Red Crescent workers inspect a body washed ashore east of Tripoli,Libya, October,2015. IOM said more than 2,600 migrants had died on central Mediterranean route by then that year.Mohamed Ben Khalifa /Press Association. All rights reserved.Recent survey findings
from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reinforce what numerous
studies and media reports suggested over the past years: most migrants taking the
central Mediterranean route into Europe are vulnerable to extreme exploitation.
The survey conducted with migrants and refugees
who arrive in Italy monitors the experiences that indicate the presence of human
trafficking and other exploitative practices, finding
that 76% of respondents have answered positively to at least one indicator (out
of five indicators for individual experiences). More than half of the migrants
and refugees interviewed (54%) responded positively to at least 2 out of 5
indicators of human trafficking and exploitative practices. The survey was
based on a sample of 1,346 migrants and refugees.
Reports about
the suffering of people coming to Europe on this migration route are nothing
new. The unsafe passage through Libya to Italy, for sub-Saharans migrants in
particular, is also well-known. Data collected from smaller samples show slavery-like
experiences reported by migrants. MHub, the inter-agency public platform, found
that 90% of migrants that arrived in Italy on this route have experienced
between three and nine different kinds of abuses on their journey. The MHub
survey consists of a small sample of 122 migrants. A recent photo essay
from Oxfam describes the challenges for migrants, and individual stories refer
to insecurities and vulnerabilities experienced both on their way to Italy and
after arrival.
This IOM survey
is one of the few quantitative studies that is rigorous enough to show that a
very large proportion of migrants arriving in Italy have already been affected
by what could amount to exploitation and even human trafficking. Rigorous
because it is based on a relatively large sample of migrants passing through
arrival hotspots in Sicily. The survey shows a high percentage of migrants who
indicated that they suffered from experiences that can be placed on the whole
spectrum of exploitation: from forced labour (47%) to being held against
one’s will (over 50%), the latter including instances of kidnapping and
detention by other entities than the state authorities. Torture was also
reported. Most of the experiences mentioned happened in Libya, a country
affected by instability that does not offer any guarantees of human rights
protection.
The central Mediterranean is one of the most
dangerous migration routes in the world – if not the most dangerous. Despite the
world’s media focus on the eastern Mediterranean route in the past year due to
the high number of arrivals, the central Mediterranean remains the deadliest
route into Europe. Only in 2016, there have been 2,717 deaths up until August 12, in the attempt to cross the sea towards Italy; the number
of fatalities is about seven times higher than in the eastern Mediterranean.
Those who make it
to Europe are almost all clearly very vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and
human trafficking on this route. Furthermore, migrants remain vulnerable after
they arrive in Europe. For example, it
is estimated that about 80% of the Nigerian women who arrive in Italy are
trafficked. They are directly taken by traffickers from Italian reception
centers where migrants arriving on the boats are placed, and then forced into
prostitution. In 2006, L’Espresso investigated
and reported the abuses of migrants working in agriculture in the south of
Italy. Ten years later, investigations of other journalists reveal that the
abuses of migrants continue, in the same
regions and industries.
No easy answers
There is no easy
answer to changing the current circumstances of migrants taking the central
Mediterranean route. Poverty and insecurity in most of the countries of origin
remain important push factors. Therefore, more investment in coherent
development policies in countries of origin, with options for employment and
education, or legal migration in other, safer countries in Africa, Europe and
beyond are parts of the solution.
On the rest of
the migration route, a human rights-based approach can improve the protection
of migrants. A common approach of
origin, transit and destination countries in relation to the management of
migration on this route would be ideal. The challenge is, however, that
the migration journey on the central Mediterranean route is long, and takes
migrants through many transit countries which have different capacities to
respond to the challenges implicit in complex migrant flows. Undoubtedly, there
is a need for investing in an increased capacity for organisations that
undertake protection and information activities on the migration route – from
Niger to Libya and Italy. For example,
increased capacity of countries in the region for search and rescue operations
for protection at sea need the support of the international community.
In particular,
there is a need for more support, protection and options for migrants that
choose Libya as a country of transit or destination. The safety and security
concerns of migrants who get to Libya effectively push them towards Italy. New
Mhub research
shows that 80% of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who arrive in Italy
after taking the central Mediterranean route had not planned to go to Italy.
However, humanitarian repatriation of vulnerable migrants from Libya, while
necessary, is not enough. Voluntary return programs can play an important role
in the protection of migrants that wish to return to their country of origin.
Moreover, a legal option to move to neighboring countries would help alleviate
the suffering of those trapped in a long, insecure and exploitative transit
stage.