Mediterranean Sea

Italy’s New Decree Impedes Search and Rescue Ops at Sea, Causes More Deaths, Say Civil Outfits

The statement issued by over 10 rescue NGOs at work in the central Mediterranean called on Italian MPs to oppose the decree to prevent it from being converted into law.

New Delhi: Civil organisations engaged in search and rescue (SAR) operations in the central Mediterranean, in a statement, denounced a new decree introduced by Italy’s new far-right government, which allegedly aims to impede assistance to the people in distress at sea, according to the full statement published by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

The new decree, signed by the Italian President on January 2, will reduce rescue capacities at sea and thereby make the central Mediterranean – one of the world’s deadliest migration routes – even more dangerous, said civil society organisations, the civil outfits said.

“The decree ostensibly targets SAR NGOs, but the real price will be paid by people fleeing across the central Mediterranean and finding themselves in situations of distress,” they added.

The signatories of the statement are EMERGENCY, Luventa Crew, Mare Liberum, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), MEDITERRANEA Saving Humans, MISSION LIFELINE, Open Arms, r42-sailtraining, ResQ – People Saving People, RESQSHIP, Salvamento Marítimo Humanitario, SARAH-SEENOTRETTUNG, Sea Punks, Sea-Eye, Sea-Watch, SOS Humanity, United4Rescue, and Watch the Med – Alarm Phone.

They called on Members of the Italian Parliament to oppose the decree, thereby preventing it from being converted into law.

Since 2014, civilian rescue ships are filling the void that European States have deliberately left after discontinuing their state-led SAR operations. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have played an essential role in filling this gap and prevented more lives being lost at sea, while consistently upholding applicable law, the statement added.

The signatories said in spite of the efforts by NGOs, EU Member States – most prominently Italy – have for years attempted to obstruct civilian SAR activities through defamation, administrative harassment and criminalising NGOs and activists.

There already exists a comprehensive legal framework for SAR, namely the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention).

“However, the Italian government has introduced yet another set of rules for civilian SAR vessels, which impede rescue operations and put people who are in distress at sea further at risk,” the statement added.

Among other rules, the Italian government requires civilian rescue ships to immediately head to Italy after each rescue. This – according to the signatories of the statement – delays further lifesaving operations, as ships usually carry out multiple rescues over the course of several days.

Instructing SAR NGOs to proceed immediately to a port, while other people are in distress at sea, contradicts the captain’s obligation to render immediate assistance to people in distress, as enshrined in the UNCLOS, the statement added.

This element of the decree is compounded by the Italian government’s recent policy to assign ‘distant ports’ more frequently, which can be up to four days of navigation from a ship’s current location.

“Both factors are designed to keep SAR vessels out of the rescue area for prolonged periods and reduce their ability to assist people in distress. NGOs are already overstretched due to the absence of a state-run SAR operation, and the decreased presence of rescue ships will inevitably result in more people tragically drowning at sea,” the statement added.

Another issue raised by the decree is the obligation to collect data aboard rescue vessels from survivors, which articulates their intent to apply for international protection and to share this information with authorities. It is the duty of states to initiate this process and a private vessel is not an appropriate place for this, the statement said.

Asylum requests should be dealt with on dry land only, after disembarkation to a place of safety, and only once immediate needs are covered, as recently clarified by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

“Overall, the Italian law decree contradicts international maritime, human rights and European law, and should therefore trigger a strong reaction by the European Commission, the European Parliament and European Member States and institutions,” the statement added.

Continuing further, the signatories said, “What we need is not another politically motivated framework obstructing lifesaving SAR activities, but for EU Member States to finally comply with existing international and maritime laws as well as guarantee operational space for civil SAR actors.”

Debate: India Cannot Emulate Anwar Sadat’s Yom Kippur War Model

We must not to give the US an opportunity to manipulate the Indian security establishment’s penchant for surgical solutions to achieve Washington’s strategic goals vis-a-vis China.

Limited wars are more than a bilateral duel.

Short wars in the peripheries are linked to the global political economy. Many scholars of strategy, especially in small and medium countries, tend to ignore the global context in which limited wars in the peripheries are fought. These wars have a larger political purpose, which is determined by the power at the centre of global affairs. Limited understanding of limited wars leads to flawed strategic conclusions.

Based on flawed conclusions drawn from the 1973 Yom Kippur war, a reputed defence journalist in his recent article in the Business Standard has nonchalantly compared the current trajectory in India-China relations to that of Arab-Israel ties in the late 1960s.

He argues that Israel came to the table because it was made to taste the combined military power of the Arabs. He further suggests that India must emulate Egyptian actions in the Yom Kippur war, disregard the existing power asymmetry with China and initiate a surgical strike against it, even if the prospects of defeat are high.

Unlike the Egypt-Israel relations in the early 1970s, the current India-China equation is not beyond redemption. Employing “forward policy” or surgical strikes to solve the cartographic dispute is as undesirable as it was in 1962.

Army trucks move towards Ladakh amid LAC border tension, at Manali-Leh highway in Kullu, Friday, July 31, 2020. Photo: PTI

India doesn’t need a war to bring Beijing to the table. The India-China diplomatic channels are wide open. Recently the defence ministers of the two countries met in Moscow to discuss the ongoing border issue.

Also read: India Is Headed For a War With China No One Wants, Here’s What It Should Do to Prevent It

It is a mistake to imagine that Yom Kippur was the brainchild of Anwar el-Sadat and was carried out in absolute secrecy. There were enough intelligence reports of action by Egypt-Syrian forces but both US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and as well Prime Minister Golda Meir ignored them and decided to play a defensive game.

Israel lost one-fifth of its airforce, yet it emerged victorious. It defeated the Arabs for one more time and increased its territorial holdings in the Golan Heights.

Egypt was mollycoddled and Syria was badly defeated. The latter felt cheated because of the unexpected Egyptian-Israeli ceasefire and the peace accord which followed. More importantly, war splintered the Arab unity and provided a greater sense of security to the Zionist regime.

The war helped Anwar el-Sadat consolidate his political position. After all, the rise of Sadat was a by-product of the Six Day War of 1967, which was as disastrous for Gamal Abdel Nasser as the India-China war of 1962 was for Jawaharlal Nehru. Naseer died in 1970 and Anwar Sadat took-over the reins of Egypt.

Like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sadat was also the darling of the United States. He undertook the de-Naseerisation and de-Sovietisation of Egyptian politics and polity. One more benefit that accrued to Egypt was the reopening of the Suez Canal and the associated revenue stream that had been closed for eight-long-years.

The US too extracted its pound of flesh from the war. In the post war scenario, Kissinger’s “shuttle diplomacy” won him plaudits and he was hailed by the Arabs as a “superman” and “mediator of peace”. He used both the war and peace to “rebuild America’s strategic position in a critical part of the world, gently elbowing Russia out of her prewar pre‐eminence in the middle east region”.

The peace plan was also necessitated by the fact that in the 1970s there was an oil crisis in the world and Suez Canal, the main maritime thoroughfare connecting the Mediterranean and the Red seas, was closed.

Also read: When it Comes to China, India Needs to Up its Deterrence Game

It was imperative to open it to prevent the global economic crisis from escalating. On June 5, 1967, at the beginning of the Six Day War, Egypt closed the Suez canal, which reopened on June 5, 1975. The disruption of a shipping chokepoint led to a sudden surge in shipping rates, insurance premiums and operating costs rates as oil tankers from Asia to Europe had to take a longer route around the Cape of Good Hope.

However, the supertanker business, boomed in the wake of Suez crisis. There was a sudden upswing in the demand for 200,000 tons and more ships that could not use the Suez Canal but were suitable to ply on the longer route around the African coast.

The supertanker growth was reflected in the Forbes first list of richest Americans published in 1982, the top spot was occupied by Daniel Keith Ludwig, a shipping magnate and the producer of supertankers.

The above narrative informs us that, like the majority of limited wars, the Yom Kippur war too was not an isolated event. It was very much a part of the larger Cold War politics and also dictated by the needs redefining of the postwar economic and financial order by the United States in the 1970s.

‘You can never, in American public life, underestimate the advantages of complete and total incomprehensibility.’ Kissinger meets Anwar Sadat in 1976. Credit: Wikipedia

Kissinger meets Anwar Sadat in 1976. \Photo: Wikipedia

Currently, when the US is employing a strategy of pressuring China from all quarters, should Modi act like Sadat and become a part of the American grand strategy in the region? Sadat still had the opening of the Suez Canal to gain, India would gain nothing by occupying a few kilometres of land where not even a “single blade of grass grows”.

The current India-China conundrum has to be solved peacefully and diplomatically. Some surgical strikes against China using the “Two-Two” Tibetan fighters may appease America, and allow our political leadership to indulge in some chest-thumping in the midst of chronic economic crisis. But, in the long run, such a policy will be counter-productive. We will only end up spending more on armament without gaining an inch.

Also read: A Few Questions on China That Narendra Modi Cannot Evade

War with China will increase our economic vulnerabilities and make us more dependent on the US both for arms and economic well-being. Let us not forget that one of the outcomes of the 1962 war was the 1966 financial crisis, which eventually led to the devaluation of rupee on June 6, 1966, on the advice and assurances of a loan by the World Bank.

The lesson that India needs to learn from the Six-Day war of 1967 and the 1973 Yom Kippur War is not to give the US an opportunity to manipulate the Indian security establishment’s penchant for surgical solutions to achieve Washington’s strategic goals vis-a-vis China.

Atul Bhardwaj is a former naval officer and currently an honorary research fellow at the Department of International Politics, City, University of London.

Who is Ursula Von Der Leyen, the Surprise Compromise as European Commission President?

German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen has been named as a candidate for the post of EC president.

She was born in a Brussels suburb a little more than 60 years ago. Now the pursuit of her political career could lead her back to the Belgian and European capital. Discussing key job nominations, the EU’s heads of state and government have come up with the name of Germany defence minister Ursula Von der Leyen.

So now the Christian Democrat politician, who was introduced to the Berlin stage by Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2005 – and who was once briefly treated as a potential successor to Merkel – is set to become head of the European Commission. She would be the Commission’s first-ever female chief, although the European Parliament will only take the actual decision in a couple of days.

Who will take over from Jean-Claude Juncker? Photo: Reuters

A good command of languages

Von der Leyen spent the first 13 years of her life in Brussels. Her father, Ernst Albrecht, who would later become state premier in Lower Saxony, was a high-level official at the EEC and EC, the EU’s predecessor institutions. In contrast to many of her colleagues in the government, Von der Leyen speaks English and French fluently and has always acted with self-confidence on the international stage.

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen attends NATO defence ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels. Photo: Reuters

In several governments led by Chancellor Merkel, Leyen held a variety of ministerial posts. Invariably, she would tackle her new task with great dedication, calling existing structures into question and eventually stirring them up. Occasionally, her determination even produced irritation among her parliamentary party colleagues.

Also read: Denmark’s Youngest Prime Minister to Lead New Government

Ministerial posts

Initially, the mother of seven held the post of family minister between 2005 and 2009. With her sometimes unconventional style, she sent clear signals to the political establishment in Berlin. For example, she initiated a parental assistance program (“Elterngeld”) and oversaw a nationwide expansion of childcare by providing substantial financial support from the German government.

In 2009, then serving in Merkel’s second Cabinet, Von der Leyen, a trained physician, became health minister. Four years later, in December 2013, she switched to the Ministry of Defense. She remained in charge of the latter ministry even after the complicated government formation process in the wake of the 2017 federal elections. Hardly any of her seventeen predecessors, all of them men, managed to hold on to the post for six years.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks with defence minister Ursula von der Leyen (R) during a session of the Bundestag. Photo: Reuters

Prior to taking over at defence ministry (long considered a graveyard for promising German political careers), the ambitious Von der Leyen had a nearly flawless career. She has mostly been loyal to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who counts on her as a solid pillar in her Cabinet.

Mover and shaker

As defence minister, Von der Leyen quickly tackled the armed forces’ problems one by one. The Bundeswehr was and still is afflicted by outdated and defective equipment, ill-conceived arms projects and a severe shortage of experts. By applying a lot of political pressure and by speaking out in public on behalf of the Bundeswehr she achieved an increase in the defence budget – albeit still well short of NATO’s spending targets. And under the catchphrase “personnel turnaround,” the first female German defence minister stopped the downsizing of the armed forces, bolstering troop numbers for the first time since the end of the Cold War.

Also read: Spain Joins France and Germany to Build a Next-Generation Fighter Jet

She scrapped Germany’s fixed cap of 185,000 troops. Under Von der Leyen’s tenure, defence policy became a recognisable element of Germany’s foreign policy. This was also in line with international efforts to fight the “Islamic State” terror militia, which has seen contributions by the German armed forces in several spheres.

German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen walks past a German Bundeswehr armed forces. Photo: Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch

“We’d left behind a period during which the Bundeswehr had been downsized for a long time,” Leyen said in 2017. “The security situation has changed to the effect that the Bundeswehr has to deal with a vast number of challenges, ranging from Syria and Iraq to Mali and the entire mission in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, the troops have to cope with refugee relief and protection of the eastern border. At the same time, the Bundeswehr and I managed, in a concerted effort, to ‘turn the tanker around,’ as it were – there were turnarounds in the areas of equipment, personnel, and finances.”

Also read: As the Far-Right Culture War Escalates in Germany, Concerns Grow

Asked by DW whether Von der Leyen was a good choice to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the EU Commission, Greens defense expert Omid Nouripour quipped about the many recent Bundeswehr failings making headlines in Germany: “The situation with respect to the equipment of the German armed forces is not a necessary qualification for the top EU executive job.”

Slip-ups and scandals

Von der Leyen’s reputation as the woman who gets things done has suffered in recent years. This is due to several personnel decisions, but also a number of scandals. During her tenure, too, major arms projects were delayed, and simultaneously right-wing extremist activities in the armed forces and humiliating practices affecting new recruits came to light. Von der Leyen explicitly distanced herself from the armed forces – more so than her predecessors might have dared.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and French President Francois Hollande pose for pictures in front of the tall ship Gorch Fock. Photo: Reuters/Thomas Peter

Claiming that the Bundeswehr was affected by an “attitude problem” hurt her image among the troops. More recently, she was floundering over the question whether the naval training ship “Gorch Fock” still has a future despite skyrocketing cost overruns in restoration work. And gradually it has been coming to light that a deputy minister employed by Von der Leyen took many liberties, for example hiring a small army of expensive advisers at her own discretion. An investigative committee in Germany’s Bundestag parliament is currently dealing with the case, and Von der Leyen is set to take the witness stand in a few months.

Supports European military cooperation, and more defence spending

Blemishes like these had taken some of the shine off Von der Leyen’s once-impeccable reputation in Berlin in recent months and years. And still, longtime observers maintain that her prospects for a Brussels top job are good. In addition to local knowledge and language skills, she contributed to establishing the structure of the EU defence union. “A European army as a long-term goal and NATO are not opposites but, to me, two sides of the same coin, because it’s important that the Europeans make up a strong pillar within NATO, not just in order to uphold NATO’s credibility but also to have a strong European voice,” she said. In response to US President Donald Trump’s call for a greater military commitment of Germany and Europe, she said: “In my opinion, that’s a fair demand.”

German Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen (L) and German Chancellor and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Photo: Reuters

Also read: Council of Europe Restores Russia’s Voting Rights

Von der Leyen has shown ambition for even higher office in the past. When it fell to the CDU to name a possible presidential successor after the sudden resignation of Horst Köhler in 2010, she temporarily put her name forward. Now, her career could lead her away from German politics and back to her birthplace.

This article was originally published on DW.

Italy Clamps Down on NGOs Who Rescue Migrants From Sea

In an effort spearheaded by right-wing interior minister Matteo Salvini, the Italian government adopted a decree that would fine NGO’s who transport rescued migrants to Italian ports between €10,000 and €50,000.

A decree adopted by the Italian government on Tuesday would force non-governmental organizations to pay between €10,000 and €50,000 ($11,327 – $56,638) for transporting rescued migrants to Italian ports.

Rescuers who repeatedly dock without authorization risk having their vessel permanently impounded. The fines would be payable by the captain, the operator and the owner of the rescue ship.

The Italian government is composed of the left-wing populist 5-Star Movement and right-wing populist League Party. The League leader Matteo Salvini, who also serves as the interior minister, has been spearheading an effort to clamp down on illegal immigration.

Delayed decree

The adoption of the decree has been delayed due to criticism from the United Nations and the office of the Italian president. Following the cabinet session on Tuesday, however, Salvini praised it as a “step forward the security of this country.” The populist leader also said he was “absolutely sure about the fact that it is compliant” with all national and international laws.

The decree allows police to investigate possible migrant trafficking operations by going undercover. It also makes it easier to eavesdrop electronically on suspected people smugglers. Other sections of the decree impose stricter punishments on rioters and violent football fans.

Additionally, the decree gives Salvini’s ministry the power to order the NGOs to pay the fines, which was previously the area of the transport and infrastructure ministries.

Salvini has pushed through several anti-migrant decrees since becoming interior minister a year ago, including one in December which ended humanitarian protection for migrants who do not qualify for refugee status. Earlier this week, Salvini blasted three judges who opposed his hardline policies.

Risking life at sea

Since 2014, more than 600,000 people have made the dangerous journey across the central Mediterranean to reach Italy, fleeing war and poverty in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. More than 14,000 have been recorded killed or missing attempting the trip.

Also Read: If You Push for Regime Change, You Get the Refugees Too

Without a legal way to reach Europe, they pay people smugglers for passage in unseaworthy boats. The UNHCR and IOM recently said that 1,940 people have reached Italy from North Africa since the beginning of 2019, and almost 350 have died en route – putting the death rate for those crossing at more than 15%. The number of new arrivals has dropped off in recent years, but Rome is still faced with hundreds of thousands of people who migrated illegally. Pending asylum claims as of May 31 this year were 135,337.

With official search-and-rescue missions cancelled, the burden of assisting the shipwrecked migrants falls on rescue NGOs. The Italian coastguard estimates NGOs had brought in some 30,000 people per year since 2014.

This article was originally published on DW.

Over 700 Migrants Rescued From the Mediterranean

The migrants were found off the coast of Libya in wooden and rubber boats and were rescued by Spanish and Italian ships.

Migrants wait to be rescued by “Save the Children” NGO crew from the ship Vos Hestia in the Mediterranean sea off Libya’s coast, June 17, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Stefano Rellandini

Madrid/Milan: Humanitarian ships picked up about 730 migrants on Sunday from rubber and wooden boats in the Mediterranean, adding to a lengthening list of rescue operations in recent days.

The migrants were picked up in seven separate rescue operations aboard three dinghies and four wooden craft, Italy’s coastguard said on Sunday.

Save the Children SAR team leader Gillian Moyes, onboard the rescue vessel Vos Hestia, said the past few days had been extremely busy, following a pattern seen in recent weeks.

“We are seeing increasing numbers of people, large scale rescues with multiple boats,” she said.

She added there was insufficient capacity in search and rescues to deal with the situation unfolding in the Mediterranean.

On Saturday, hundreds of migrants, some drifting in rubber dinghies off the coast of Libya, were picked up by Spanish and Italian ships.

A Spanish navy ship was dispatched to help two migrant boats struggling to stay afloat near Libya on Saturday afternoon, and at sundown it found three other rubber dinghies transporting migrants in the area, Spain’s defence ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

In total 526 people, including eight pregnant women and nine children, were picked up in that rescue, aided by a ship belonging to a non-governmental organisation, the ministry said. The migrants were headed to an Italian port, it added.

Around 800 migrants were rescued from rubber boats in six operations in the Mediterranean on Saturday, the Italian coastguard said.

Libya’s coastguard had already intercepted 906 migrants on board damaged wooden and rubber boats on Friday, and earlier in the week humanitarian rescue ships picked up more than 1,000 migrants off Libya’s shores.

The sea crossing between Libya and Italy has been attempted by an increasing number of migrants trying to reach Europe this year.

Arrivals of migrants to Italy are up almost 18% on the same period last year at more than 65,000, Italy’s interior ministry said last week.

Investigators Says Traces of Explosives Found in Egyptair Crash

France’s foreign ministry said the causes were still being investigated and appeared to hint that it had been kept at arm’s length.

Relatives of the Christian victims of the crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 attend an absentee funeral mass at the main Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, May 22, 2016. Credit:Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Cairo/Paris: Egyptian investigators said on Thursday traces of explosives had been found on the remains of victims of an Egyptair flight that crashed en route from Paris to Cairo, but French officials warned against drawing conclusions on the cause of the crash.

Flight MS 804 plunged into one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean Sea on May 19, killing all 66 people on board.

Egypt’s investigation committee issued a statement saying the coroner had found traces of explosives on the remains of some victims. It gave no more details but said its findings were sent to prosecutors investigating foul play.

“The technical investigation committee places itself and its expertise at the disposal of prosecutors,” it said.

A judicial source said the prosecution had not received details about the explosives traces but would include the coroner’s findings in its inquiries.

An Egyptian source familiar with the matter said Egypt had informed France months ago about its findings but French investigators had requested more time to study them.

“That is why it took so long to make an announcement,” the source said, declining to be named as the investigation is continuing.

Paris newspaper Le Figaro reported in September that French investigators had seen traces of TNT on the plane’s debris but were prevented from further examining it. Egyptian officials denied at the time obstructing French inquiries.

France has hinted at its frustration at the pace of the investigation but has stopped short of openly criticising Cairo, with which it enjoys broadly positive relations and which has ordered French Rafale fighter jets.

Smoke

France’s foreign ministry said the causes were still being investigated and appeared to hint that it had been kept at arm’s length.

“France, like it has been from the beginning of this tragic accident, remains at the disposal of the relevant Egyptian authorities to contribute to this investigation, including with the means of its experts,” it said.

In a rare statement on an ongoing foreign investigation, France’s BEA air crash investigation agency said on Thursday no conclusions could be drawn on what might have caused the crash.

“In the absence of detailed information on the conditions and ways in which samples were taken leading to the detection of traces of explosives, the BEA considers that it is not possible at this stage to draw conclusions on the origin of the accident,” a spokeswoman said.

The BEA is accredited to the Egyptian-led investigation because the Airbus aircraft was designed and built in France.

Two Western sources briefed on the investigation expressed reservations about the explosives findings and said a technical cause remained the most likely. The pattern of wreckage also suggested the plane hit the sea intact at high speed, they said.

One of the sources said the traces of explosives reportedly found appeared to be identical to samples previously held in stock, whereas there would usually be tiny forensic differences. Neither source agreed to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Airbus declined comment.

Audio from the flight recorder mentions a fire on board the plane in its final moments and analysis of the flight data recorder showed smoke in the lavatory and avionics bay.

The Paris prosecutor’s office opened a manslaughter investigation in June but said it was not looking into terrorism as a possible cause at that stage.

No group has claimed responsibility for the crash.

In October 2015, a bomb brought down a Metro jet plane carrying Russian holidaymakers home from the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board.

ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it smuggled aboard explosives in a soft drink can.

(Reuters)

Tolerance and Humanitarianism Will Not Solve Europe’s ‘Migration Crisis’

To tackle the migration crisis, it may be necessary to look at the rights of a migrant instead of just ‘tolerating them’, and even rethink mobility as a human right.

To tackle the migration crisis, it may be necessary to look at the rights of a migrant instead of just ‘tolerating them’ and even rethink mobility as a human right.

A sign that gives the population of “The Jungle” at the end of the first day of the evacuation and transfer to reception centers of migrants living in tents and makeshift shelters in Calais. Credit: Pascal Rossignol/Free Art Licence

Writer and social critic James Baldwin said that America did not so much have a “negro problem” but a “white problem”. In this vein, it seems that Europe is not so much experiencing a “migration crisis”, but a “European crisis”. The continent is failing those people seeking safety and a future in what they have been told is a land where human rights are respected.

The UN has said that 2016 is on track to become the deadliest year ever for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, as previous routes close and smugglers choose new, riskier passages across the sea to Europe.

Meanwhile in Calais, the “Jungle” migrant camp is being dismantled by French authorities. Its inhabitants, most of whom are desperate to reach the UK, are being transported to different locations around France.

Across Europe, migrants and refugees are increasingly faced with detention of dubious legality and temporal uncertainty in “hot spots” and reception centres, or in makeshift camps where they face routine police violence, while they try to prove their refugee status.

Failing European democracies

In Europe, would-be refugees do not benefit from the principle of presumed innocence until proven guilty. Instead, they are considered undesirables who must prove their worthiness as genuine, deserving refugees.

This can be seen in the attitudes expressed in certain British newspapers, where questions have been raised about the age of child refugees being relocated from Calais to the UK. British politician David Davies has even suggested dental checks to prove the age, and hence, the worthiness of these refugees.

Across the continent, not only do refugees have to display a well-founded fear of persecution in their home countries, but they also have to dispel fears that they pose a security threat in their new host countries. This is particularly the case for Muslims. Instead of being given an example of democracy in practice, too many migrants find that Europe is abandoning its own inspirational ethos.

Despite declarations and initiatives from the European Commission and its member states about the humanitarian imperative to save more lives at sea, quite the opposite is happening. Till October of this year, 3,649 people had died in the Mediterranean sea. These deaths cannot be simply read as unfortunate accidents nor should they simply be attributed to unscrupulous smugglers. They are also the consequence of European migration and border polices.

Sometimes this takes a direct form, as when European border guards use firearms to “fight the smugglers” but actually injure or kill refugees in the process of stopping the boats. News website The Intercept has reported on the shooting of boats as “standard rules of engagement for stopping boats at sea”.

At other times it takes less direct forms, for instance through so-called “push backs” – when border guards enforce collective expulsions of migrants and refugees from European areas of jurisdiction in order to evade asylum responsibilities.

The urgency of an ethical and legal response

This is what I mean when I say Europe is in crisis, as it grapples with a political climate characterised by the mainstreaming of authoritarianism, populist movements hostile to migrants and anti-Muslim racism. This political climate is all too often unchallenged by any alternative vision.

In France, anti-migrant protests emerged in various villages, encouraged or organised the National Front. Credit: Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

At best, we hear calls for a need to protect the most vulnerable, or the Christians, or to promote tolerance. But if we fall prey to such divisive reasoning, we will stop thinking in terms of rights and social justice.

Humanitarianism operates through notions of generosity and compassion, as it divides groups into hierarchies of deservedness in terms of perceived vulnerability. It lends itself to limited forms of protection – women and children first – and abrogates Europe of its legal obligations and the entitlement of all refugees to protection and dignified treatment.

Similarly, calls for “tolerance” are about as unsatisfactory as calls to only resettle Christian refugees. If we are striving for tolerance of a group of people, it is rather unlikely that we will think of them in positive terms, let alone as equals.

If we want to tackle the current crisis and restore the values Europe aspires to, we need to start thinking about migrants in terms of their rights rather than our generosity. We need think in terms of respect rather than tolerance.

Such a democratisation of the European border would require radically rethinking mobility as a human right, a proposition long called for by scholars. At its heart, this would require undermining the very existence of the classification of “migrant”.

Shoshana Fine is a Research Associate at CERI Sciences Po, Sciences Po – USPC.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Migrant Shipwreck off Egypt: Death Toll Rises to 202

Regional governor Mohamed Sultan said the number of bodies recovered was “almost final” but rescue workers were still looking for human remains at sea.

People gather around a man as he reacts after seeing the body of a victim, after a boat carrying migrants capsized off Egypt’s coast, in Al-Beheira, Egypt, September 22, 2016. Credit: Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Cairo: Egyptian authorities recovered thirty-three bodies on Tuesday as a wreck of boat that sank off Egypt last week with hundreds of migrants aboard was lifted from the depths, raising the confirmed death toll to 202, a local official said.

The boat capsized off the Mediterranean coast on September 21. Rescue workers and fishermen said they had rescued at least 169 people, but uncertainty remains over how many might still be missing.

Regional governor Mohamed Sultan said the number of bodies recovered was “almost final” but rescue workers were still looking for human remains at sea.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday it believed at least 450 people were aboard the vessel and that about 300 perished in all.

“It is one of the worst tragedies of this year, but not the worst,” IOM spokesman Joel Millman told a briefing in Geneva.

“We are concerned about what this says for the rest of the season as the weather turns cold and seas get more difficult.”

Egyptian security sources initially said there had been almost 600 migrants aboard.

Officials said the boat was carrying Egyptian, Sudanese, Eritrean and Somali migrants and that they believed it was heading for Italy. They arrested four members of the crew.

More and more migrants have been trying to cross to Italy from the African coast over the summer months, particularly from Libya, where people-traffickers operate with relative impunity. But boats have increasingly departed from Egypt of late as Libya has slipped deeper into lawlessness.

The IOM says that more than 3,200 migrants have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean this year, while more than 300,000 have reached European shores. More than 1 million Middle Eastern, African and Asian migrants entered Europe in 2015.

The IOM said the number of migrants to arrive in Europe this year likely would not reach last year’s level though the number of fatalities was virtually certain to exceed the 2015 total.

At Least 43 Killed After Boat Carrying 600 Migrants Sinks Off Egypt Coast

The boat carrying Egyptian, Sudanese, Eritrean and Somali migrants sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Burg Rashid, a village in the Beheira.

Rescued migrants from a boat that capsized in the Mediterranean Sea are pictured in Al-Beheira, Egypt, September 21, 2016. Credit: Reuters/Stringer

Burg Rashid, Egypt: A boat carrying almost 600 people capsized off Egypt‘s coast on Wednesday, killing at least 43, in the latest disaster among migrants trying to reach Europe.

The boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Burg Rashid, a village in the northern Beheira province. Officials said 31 bodies had been found, 20 men, ten women and one child. A Reuters correspondent later saw a fishing boat bring in 12 more bodies, bringing the total so far to 43.

Rescue workers have so far saved 154 people, officials said, meaning about 400 could still be missing.

“Initial information indicates that the boat sank because it was carrying more people than its limit. The boat tilted and the migrants fell into the water,” a senior security official in Beheira told Reuters.

The boat had been carrying Egyptian, Sudanese, Eritrean and Somali migrants, officials said.

At a coastguard checkpoint in Burg Rashid, where the Mediterranean meets the Nile, dozens gathered, anxiously waiting for news of missing relatives.

“I am not going to leave until I see Mohamed,” Ratiba Ghonim wailed. Her 16-year-old brother had left an impoverished village nearby in search of a better life.

“It is his destiny to leave yesterday and come back dead today. They still haven’t pulled his body out of the water.”

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said all resources possible would be directed into the rescue mission and that those responsible had to be brought to justice.

It was not immediately clear where the boat had been heading. Officials said they believed it was going to Italy.

“More will sail tonight”

More and more people have been trying to cross to Italy from the African coast over the summer months, particularly from Libya, where people-traffickers operate with relative impunity, but also from Egypt.

Some 320 migrants and refugees drowned off the Greek island of Crete in June. Migrants who survived told authorities their boat had set sail from Egypt.

Some 206,400 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

More than 2,800 deaths were recorded between January and June, compared with 1,838 during the same period last year.

World leaders, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, gathered in New York this week at the UN General Assembly to discuss the migrant crisis.

Some 1.3 million migrants reached Europe’s shores last year fleeing war and economic hardship, prompting bitter rows among states over how to share responsibility.

If they survive the perilous maritime journey, migrants this year face stronger EU border controls.

Mohamed Nasrawy, an Egyptian fisherman, said he knew seven people on the shipwrecked vessel, two of whom were still missing.

He made an abortive effort to travel to Greece a year ago.

“Look how this incident has shocked people, but tonight more people are going to set sail,” he told Reuters.

“The poverty that they are living in is what is pushing them. Although we are not Europeans, they take good care of people, while our country doesn’t.”

(Reuters)

Rescuers Recover 17 Bodies Off the Coast of Libya

The number of migrants put on overcrowded boats in Libya has seen a jump this week amid calm seas and hot summer weather.

Members of the Italian navy hold a child after disembarking from the Italian Navy ship Borsini in the Sicilian harbour of Palermo, southern Italy, 20 July, 2016. Credit: Reuters/ Guglielmo Mangiapane

Rome: An Irish navy ship recovered 17 dead bodies on Thursday when it went to the aid of migrants packed onto a wooden boat off the coast of Libya, Italy’s coastguard said, marking another deadly day of attempted sea crossings.

The LE James Joyce, which is in the Mediterranean specifically to perform search-and-rescue operations, brought on board the bodies of 16 men and one boy, a coastguard spokesman said. He could provide no further details about the cause of death or the nationalities of the dead.

On July 20, 22 bodies were recovered from a rubber boat off the Libyan coast and some 3,000 are dead or missing after trying to reach the EU by sea so far this year, the International Organisation for Migration estimates.

The LE James Joyce, an Italian navy vessel, a British ship participating in an EU anti-people smuggling operation, and a vessel operated by a humanitarian group also brought 1,128 migrants to safety on Thursday, the coastguard said.

There has been a jump in the number of migrants who people smugglers have put onto overcrowded boats in Libya this week amid calm seas and hot summer weather.

On July 19 alone, some 3,200 migrants were rescued at sea and one dead body was recovered.

With Europe’s migrant crisis in its third year, the Mediterranean has become the world’s most dangerous border for migrants.

More than 84,000 have crossed the sea from North Africa to Italy so far this year, in line with the number who came over during the same period last year, according to official data.

That brings the total number of migrants to have reached Italy by sea to more than 400,000 since the beginning of 2014.