UNHCR 'concerned' at fate of Somali migrants returned to Libya, questions AFM's 'voluntary repatriation' version

In a statement, the UNHCR said that it has not received detailed information about the rescue operation and it is not clear why the people on the dinghy were divided into two groups. It has been reported that the 27 people remaining on the dinghy ‘volunteered’ to board the Libyan vessel.

"To UNHCR it seems highly unlikely that people who have taken great risks to leave would choose to board a ship if they were aware that it would be returning them to Libya. "

The statement added that the UNHCR is concerned about the fate of the individuals who were returned, apparently all of them from Somalia. Libya is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and it does not have a national asylum system in place. UNHCR was recently asked to cease activities in the country, and although discussions are underway to agree on future operational arrangements in Libya, at this point there are limited possibilities for the office to intervene on behalf of individuals who may be in need of protection.

The Maltese government and the Armed Forces of Malta [deleted - see note below] said the remaining 27 migrants from a group of 55 Somali men and women rescued from a sinking dinghy 44 miles south of Malta, 'voluntarily' opted to return to Libya aboard a Libyan flagged patrol boat.

This declaration in writing from the AFM has opened the doors for international scrutiny as humanitarian organisations are now questioning the credibility of the Maltese navy over such a claim.

MaltaToday has managed to speak to two of the migrants that were brought to Malta and are being held in detention. The two - both Somali nationals - claimed that they never knew the rest of their friends were taken back to Libya.

In broken English, the migrants explained that when the patrol craft came to their rescue, they were led to believe there was not enough space for everyone on the Maltese boat and the others were told to jump onto the other.

"They spoke Italian, and we believed they were going to Italy," one said, expressing shock at the news that the rest of their friends were taken back to Libya.

MaltaToday is reliably informed that the Libyan flagged vessel that took aboard the 27 men and women back to Tripoli was in fact a former Italian 'Guardia di Finanza;' patrol craft, recently donated by the Italian government to the Libyan government. 

Moreover, reliable sources have informed MaltaToday that the crew on board were reportedly 'Italian speaking' as part of the same agreement reached last year between Italy and Libya.

Questions are now being raised as to the possibility that the migrants were 'tricked' into believing that they were to be taken to Italy, and stripped of their fundamental right to seek asylum in Europe.

Never has it been that migrants departing from Libya 'volontarily' accept to be taken back to Tripoli.

Until last week, international reports spoke of brutality and inhumane treatment of migrants that were returned to Libya from Italy. Humanitarian organisations denounced the appalling conditions the migrants are kept in. Underground cells, dirty, no food, water, and repeated beatings by the detention guards, while women are subjected to rape. The Libyan government denied the reports.

The joint rescue operation however raises further questions on whether the Maltese governenment has reached some kind of 'ad hoc' agreement with Libya over the repatriation of migrants. Never before has a Libyan patrol craft responded to an AFM distress call, while in this case - the first time ever - the Libyan flagged patrol craft came as close as 44 miles south of Malta for its rendez-vous with the AFM patrol boat.

This development comes a few weeks after Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi travelled to Libya with Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi to meet with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, while last week, Gonzi held official talks in Rome with Berlusconi. The meeting, that focused mainly on illegal immigration, included the participation of Malta and Italy's defense, foreign affairs and home affairs ministers.

Investigations by humanitarian agencies, including UNHCR and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) have so far reaped no conclusions, and questions are being raised as to the credibility of such a statement by the AFM.

Migrants that depart from Libya pay thousands of dollars, risk their lives and are fearful of the Libyan police who until last week were in the news over serious allegations of inhumane treatment of migrants returned to Tripoli from Italy.

The AFM has not returned any replies to MaltaToday as to who within the AFM or on board the patrol craft that intercepted the migrants, assumed the responsibility of screening the migrants while 'sorting' them at sea on their eligibility for asylum in the EU.

Editorial note:

The Armed Forces of Malta have pointed out there no was 'period of silence' on the issue: a press release on the rescue mission was sent on Sunday morning. The AFM reiterated the following in a right of reply: "Further to the press release issued last Sunday, it is pertinent to point out that in total, 22 men, five women (three claimed to be pregnant, another stated that she was unwell and the fifth said she was the child's mother) and a child who required medical attention, embarked upon the P-52 from the migrants' dinghy. The remaining 27 migrants voluntarily embarked onboard the Libyan vessel. The nationality of the migrants will be established through the normal procedures."