‘European Commission does not endorse push-back policy’

The European Commission should clarify its position about the Italy-Libya arrangement of automatically sending migrants back to where they came from, the UN refugee agency has said.

“UNHCR’s understanding is that the European Commission has not in fact endorsed the Italy-Libya push-back arrangement, but it is of course up to the Commission to clarify its own position,” a UNHCR spokesman said.

He was asked to react to comments made by the Commission’s new director general for migration, Stefano Manservisi, who said the policy was found to be perfectly in conformity with EU law.

But the UNHCR said it read the transcript of Mr Manservisi’s comments and found what he said was vague and unspecific, while recognising that parts of the Italy-Libya agreement were as yet unknown.

It asked whether these comments reflected the Commission’s official position or whether it was one person’s view.

Mr Manservisi had argued that Libya was a signatory to the 1969 Addis Ababa Convention governing aspects of refugee problems in Africa, which bound it to principles similar to those of the UN convention, including cooperation with UNHCR.

“Although the Commission prefers a European rather than a bilateral agreement, this bilateral agreement between Italy and Libya had proved to be efficient because illegal migration has been stopped,” he said.

His comments, however, came a few months after Libya shut down the UN refugee office in Tripoli.

While the 1969 convention placed certain obligations on signatory states, there is at present no asylum law or procedure in Libya.

“At the moment UNHCR’s possibility to intervene on behalf of persons who may be in need of protection remains very limited,” the UNHCR spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Jesuit Refugee Services said the success of cooperation with Libya should not only be measured by the drop in arrivals but should also take into consideration the consequences for the individuals returned.

JRS said Libya has consistently failed to implement the 1969 convention since there is no national procedure to process asylum seekers and Libyan law makes no distinction between them and other migrants.

“To make matters worse, Libya recently expelled UNHCR, the only organisation providing a measure of protection for those who needed it, from its territory, although the same convention requires states to cooperate with the organisation to ensure refugees are adequately protected.”

JRS pointed out that this was all happening against a backdrop of credible reports of abuse and severe ill-treatment of migrants.

“While we understand irregular immigration poses particular challenges for Malta, we believe attempts to limit the number of irregular arrivals should never be at the cost of human rights.

“It is clear that states have the right and the duty to control their borders, but it is equally clear they have the duty to do this in a way that is in line with their obligations under international human rights law.”

JRS called on the government not to enter into any agreement with Libya unless adequate safeguards for the protection of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants were put in place. It also called on the government to ensure the EU maintained its commitment to uphold human rights and provide asylum to those who need it.

The so-called push-back policy has come under fire from humanitarian organisations including the UNHCR, which point to Libya’s human rights record and the fact it is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention, a human rights treaty which guarantees the rights of asylum seekers.

Malta has been an indirect beneficiary of the bilateral agreement. Since the deal’s entrance into force last year, illegal immigrant landings have almost completely stopped and so far this year, a single group of 28 illegal immigrants has reached Malta.

However, they were part of a larger group, 27 of which were sent back to Libya – among them, a pregnant wife of one of the men who reached Malta.