Ministers from Europe, Africa meet to tackle migrant crisis
All of us working together remains the best course of action.
Interior ministers from 14 nations and the European Union on Monday agreed to boost cooperation to tackle the migrant crisis along the deadly central Mediterranean route, promising to address why migrants leave home and to beef up actions against human traffickers.
In a declaration at the meeting in the Tunisian capital of Tunis, the ministers also agreed to inform people about the risks of illegal migration and the possibility of voluntarily returning home.
It was the second meeting of the group of European and African countries — and it included Libya, a smuggling haven for migrants. The gathering also came a day before France hosts two Libyan rivals, the UNbacked prime minister and a powerful general, in a bid to stabilize the chaotic North African nation.
The ministers focused on Libya, since according to French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, 95 percent of the migrants flowing across the sea into Europe comes from Libya.
“As long as a stable government is not in place, the control of this flux cannot be assured,” Collomb said.
In the first half of 2017, nearly 84,000 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea, a 20 percent increase from the same period last year, and more than 2,200 others have apparently died trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
The meeting’s final declaration said a global commitment to immigration is needed with a shared sense of responsibility and solidarity to tackle the crisis.
“There is no magic solution. No nation can alone deal with the migratory flux and no nation is sheltered from it,” Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti said after the meeting, stressing the need for a common strategy.
The statement said public development aid is needed to fight the causes of migration and create more opportunities at home, as well as to help border authorities with training, equipment and infrastructure.
“We have to stick together,” said Dimitris Avramopoulos, European commissioner for migration. He insisted, “Europe is not a fortress,” but added that legal migration procedures must be followed.
Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia attended the meeting although no mention of this was made by the Department of Information.
Maltese Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia said the adopted declaration seeks to prevent migrant smuggling and trafficking, thereby also preventing abuse and the risk of loss of life in the desert and at sea. The objective should be the regulation of migration by respective competent authorities, said the Minister.
Minister Farrugia said that although several initiatives were embarked upon over the years by Europe and North Africa, it is a fact that central Mediterranean countries continue to face situations that can only be described as less than acceptable. It is still unacceptable for migrant smugglers and traffickers to be abusing persons who seek a way into Europe. This is not just a legislative or an international relations matter, but also a moral duty, he stated.
He pointed out that the declaration adopted seeks to address this situation, in particular by bolstering cooperation between respective state authorities, so that illegal migrants will be returned to their countries of origin.
“I remain convinced that all of us working together remains the best course of action. It is important that on such matters of common concern, all interested parties are fully in agreement, and that a way forward is based on a common understanding of principles and actions to be taken. We already have a successful example of such a process - the Valletta Declaration and Joint Action Plan of 2015. Only through mutual cooperation, and total agreement, can we obtain the results we seek,” stated Minister Farrugia.