German Interior Ministry Wants to Send Migrant Boats Back to North Africa
Germany’s interior ministry supports stopping migrant boats at sea and returning passengers to North Africa where their applications for asylum can be processed “off-shore”.
The proposal echoes Australia’s controversial policy of intercepting boats and moving asylum seekers to processing centers on Papua New Guinea and the Pacific island of Nauru.
Under the German plan, migrant boats leaving from Libya or Egypt for Europe would be returned to Tunisia, Egypt or other North African countries to have their claims for asylum examined.
“The elimination of the prospect of reaching the European coast could convince migrants to avoid embarking on the life-threatening and costly journey in the first place,” said a ministry spokeswoman, who briefed the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag on the plan.
German opposition politicians warned that asylum seekers would likely have fewer rights and less legal help in North Africa, and called the plan “a humanitarian scandal.”
Nearly 160,000 people have fled from North Africa to Italy by boat this year, with 4,220 dying en route. More than 2,200 people were rescued, and 10 died, on November 5 alone.
Thousands Displaced by Somalia Fighting
Renewed clashes broke out in central Somalia, dashing hopes for a cease-fire deal that was meant to allow civilians to return home.
Fighting between rival clan militias from the semi-autonomous regions of Galmudug and Puntland displaced 80,000 people from the disputed town of Gaalkacyo in recent weeks.
A ceasefire deal mediated by Dubai last week collapsed when clashes broke out again November 6, killing at least 20 people, including a local radio reporter.
The U.N. has also warned that militias in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region are forcing coastal communities from their homes. More than 29,000 people were displaced last week, and the number is likely to rise sharply, the U.N.’s humanitarian office OCHA said.
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) warned that the conflicts, coupled with severe drought, are worsening the humanitarian situation in Somalia.
“DRC is alarmed that civilian population are bearing the heavy brunt of these conflicts as they are caught up in the fighting with no protection and most are opting to flee from their homes and villages in search of refuge,” the group said in a statement.
After ‘Jungle’ Demolition, Asylum Seekers Go Underground
Many people evacuated from the “Jungle” migrant camp in Calais last month remain hidden in fields or empty buildings in the area, still hoping to reach the U.K., the Guardian reports.
French authorities shut down the camp in late October, moving 6,000 people sheltering in the squalid encampment to migrant reception centers across the country, where they can claim asylum in France. But many have ties to the U.K. and are determined to settle in the country.
“If they don’t want to claim asylum in France, they will have to leave the centres,” Christian Salomé, the president of refugee charity L’Auberge des Migrants, told the newspaper. “They will continue to come to Calais.”
Recommended Reads
- Associated Press: Displaced Syrians Fear Return, Marking a Demographic Shift
- The New York Times: Afghanistan Itself Is Now Taking in the Most Afghan Migrants
- Newsweek: Why Cooperating with Libya on Migration Could Damage the E.U.’s Standing
- TIME: The Syrians Next Door
- Deutsche Welle: Calais Refugees in the Palace Garden
- The Migration Observatory: A Decade of Immigration in the British Press