International Help Urgently Needed for Sub-Saharan Migrants Abandoned in the Desert
TRIPOLI: An Arab rights group called Monday for international help for 360 sub-Saharan migrants who Libyan authorities say were rescued after having been abandoned in the desert by Tunisian police on the border with Libya.
The Cairo-based Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) said it welcomed Libya’s reception of the migrants who had “experienced difficult humanitarian conditions” before being picked up by Libyan border guards.
Urgent Humanitarian and Medical Aid Required
“According to Libyan border guards, 360 migrants including women and children need urgent humanitarian and medical aid,” the AOHR’s Libya chapter said, urging Libyan authorities to “authorize the concerned organizations — the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration — to meet them and help with legal procedures.”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya said on Monday it had provided “emergency humanitarian assistance to migrants rescued at the border with Tunisia.” It said “191 migrants were provided with hygiene kits, clothes, mattresses & screened for medical, protection and psychosocial assistance.”
Abandoned in the Desert
Libya’s interior ministry said on Monday it had “documented the expulsions by the Tunisian authorities toward the Libyan border” and posted a video on Facebook showing migrants telling their stories.
On Sunday, Libyan border patrols rescued dozens of migrants who had been abandoned in the desert without water, food, or shelter near the border with Tunisia, AFP journalists said.
The migrants, whom the border guards said had been abandoned by Tunisian police, were found in an uninhabited area near Al-Assah 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of Tripoli and around 15 kilometers inside Libyan territory.
Dire Situation for Migrants
An AFP team at the border saw the visibly exhausted and dehydrated migrants sitting or lying on the sand and using shrubs to try to shield themselves from scorching summer heat that topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries were forcibly taken to desert and hostile areas bordering Libya and Algeria after racial unrest in early July in Sfax, Tunisia’s second-largest city.
The trouble flared after the July 3 killing of a Tunisian man in an altercation between locals and migrants.
The port of Sfax is a departure point for many migrants from impoverished and violence-torn countries seeking a better life in Europe by making a perilous Mediterranean crossing.
Efforts to Provide Shelter
The Tunisian Red Crescent said it has provided shelter to at least 630 migrants who had been taken after July 3 to the militarized border zone of Ras Jedir, north of Al-Assah, on the Mediterranean coast.
Tunisia and the European Union signed a memorandum of understanding for a “strategic and comprehensive partnership” that includes financial assistance of 10 million euros (about $11 million) to help deal with irregular migration.
Concerns Over Human Rights Abuses
Amnesty International’s Eve Geddie called it an “ill-judged agreement, signed despite mounting evidence of serious human rights abuses by authorities” in Tunisia.
The agreement “will result in a dangerous expansion of already failed migration policies and signals EU acceptance of increasingly repressive behavior by Tunisia’s president and government,” added Geddie, the rights group’s advocacy director in Brussels.
“This makes the European Union complicit in the suffering that will inevitably result,” she said.
International Assistance Needed
The situation faced by the sub-Saharan migrants abandoned in the desert is dire, and urgent international assistance is required to address their humanitarian and medical needs. The Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) has called for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration to intervene and provide legal support.
Libya’s interior ministry has documented the expulsions by Tunisian authorities and shared videos on social media platforms, highlighting the plight of these migrants. Libyan border patrols have rescued dozens of migrants who were left without basic necessities such as water, food, and shelter. The migrants, abandoned by Tunisian police, were found in an uninhabited area near Al-Assah, suffering from exhaustion and dehydration.
The situation arose after racial unrest in Sfax, Tunisia, which led to the forcible relocation of hundreds of migrants to desert areas bordering Libya and Algeria. The port of Sfax is a common departure point for migrants seeking a better life in Europe through the perilous Mediterranean crossing.
Efforts have been made by the Tunisian Red Crescent to provide shelter to some of the migrants in the militarized border zone of Ras Jedir. However, the scale of the problem requires international assistance to ensure the well-being and safety of these individuals.
While Tunisia and the European Union have signed a memorandum of understanding to address irregular migration, concerns have been raised by Amnesty International regarding human rights abuses. The agreement, according to Amnesty International’s Eve Geddie, may lead to an expansion of failed migration policies and acceptance of repressive behavior by Tunisia’s government.
In conclusion, urgent action is needed to provide humanitarian aid and medical assistance to the sub-Saharan migrants abandoned in the desert. The international community must come together to address this crisis and ensure the protection of human rights for all individuals involved.