Closure of UNHCR office in Tripoli worries Brussels

The European Commission is concerned with the news emerging from Tripoli after the Libyan authorities ordered the closure of the local office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

While the reason behind the decision is still unclear, a Commission spokesman said yesterday Brussels was trying to get more information on the situation so that it could start a dialogue with Tripoli over the issue.

"We are worried about the negative impact of this decision on asylum seekers and refugees," said Maja Kocijancic, spokesman for the EU's foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton.

The Commission stopped short of entering into the controversy of whether following this office's closure the Italian authorities should stop returning illegal immigrants to Libya.

Commission Home Affairs spokesman Michele Cercone said this was a "bilateral" issue and the EU was not involved in it.

"The impact of (the UNHCR expulsion) must be verified by the Italian authorities with the Libyan authorities," Mr Cercone said.

However, he stressed that all EU member states were obliged to verify that, in case of any push-backs of people rescued at sea, "these persons should not be sent to countries where they risk their lives".

Mr Cercone also indicated that, after receiving a letter of protest from NGOs, the Commission would verify the information and contact the Libyan authorities over the UNHCR's expulsion.

"The latest Libyan decision strengthens the need to open a dialogue with the Libyan authorities over immigration and asylum matters. However, Libya is not the easiest of countries to deal with," he said.

Following an agreement between Libya and Italy last year, the two countries started joint patrols against illegal immigration and boats carrying immigrants on the high seas were returned to Libya. This exercise yielded good results and the number of illegal immigrants arriving in Italy and Malta in the past year dropped significantly.

The Italian media yesterday reported that Foreign Affairs Minister Franco Frattini asked the authorities in Tripoli to explain their actions.

A UNHCR spokeswoman in Rome, Laura Boldrini, said the agency's objective was to return to work in Libya as soon as possible. She said the agency's office in Tripoli had limited resources to handle asylum requests but "having limited means is better than having no means at all to help people".