The Italian Parliament gave final approval to a law outlining comprehensive standards of care for unaccompanied migrant children arriving in Italy, including a strict prohibition of turning them away at the border. UNICEF and SAVE the CHILDREN praised the law’s passage saying it was the first of its kind in Europe.
The law covers all aspects of care for minors arriving in Italy alone, reducing the amount of time they can spend in preliminary welcome centers, setting a 10-day window to confirm their identities and guaranteeing access to health care.
ROME, MARCH 29.
The same morning the final approval of the Italian law, a UNHCR team in Lampedusa, interviewed the only survivor of a boat which is believed to sank in the Mediterranean with 147 passengers on board, including five children and several pregnant women.
The 16-year old survivor said their boat left two days before from Sabratha, in Libya, and started taking on water after a few hours of navigation.
He survived the shipwreck by hanging to a fuel tank, until he was rescued by a Spanish ship operating under Operation Sophia.
This latest tragedy comes as a stark
reminder of the vital importance of robust search and rescue capacities.
Saving lives at sea must remain the key priority for all and UNHCR commends the action of the Italian Coast Guard in coordination with Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
NGOs also play a crucial role in saving lives at sea, by providing additional and much needed rescue capacity. In 2016, 26% of all rescue operations in the central Mediterranean were performed by NGOs, more than twice than the previous year.
The recent increase of sea arrivals to Italy, with some 23,085 people in 2017 so far, and the lower quality of vessels used by traffickers, including flimsy inflatable rafts that often do not last throughout the journey, make these rescue operations more needed than ever before.
The recent increase of sea arrivals to Italy, with some 23,085 people in 2017 so far, and the lower quality of vessels used by traffickers, including flimsy inflatable rafts that often do not last throughout the journey, make these rescue operations more needed than ever before.
According to a 2016 report by the Italian Coast Guard, the absence of satellite-phones on vessels, the high number of night departures from Libya in bad sea conditions, with increasing numbers of passengers, also contribute to higher probability of shipwreck and sinking.
UNHCR stands for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. It is a global organisation dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
comprehensive standards of care
for unaccompanied migrant children arriving in Italy
Ilaria Borgomastro