Start with Libya to combat illegal migration
Following the tragic drowning of Libyans trying to flee the country, efforts by the international community to curb this phenomenon in Libya seems to have become indispensable.
European leaders who met at an emergency summit in Brussels on April 23 failed to produce a satisfactory response to deal with illegal immigrants making the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossing in search of a better life or simply fleeing their home countries in fear of violence and persecution.
Many of those taking the risk are genuine asylum seekers. In fact, Amnesty International has already condemned the European Union for its “shameful” response to the most recent tragedy in the Mediterranean. Over 1,000 migrants drowned on April 20, as their boats capsized a few miles from the Libyan shores where their journey had started.
Indeed, EU leaders agreed to increase funding to around 9 million euros (about $1 million) per month for rescue operations at sea — named Triton — but without extending the scope of rescue to cover larger areas of the high seas, not much will change, according to Amnesty International, which described the EU decisions as only meeting the problem “halfway.”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) described the situation in the Mediterranean as “a tragedy” and called for “legal and safe avenues” to be identified for “migrants to avoid resorting to transnational criminal organizations.” Such measure would involve ease of visa procedures and safe corridors for sub-Saharan African migrants and others to take away from smugglers who make millions of dollars from the migrants’ misery.
