EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 2014 - 2019 Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs DRAFT MISSION REPORT of the EP LIBE delegation to Lampedusa (Italy) on search and rescue, in the context of the strategic own-initiative report on “the situation in the Mediterranean and the need for a holistic EU approach to migration” 17-18 September 2015 The LIBE Delegation on search and rescue to Lampedusa, Italy, on 17-18 September 2015 was composed of: MEMBERS Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT EPP Head of delegation Kashetu KYENGE S&D Judith SARGENTINI Greens / ALE Ignazio CORRAO EFDD The delegation was authorised by the Conference of Presidents on 4 June 2015. 1. Introduction A delegation of four Members of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs travelled to Italy from 17 to 18 September 2015 in order to gain a better understanding of search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The delegation visited the Carlo Bergamini frigate, flagship of the Italian navy operation Mare Sicuro, currently deployed in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Phoenix vessel of the MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station). Additionally, the delegation met with the mayor of Lampedusa, the international organisations and NGOs present in Lampedusa, the Guardia di Finanza (customs police) and Coast guard. The delegation witnessed the disembarkation of 50migrants who had been rescued at sea and their initial reception upon arrival at the pier in the harbour of Lampedusa. 2. Meeting with the mayor of Lampedusa, Ms Giusi Nicolini In the evening of the 17th of September, the delegation had an informal meeting with the Mayor of Lampedusa, Ms Giusi Nicolini. The mayor welcomed the members of the LIBE delegation and described the current situation in Lampedusa. The island, which due to its position is often the first safe port of disembarkation for migrants 1 rescued at sea, hosts a Centro di primo soccorso e accoglienza (CPSA), first reception and assistance center. The Mayor described the way in which disembarkation operations are normally carried out, highlighting that they have developed a good procedure and coordination: migrants are disembarked on a dedicated pier of the harbor of Lampedusa, where they are immediately assisted by a team of doctors from the local health centers and the INMP (Istituto Nazionale per la promozione della salute delle popolazioni Migranti ed il contrasto delle malattie della Povertà – National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty). Afterwards, migrants are transferred to the CPSA, while those who are found to be too sick are transferred to the hospital or, in particularly serious cases, brought by helicopter to bigger hospitals in Sicily. Moreover, migrants generally receive a first medical check on board of the ship that rescued them. Arrivals are regular and in very high numbers: in 2014, 15.000 migrants arrived in Lampedusa, while by September 2015 already 18.000 people had arrived. The accommodation Center has a limited reception capacity up to around 400 persons. In order to avoid excessive overcrowding, every day about 200 to 250 migrants are brought by boat to the Sicilian harbor of Porto Empedocle, close to Catania. The mayor explained that, during the Italian Navy operation Mare Nostrum, around 5 navy vessels constantly patrolled the waters around Lampedusa. After the end of the operation, the situation remained under control. The mayor explained that, upon arrival, migrants are immediately identified by taking their pictures and names, and they are interviewed in order to understand their origin. However, as regards fingerprinting, she reported that often migrants are reluctant to cooperate and some even harm themselves, for instance by burning their own fingertips or scratching them on the concrete, in order to prevent effective fingerprinting. She further explained that Lampedusa would soon become the seat of one of the new EU hotspots. It emerged that the division of tasks between national authorities and the hotspots needs to be further clarified. As regards the reception of unaccompanied children, the mayor explained that they are initially accommodated in the CPSA, until the Tribunal for Minors allocates the guardianship over them to care centers for children. This process however can take several days, also due to the fact that many care centers are overcrowded; yet, the law does not foresee the possibility for foster families to accommodate such children for short periods of time, immediately upon arrival. The mayor also confirmed that, on the morning of the 18th, a disembarkation operation would take place, given that the Phoenix vessel had rescued over 250 migrants and had been instructed by the International Coordination Center (ICC) to disembark them in Lampedusa. She told the delegation that she usually personally oversees the disembarkation operation. 3. Meeting with UNHCR, IOM, Save the children and local NGOs On the morning of the 18th, Members of the delegation went to the dedicated pier where migrants are disembarked. At that occasion, meetings were held with the law enforcement authorities present, guardia di finanza (custom police), as well as the coast guards, and with several organisations and a representative of the Italian Ministry of the Interior. Staff from UNHCR explained that their role during disembarkation operations and in the CPSA is to inform migrants of their right to seek international protection and to monitor the fundamental rights situation. Their staff in Lampedusa consists of legal officers and cultural mediators, but UNHCR is present in several ports in Southern 2 Italy with different staff compositions. They explained that migrants who arrive in Lampedusa are immediately identified and registered, and then transferred to Sicily. Their transfer on shore is done by the coastguard, using motor boats. Once they arrive, UNHCR provides them with basic information about their right to seek asylum; however, applications are not made in Lampedusa, but only once they have been transferred to Sicily. Staff from Save the Children confirmed their presence in Lampedusa since 2008. They assist migrant children (be they accompanied or unaccompanied) by giving them legal information on their rights and assessing and meeting their primary needs. They also act to ensure that the minors’ right to express their views is respected and that such views are duly taken into account. According to Save the children’s representatives, most minors express the wish to seek international protection in a different State than Italy, and tend not to believe that they could do this legally: they are therefore willing to take the risk of travelling alone to their State of destination, instead of waiting for a lawful transfer. Children want to move quickly onwards, usually to Northern Europe while decisions on these matters can take from 3 up to 8 months or even longer. An additional problem is that of guardianship: since guardians have to be appointed by the Tribunal, which is often overburdened, decisions are rarely swiftly delivered. Moreover, minors who qualify as unaccompanied are often travelling with an adult, to whom they were entrusted by their parents: such adult has no legal right of guardianship over the child, and even if the child could be legally transferred to another Member State, the adult could not follow him/her. Children therefore might prefer to remain with the adult who accompanied them, even if it means that they cannot wait for a lawful transfer. Staff from IOM explained that IOM is present in Lampedusa since 2006 and works mainly on a project to identify and assist trafficked women. IOM is working on a project aiming at women’s empowerment and at providing proper information of their rights to women who are potential trafficking victims, and in particular about the possibility of obtaining a special, temporary residence permit for protection under article 18 of the Italian Immigration Law. The permit allows them to stay legally in Italy and receive social assistance. Trafficking victims are often Nigerian women, who travel in small groups of 3 or 4, under the control of another migrant who is tasked with bringing them to their exploiter. The role of IOM is to try to obtain the women’s trust, explaining them that they can request and obtain protection. Since trafficked women are often afraid of authorities, building trust is a process that takes time, also due to the fact that Nigerian women often believe to have been subjected to black magic and that, if they tell their stories, their families will be targeted. Trust is essential to obtain information about the criminal traffickers in order to break down their network. The main practical problem that IOM faces in its task is that shelters for trafficking victims are often full, and women might need to wait several weeks before they can be admitted into a safe shelter. No provisional shelters to accommodate them immediately are provided, while they are in dire need of being immediately separated from the group, to protect them from the trafficker’s influence and pressure. EASO personnel was also supervising the disembarkation. They told the delegation that four of them were deployed in Lampedusa as observers in order to prepare for the establishment of the EU hotspot. The delegation also met with the local NGO, Forum 3 Lampedusa Solidale, a citizens’ group, who act to make the migrants feel treated humanely and distributes coffee, tea, water and cookies to migrants upon arrival. 4. The disembarkation operation on the pier The delegation witnessed a disembarkation operation of over 250 migrants who had been brought towards Lampedusa by the Phoenix vessel of MOAS and who were transferred to the coast-guard motorboats to be brought on shore. The majority of migrants on the first two boats seemed to be young men from sub Saharan Africa. The coast guards told the delegation that there are 4 of those boats specialised in disembarkation co-funded by the European Union (External Borders Fund).