishop of Akka emeritus

Fr. David NEUHAUS, S.J.

Patriarchal Vicar for Hebrew speaking



+ Gregoire Pierre MELKI

Syrian Catholic Exarch of Jerusalem

Fr. Evencio HERRERA DIAZ, O.F.M.

Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Cyprus



+ Joseph Jules ZEREY

Melkite Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem

Msgr George SHIHAN

Maronite Patriarchal Administrator



+ Maroun LAHHAM

Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan

Fr. Raymond MOUSSALLI

Patriarchal Vicar in Jordan for Chaldeans



P. Pietro FELET, scj

Secretary general



http://www.lpj.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1912%3Aappel-des-ordinaires-concernant-la-traite-de-personnes-et-les-prises-dotages-dans-le-sinai&catid=40%3Aassemblee-des-ordinaires-catholiques&Itemid=90&lang=en

Ethiopia 'launches military attack inside Eritrea'

Ethiopian forces have launched a military assault on positions inside Eritrea, Ethiopian officials have said. 

Ethiopia attacked because Eritrea was training "subversive groups" to carry out attacks inside Ethiopia, government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said.

A number of people were killed and others captured when three camps were attacked, a defence official said. Eritrea has not yet commented.

The two countries fought a border war from 1998 to 2000.

Thursday's dawn assault is the first attack by Ethiopian troops inside Eritrean territory since the end of the war in which 80,000 people died.

Tensions have risen in recent weeks - with Addis Ababa blaming Eritrea for backing Ethiopian rebels who staged a January raid in the northern Afar region that killed five Western tourists.

Two German nationals were taken hostage during that attack - there has been no official word of their condition since.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17386161 

"No a tutti i razzismi"

L’UNAR – Ufficio Nazionale Antidiscriminazioni Razziali ti invita ad unirti alla                   "Catena Umana" che il 21 marzo alle 10.30 circonderà  le piazze ed i monumenti di 35 città italiane per dire "No a tutti i razzismi"     Un'azione simbolica, ma concreta, nella Giornata Mondiale Contro il   Razzismo.     Trova la città più vicina ed unisciti a questa grande manifestazione nazionale.     L'appuntamento è per le ore 10.30 in punto nelle piazze indicate dal programma. Clicca qui per scaricare il programma. Per maggiori informazioni visita il sito dell’UNAR.

Maid in Lebanon abuse video kills herself

Suicide comes days after footage emerged of Ethiopian woman being violently dragged on Beirut street by male employer. Last Modified: 14 Mar 2012 16:03 Video of Dechasa being abused outside the Ethiopian embassy sparked outrage in Lebanon [YouTube] An Ethiopian domestic worker in Lebanon who was filmed being physically abused in public has committed suicide, local media have reported. The video, first aired by Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) last week, caused outrage by showing a man abusing Alem Dechasa as she cried on a street outside the Ethiopian embassy in Beirut. The man was shown grabbing Dechasa and telling her, "get into the car" while she screamed out, "no, no, no". Another man then assisted in dragging Dechasa into the back of a car as she struggled to resist. Asaminew Debelie Bonssa, Ethiopian general consul in Lebanon, told The Daily Star newspaper in Beirut that Dechasa committed suicide by hanging herself early on Wednesday morning at a psychiatric hospital where she had been taken after the incident. Bonssa told The Daily Star that he had seen Dechasa on Saturday in the hospital and that she was making plans to return to Ethiopia. 'Larger issue' After the video was aired, LBCI used the car’s license plate number to identify the man. “[The man] tried to justify his act by denying that he beat her. He stressed that the worker tried to commit suicide more than once, and that he tried dealing with her humanely, but she refused to go to the airport for deportation,” LBCI reported on its website. Activists in Lebanon, outraged by the video, posted the man's contact information on internet social media sites and called for action against him. Reports of domestic worker abuse are widespread, with many allegedly locked in employers’ homes. Rola Abimourched, programme co-ordinator at KAFA (Enough) Violence and Exploitation, told Al Jazeera that Dechasa's case may increase scrutiny into the problem. "This case may indicate the larger issue of migrant domestic workers' vulnerability to abuse in Lebanon, which puts the whole system in question. Namely, the sponsorship system which ties the domestic worker to one employer and does not guarantee her basic human rights," Abimourched said. "We hope that an investigation into her death will determine what happened." http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/03/2012314142844277446.html

A joint statement of over 40 countries on the human rights situation in Eritrea in HRC 19th Session

Wednesday, 14 March 2012 00:17 HRC

HRC 19th Session

Joint Statement under Item 4


The Human Rights Situation in Eritrea


Madam President,
Somalia has been a strong supporter of the rights of the Eritrean people during their struggles for self-determination, even though this support came at a cost to Somalia.  Somalia is greatly concerned, therefore, at the deteriorating human rights situation in Eritrea.  After such a long struggle, the Eritrean authorities’ highest priority must be the rights of their people.

Madam President,
Somalia has itself suffered through long struggles.   Somalia has repeatedly asked the Human Rights Council for assistance in overcoming its own problems, and we now bring the situation in Eritrea to the Council in the hope that the international community can help Eritrea to avoid the nightmare situation that has plagued Somalia for so long.  For these reasons, Madam President, Somalia has the honour to deliver the following joint statement on behalf of over 40 countries.

The States that have joined together to make this Statement are deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Eritrea.

The Government of Eritrea has never held national elections and there are no political parties except the ruling party It does not allow independent media or international NGOs to operate.
Furthermore, the Government of Eritrea severely restricts freedom of religion and of belief, including through the use of arbitrary detention and physical abuse.

We are especially troubled by reports of inhumane prison conditions, disappearances, arbitrary detention, and extrajudicial killings.

Many people continue to flee the country to avoid forceful conscription into mandatory national service which requires men and women to serve for an indefinite period of time, with no clear criteria for completion of service. The government has detained family members of persons thought to have evaded national service, and operates a shoot to kill policy on its borders.

We also recall that the Security Council in UNSCR 2023 has condemned the use of the “Diaspora Tax” on the Eritrean Diaspora by the Eritrean Government to destabilise the Horn of Africa, deciding that Eritrea should cease using extortion, threats of violence, fraud and other illicit means to collect the tax.  The Government of Eritrea to date has failed to comply.

Madam President,

The Eritrean Government has failed to address the two decisions by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which inter alia criticized the detentions of 21 prominent political prisoners and journalists in 2001 and called for their release.

As a result of our concerns:

•    We call on the Government of Eritrea to end its use of arbitrary detention and torture of its citizens, and to release all prisoners of conscience

•    We call on the Government of Eritrea to provide all relevant information on the safety, well being and, whereabouts of all detained persons, including persons missing in action, inter alia information pertaining to Djiboutian combatants.

•    We strongly urge the Government of Eritrea to grant UN special procedures as well as international human rights and humanitarian organisations and NGOs access to the country and to permit them to operate without hindrance.

•    We call on the Government of Eritrea to fulfill their international obligations and honour its commitments and abide by the terms of all relevant Security Council resolutions, including UNSCR 1907 (2009) and UNSCR 2023 (2011)

•    Finally, we invite on the High Commissioner for Human Rights to brief the Human Rights Council on the ongoing Human Rights violations in Eritrea at the 20th Human Rights Council.

This statement was delivered on behalf of the following countries:

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Somalia, St Kitts and Nevis, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America,

http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2012/03/somalia-general-debate-item-4-34th-meeting.html 

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

	EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT	2009 - 2014

Plenary sitting

{13/03/2012}13.3.2012                                                                                                                B7‑0161/2012

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

with request for inclusion in the agenda for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law

pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure

on human trafficking in Sinai, in particular the case of Solomon W.

Véronique De Keyser, Ana Gomes, Richard Howitt, Saïd El Khadraoui, María Muñiz De Urquiza, Kristian Vigenin, Rovana Plumb

{S&D}on behalf of the S&D Group

B7‑0161/2012

European Parliament resolution on human trafficking in Sinai, in particular the case of Solomon W.

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions, in particular that of 16 December 2010 on Eritrean refugees held hostage in Sinai,

- having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

- having regard to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951,

- having regard to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984,

- having regard to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000,

- having regard to Rule 122 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Sinai is a principal transit route for asylum-seekers and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa escaping extreme poverty and political turmoil and seeking refuge in Israel and beyond,

B. whereas reportedly an average of 2,000 people enter Israel through Sinai each month, many of them with the assistance of smugglers who have established a sizable network in this area; whereas, according to Israeli government estimates, around 50,000 Africans have illegally entered Israel through Sinai since 2005;

C. whereas thousands of asylum seekers and migrants lose their lives and disappear in Sinai every year while others, including many women and children, are kidnapped and held hostage for ransom by human traffickers; whereas victims of human traffickers are abused in the most dehumanising manner and are subject to systemic violence and torture, rape and sexual abuse, and forced labour;

D. whereas many female asylum seekers and migrants, who are in a particularly vulnerable situation, fall victim of human trafficking and the vast majority of them are repeatedly tortured, gang-raped and sodomised; whereas hundreds of them arrive in Israel pregnant as a result of rape; 

E. whereas Egypt's border area with Israel in Sinai is a restricted military zone to which the country prohibits unauthorized entry; whereas a significant number of illegal migrants have been killed by Egyptian security forces in Sinai or have been prosecuted before military tribunals in the country; whereas UN agencies and human rights organisations have no or only limited access to the area affected by human smuggling and trafficking in Sinai;

F. whereas Egypt adopted an anti-trafficking law in 2010, which prohibits and punishes all forms of human trafficking, but the implementation of this legislation requires further significant efforts; whereas Egypt established a National Coordination Committee to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking in 2007;

G. whereas Israel reviews very few asylum requests but grants temporary protection to many migrants arriving to the country through Sinai; whereas illegal migrants in many cases continue being returned to Egypt by Israeli authorities without having a genuine opportunity to claim refugee status,    

H. whereas the Knesset approved, in January 2012, a new law on illegal immigrants which has provoked widespread criticism from human rights organisations; whereas about 60 miles of the fence Israel builds along her border with Egypt, with the aim of preventing infiltrators and illegal migrants to enter the country, has been completed with plans to complete the rest by the end of this year;

I. whereas Egyptian and Israeli human rights organisations, such as Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, make considerable efforts to help, assist and provide medical treatment to victims of human traffickers in Sinai,

J. whereas the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children defines trafficking in persons as „the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation”,

1. Expresses its deep concerns that, despite widespread international appeals, human smuggling and trafficking in Sinai continues and further increases;

2. Urges Egypt, Israel and the international community to continue and further intensify their efforts to fight human smuggling and trafficking in Sinai;

3. Acknowledges that illegal migrants in Sinai pose a security risk for Egypt and Israel; however, urges again Egyptian and Israeli security forces to avoid the use of lethal force against illegal migrants;

4. Stresses the responsibility of Egyptian and Israeli authorities to stop the human traffickers in Sinai as well as to protect the victims; welcomes the efforts of the Egyptian and Israeli governments in this regard; calls, however, for more assistance and support for the victims, with special regard to women and children;

5. Reminds Egyptian and Israeli authorities of their obligations to fully respect international human rights law provisions and standards regarding the treatment, the protection of dignity and physical and psychological integrity, and the right to due process and fair trial of asylum seekers and migrants as well as to guarantee that detained migrants have the ability to contact UNHCR and allow UNHCR access to all asylum seekers and refugees in state custody;

6. Reminds Egyptian and Israeli authorities of their obligations under international law to detain asylum seekers only as necessary to ascertain their identity and the basis of their asylum claims, allow detained migrants to present asylum claims and have those claims adjudicated prior to any decision to deport, refrain from returning asylum seekers and refugees to countries where they have a well-founded fear of persecution or face a real risk of torture, or to third countries that might not respect that prohibition, and ensure that detention of children is in line with international conventions and standards concerning the best interest of the child and family unity;

           

7.  Calls for full access of UN agencies and human rights organisations to the areas affected by human smuggling and trafficking in Sinai;

8.  Applauds the activities of Egyptian and Israeli human rights organisations providing help, assistance and medical treatment to victims of human traffickers in Sinai and urges the international community and the EU to support their work;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative/Vice President of the Commission, the Parliaments and Governments of the Member States, the Parliament and Government of Egypt, the Knesset and the Government of Israel, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B7-2012-0161&format=XML&language=EN 

19th Session of the Human Rights Council

Statement by His Excellency Silvano M. Tomasi

Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva

at the 19^th Session of the Human Rights Council –

“Rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious

and linguistic minorities”.

Panel on Declaration of Rights of Minorities (res 18/3)

March 14, 2012

Madam President,

The 20^th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities invites the international community to examine,  with a more critical eye, the situation of minorities in the world, as the Report of the Independent Expert on Minority issues has rightly emphasized. The awareness of their own rights has greatly increased among the persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, but, at the same time, the violations of theses rights, on the part of States or of groups in society, have not ceased. Such problems are due, either to indifference or to the political will to marginalize or to suppress, or even to eliminate, communities with a different ethnic or religious or linguistic  identity. If a just participation by all is fostered in the governance of a State, all persons enjoying  citizenship in its territory should have a right to be included. On the basis of such participation, peaceful coexistence, social development and prevention of conflicts will be the outcome.

Madam President,

The foundation upon which all existing communities in a State can cooperate constructively for the common good is well articulated in the Declaration, which affirms the “inherent dignity and worth of the human person…[and] the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small ..., without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion”[1]

Distinct ethnic, religious or linguistic groups within a State can enrich its cultural and social life. The success of such contribution, however, is linked to the ability and duty of each respective group to be open to dialogue as “individuals do not exist for themselves alone, but achieve their full identity in relation to others. The same can be said about groups of people. They indeed have a right to a collective identity that must be safeguarded, in accordance with the dignity of each member.:[2]

The Special Rapporteur might consider the usefulness of abolishing the concepts of “majority” and “minority” populations. Such development would be in accord with  the foundational human rights principle that  everyone is equal in rights and duties while also maintaining his right to associate with others in the preservation and development of cultural, religious and political identities and activities. This basic belief becomes the appropriate foundation of citizenship A State in which all are partners through common citizenship, and which maintains  laws and institutions that are at the service of everyone, can effectively carry out its responsibility to guarantee peace and promote the constructive contribution of all citizens. The selection of sectarian or ethnic or religious affiliation as criteria for belonging to a State runs contrary to the universality of human rights and lends itself to manipulation and abuses.

In a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect, educational programs that support a culture of dialogue, peace-building, democracy and pluralism can encourage a new start, in line with on-going political, social  and cultural changes in some regions of the world, and can open the way to a more peaceful future when the dignity of every person will be respected without such classifications as “majority” and “minority” but by virtue of our common God-given humanity.

Thank you, Madam President.

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[1]             Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, PP2 and PP1.

[2]           Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, 1^st January 1989.


http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2012/03/holy-see-id-on-minorities-35th-meeting.html 

YEMEN: Tortured for ransom

African migrants in Yemen HAJJAH, 12 March 2012 (IRIN) - The discovery of 70 battered men and women held captive in a remote area of Yemen’s Hajjah Governorate near the Saudi Arabian border has sparked an investigation into the torture and extortion of African immigrants by criminal gangs, say local authorities. The men and women, Oromos and ethnic Somalis from Ethiopia’s Somali Region, had been held for some time in a house in the Sharqia area of Haradh city, and were found wearing just their underwear. Two men who managed to escape by jumping over the wall of the house, alerted the authorities. Their captors, they said, had beaten them with pipes, burned them with cigarettes and poured liniment in their eyes, making them scream in pain. "We are really shocked," said Ali Ibrahim, a criminal investigator in Haradh. "I have been in the department for 15 years and I don't remember anything like this… It's unbelievable that this was going on in our own back yard.” Another government official who preferred anonymity told IRIN: "This problem is unique. No one could imagine that the people were kept in a smuggler’s house for such a long period of time. We don’t know how many were killed.” Many of the victims, according to head of Haradh Security Department Mohammed Najad, were trying to find their way to Saudi Arabia to get work, but had ended up in the hands of criminals who demanded thousands of dollars in ransom for their release. The immigrants are tortured until their families send ransom money, or until enough new immigrants arrive, as there is simply not enough space to keep all the migrants, said Berhane Taklu-Nagga, head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) office in Haradh. On 6 March, the local independent news website Al-Masdaronline.net published pictures of some of the victims. According to a recent Interior Ministry report, 170 Africans were held captive, tortured and mistreated by criminals in Haradh between January 2011 and February 2012. “The victims include 91 young men, 10 women, 50 children and 19 elderly men,” the report said, adding that most had been beaten, scalded or punched in the face, leaving some with visual and hearing problems. In February, the ministry said, police in Haradh had arrested two suspects. One was holding 49 and the other 79 Ethiopian illegal immigrants. The authorities are still searching for another 20 Ethiopian female immigrants whom they believe are at risk of being tortured and raped, said Hamoud Haidar, head of Haradh Local Authority. Rape One common method of torture is rape. “According to the testimonies collected, it appears that the majority of the approximately 3,000 women held by smugglers in Haradh over the past year were raped, many of them repeatedly,” said UNHCR’s Taklu-Nagga. Only after eight months when my father was able to send the smugglers US$5,000, did they release me…I must have an abortion. My husband should not know what happened to me in Haradh, and I must not give birth to this childIn a sample of 24 interviewees, 17 said that they had been raped, according to Taklu-Nagga. “The figure is expected to be much higher, considering that rape victims are typically very reluctant to come forward, particularly those from conservative African societies where victims of sexual assault are often ostracized by their communities,” he told IRIN. Some of the rape victims got pregnant. “Only after eight months when my father was able to send the smugglers US$5,000, did they release me,” recounted one of the rape victims, who requested anonymity. “I must have an abortion. My husband should not know what happened to me in Haradh, and I must not give birth to this child.” One of the male victims told IRIN that several men were raped as well - as punishment for trying to prevent the rape of the women. Screaming at night Other victims lost body parts. Adeemi Abdullahi lost his left eye after being tortured for two months in Abs District, Hajjah Governorate. He showed IRIN marks from the lashings he had received on his back and legs, and scratches on his face and head. “They had been beating me up mercilessly for more than 50 days… They didn’t give me even a paper tissue to wipe blood from my eye,” the 30-year-old Ethiopian said. When he was captured he was given five days to contact any person he knew to transfer money to his captors. He failed. “From day six began my hardest ordeal,” he said. A resident of the Sharqia area said he and his neighbours could hear screaming at night but feared reporting it to the police. In mid-February, the authorities approached a suspected detention house, but were confronted by gunmen. “They fired at us and damaged our cars,” said Haradh local authority head Haidar. So far, Haradh Security Department has identified 19 owners of properties with yards and high walls in villages outside the city suspected of being used as detention centres. Despite widespread unrest in Yemen in the past year, there has been close to a 100 percent increase in the number of Ethiopians arriving in Yemen from the Horn of Africa: more than 65,000 Ethiopians have arrived, compared to 34,422 in 2010, said the International Organization of Migration (IOM) in December. According to UNHCR’s Taklu-Nagga, 10,000-15,000 Ethiopian immigrants annually enter Haradh illegally along Yemen’s western coast. ay/eo/cb Theme (s): Conflict, Human Rights, Migration, Refugees/IDPs, Security, [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]