United Nations S/ PV.8114 Security Council Provisional Seventy-second year 8114th meeting Tuesday, 28 November 2017, 9 a.m. New York President: Mr. Cardi ...................................... (Italy) Members: Bolivia (Plurinational State of) ..................... Mr. Llorentty Solíz China ......................................... Mr. Shen Bo Egypt ......................................... Mr. Aboulatta Ethiopia ....................................... Mr. Alemu France ........................................ Mr. Delattre Japan ......................................... Mr. Bessho Kazakhstan .................................... Mr. Sadykov Russian Federation ............................... Mr. Zagaynov Senegal ....................................... Mr. Ciss Sweden ....................................... Mr. Skau Ukraine ....................................... Mr. Vitrenko United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland .. Mr. Allen United States of America .......................... Ms. Sison Uruguay ....................................... Mr. Bermúdez Álvarez Agenda Maintenance of international peace and security This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translation of speeches delivered in other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-0506 ([email protected]). Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org). 17-40016 (E) *1740016* S/PV.8114 Maintenance of international peace and security 28/11/2017 The meeting was called to order at 9.05 a.m. Strengthening refugee protection and offering solutions along the routes, including in Chad and the Adoption of the agenda Niger, is key. UNHCR is stepping up its work, but dramatic funding gaps persist, especially in sub-Saharan The agenda was adopted. Africa. In Libya, some 17,000 refugees and migrants are in detention; many more are held by smugglers and Maintenance of international peace and security traffickers, who are protected by well-known militias. The President: In accordance with rule 37 of the Tackling these is linked to progress on political Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the solutions and functioning governance structures. representative of Libya to participate in this meeting. Meanwhile, UNHCR is playing its part, together In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s with the International Organization for Migration. provisional rules of procedure, I invite the following Progress is discernible, though still modest. Security remains volatile and access to key locations is still not briefers to participate in this meeting: Mr. Filippo possible, yet, working closely with the United Nations Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Support Mission in Libya and with the support of some Refugees; and Mr. William Lacy Swing, Director- donors — to whom I am grateful — we are making General of the International Organization for Migration. progress towards expanding our scope of action. We are Mr. Grandi and Mr. Swing are joining today’s helping the authorities to address the needs of displaced meeting via video-teleconference from Geneva. Libyans and others affected by conflict, which is an important priority. We have also secured the release of The Security Council will now begin its almost 1,000 asylum-seekers and refugees this year, consideration of the item on its agenda. and reception and protection mechanisms are being I now give the floor to Mr. Grandi. incrementally strengthened. Plans to establish a transit centre in Tripoli are progressing positively. Mr. Grandi: The grave abuses perpetrated against migrants and refugees along the central Mediterranean Rescue at sea, in line with international maritime law and human rights standards, remains imperative. routes can no longer be ignored. I am glad that the Support for Libyan border-management authorities, Security Council has decided to turn its attention to including the coast guard, must be accompanied by this compelling matter. building adequate reception and asylum systems. I More than 116,000 people have crossed the sea to commend the Governments of Libya and the Niger Italy alone in 2017. We should not forget that many of for enabling a first transit evacuation by UNHCR those arriving, or who end up stranded or dying along of 25 refugees, who will be resettled in France. the way, are refugees who are fleeing conflict and Additional evacuation platforms, resettlement places persecution — which is of direct concern to the Office and other safe and legal pathways are needed along of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees the entire route. I have called for 40,000 additional (UNHCR). resettlement places in the 15 countries affected by these movements. To date, we have indications of just As I said in my statement to the Security Council 10,500 places — an encouraging but still insufficient just a few weeks ago (see S/PV.8083), the international number. Council members will recall that UNHCR community’s inability to prevent and resolve conflict has also made specific recommendations for tackling is at the root of their plight. Compelled to flee, trafficking, including by freezing assets, instituting but without legal pathways to safety, refugees are travel bans, disrupting the supply of revenue and exposed to appalling harm, together with migrants, materials, and ensuring robust prosecutions. including torture, rape, sexual exploitation, slavery Too often, measures pursued in relation to the and other forms of forced labour, which proliferate Mediterranean routes have centred on how to control, where governance is weak and transnational criminal deter and exclude. This can have a dehumanizing networks take root. That requires a comprehensive effect and, more importantly, alone it does not help approach encompassing countries of origin, transit refugees and migrants to avoid exploitative, deeply and destination. harmful situations. A comprehensive set of political, 2/21 17-40016 28/11/2017 Maintenance of international peace and security S/PV.8114 security, humanitarian, human rights and development because we will need Libya’s help. We believe that, in investments is needed. The Security Council’s attention very short order, if everybody is willing to help out and is welcome because its leadership is critical to ensuring compromise, what we will need from the Libyans is an that this happens. agreement that we can empty these centres. I think they The President: I thank Mr. Grandi for his will agree to that. We need them to give us overflight interesting and comprehensive briefing. and landing clearances. We need to be able to bring in large, non-Libyan aircraft. The Libyans have been I now give the floor to Mr. Swing. extremely helpful. We have used all Libyan aircraft Mr. Swing: I want to come at this issue from the up to now, but they are too few and too small. We are angle that it is primarily about smugglers and making talking about large operations. money. We have been working over many years, since We would obviously need to have the support of the fall of Al-Qadhafi in February 2011, to try to take the African Union and the main source countries by people out of the detention centres, to improve the sending consular officers to Tripoli, in particular, to detention centres and to clean up the matter in a manner help identify, register and provide travel documents to that would destroy the smugglers’ business model. We everyone so that we can then take them home. There have been able to take 13,000 migrants home from the will be some who will need a third country to go to detention centres this year — 8,000 from our centre in until they can be properly documented, but for the vast Agadez, in the Niger — rather than have them cross majority — that is, those who want to go home, as we the Mediterranean. will do only voluntary repatriations — it can be done. It is all about saving life, and that, I think, is why we We will need financing. I had good conversation are here today. We are not trying to stop Africans from about that yesterday. I think that the European Union getting to Europe. We are working with the African trust fund that we are using for other purposes can also Union, the European Union and the Libyan authorities. be used for this. We have assurances in that respect, In my experience, it is rather rare to have all of the and we can augment it as we go along. The key thing is elements of a solution come together at the same time. to come up with an agreement that we all believe is in Since the breaking of the story of the slave trade — in our common interest and where everybody comes out fact, we broke the story in April and it has now been a winner. carried forward in major media — it has all been about breaking up the smugglers’ business model. We will then need commitments on the part of the We lost 5,000 people in the Mediterranean last source countries to help reintegrate these migrants. year, and have lost 3,000 this year. We put out a press They may come back with a little money in their release on that yesterday. We are all under pressure: pockets to get life started again, but they will need the the Libyans, the International Organization for commitment of their home countries to helping them Migration (IOM), the Office of the United Nations to reintegrate so that they do not have to take off on an High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) — our irregular migration route again. traditional partner — the African Union, the European The elements are there. We are ready to go. Union and the source countries. We all want and need a Mr. Grandi and I have had conversations about it and solution, and I believe that, frankly, all of the elements we think we can work together. The majority of the are there now.