CEAR accuses Europe of "keeping immigrants away from their shores"

MADRID - The Spanish Commission for Refugee Assistance (CEAR) has denounced the growing efforts of the European Union and its member states to "take refugees away from their coasts", among them "outsourcing of borders", a process "Discriminatory" to distinguish between refugees and immigrants and a code of conduct for NGOs operating in the Mediterranean Sea in an attempt to "criminalize" them. CEAR has focused its attention on Italy, "the most deadly route to European fortress", and highlights the obstacles it is putting to migrants who have played life at sea and forcing many of them to continue their flight to others Countries without granting them the protection to which they are entitled.

So far this year, more than 100,000 people have arrived in Europe across the Mediterranean, of which more than 85,000 have done so via the central route, which flows into the Italian coast. During this same period, more than 2,200 people have died in these waters, equivalent to "73% of all deaths at sea that have occurred in the world."

"European leaders have 2,200 evidence that their immigration policy, which focuses on shielding and breaking borders, leads to the death of people who had their last hope in Europe to save their lives," said CEAR's secretary general, Estrella Galán, During the presentation of the report.

Nuria Díaz, CEAR's Coordinator for Advocacy and Social Participation, explained that one of the main "obstacles" to refugees seeking to reach Europe via Italy is "outsourcing of borders through the signing of cooperation agreements with third countries In order to curb migratory flows. " "This is not something new," said Díaz, who added that in recent years the EU has tried to build a "strong Europe" and, in the case of Italy, it has signed several migratory agreements with "unsafe" countries African environment. "We always think that Europe and European countries learn the lessons of the past, but they do not," he said.

Diaz cited, in particular, the agreement signed between Italy and Libya in early 2017, "which will favor the return of people to an unsecured country that is a failed state where situations of slavery and torture and other serious violations have been documented Of Human Rights and where they also run the risk of being returned to their countries of origin. "

EC INITIATIVE In this regard, the European Commission, which has held a meeting with North African countries to find solutions to the migratory flow in the Mediterranean, has proposed to support the "stabilization" of the southern Mediterranean countries, Beyond cooperating in migratory matters, in order to improve their social and economic development and also the fight against terrorism.

"Our overall objective of the European Neighborhood Policy for the South is to stabilize the region," said European Neighborhood Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who assessed community relations with Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt. Hahn said that the EU will focus on "creating the conditions to ensure resilience, good management and offer employment prospects, especially young people". "In terms of migration, this is exactly what we are talking about when addressing root causes to prevent massive migratory flows," he said.

The migrant smuggling route across the central Mediterranean occupies a large part of the EU's attention to these countries, but the Austrian commissioner stressed that he should go further.

Regarding the possibility of the Spanish State fulfilling the quota of 17,337 refugees that it promised to host before September 26, CEAR's secretary general, Estrella Galán, stated that "it is already impossible" because only 10% . "Now we have to see what response the EU gives to non-compliant countries: if this is going to go unpunished or the deadlines will be extended. We must remember that the EU has already said that meeting the deadline does not end the commitment. "

IN 2017

Immigrants. It is estimated that so far this year 112,000 irregular immigrants have arrived in Europe, and of them Italy has received 93,417.

Refugees. In the summer of 2015 the EU reached a commitment to relocate potential refugees from Greece and Italy to other European states where 160,000 people should be resettled before the end of next September. More than 17,300 were to be welcomed by Spain. According to CEAR, "the relocation system put in place by the EU has failed disastrously" and neither Spain nor most of the States are going to fulfill their quotas.

Dead. Of the more than 100,000 people who have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean, around 85,000 have done so by the route that reaches the Italian coast. More than 2,300 people have died in these journeys.

COLLECTIVE

Immigrants and refugees who paid more than $ 5,000 to travel to Europe rose 19 percent in the first half of the year, according to the International Organization for Migration. These people, who were only 16% of the migrants in 2016, now account for more than a third of the migratory flow.

The director of the Gender Master's degree at the National School of Health, Mª de los Ángeles Rodríguez, has warned about the incidence of gender-based violence among refugee women since, she said, "it is estimated that 100%" suffers this scourge Is united to the fact of "to face a war or to cross a border".

Only in the first half of this year, 12,239 immigrant children and refugees arrived in Italy. 93% have traveled alone and the majority are male, according to UN data.

EUSKADI

450
Last week, 34 refugees from the Mediterranean humanitarian crisis arrived in Euskadi from Lebanon. Since 2015, the CAV has hosted 450 asylum seekers, although only 50 came from the EU-designed system.