European Union
International organizations and NGOs have warned against the European Union’s new plan to curb mass migration from Libya. UNICEF’s deputy director Justin Forsyth said that the decisions taken by EU leaders at a special summit in Malta on Friday are literally a matter of life and death for thousands of children.
They further said that the move goes against human rights and is likely to provoke a new humanitarian catastrophe.
Faced with a surge in migrants this spring, the 28 leaders backed steps including helping the Libyan coastguard to stop boats to Italy and setting up temporary camps in the north African state.
The leaders signed off on a new strategy to “break the business model” of traffickers who helped 181,000 mainly African economic migrants enter the EU via Libya and Italy last year.
The plan involves funding and training the Libyan coastguard to make it better able to intercept migrant boats before they reach international waters, and helping neighbouring countries to close routes into Libya.
01:00
Burkina Faso: Civil society calls for release of Daouda Diallo abducted human rights defender
02:27
Breaking Language Barriers: Afrilingual Fills the Gap in NYC's African Communities
01:05
Four migrants pushed out of a boat die just yards from Spain’s southern coast
01:12
DRC elections: EU Cancels Election Observation Mission Due to "Technical Issues"
Go to video
Elections in the DRC: European observers blocked by insecurity
Go to video
EU: drop in migrant departures from Tunisia