Libya: situation of migrants and rescue operations up for discussion - Main contents
The situation of migrants in Libya and the conditions under which the Libyan coast guard is conducting rescue operations will be up for debate in the EP on Tuesday.
Civil Liberties Committee MEPs will try to get clarification from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the newly created Search and Rescue Observatory for the Mediterranean (SAROBMED) about Libya being assigned a Search and Rescue area in the Mediterranean. Being in charge of managing a SAR area implies that vessels carrying migrants and refugees can be ordered to disembark in Libya.
Representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will also update the committee on the situation of migrants and asylum seekers stranded in Libya, particularly in detention centres, and on the progress of the programme for Voluntary Humanitarian Return to countries of origin, managed by this UN agency.
Regional disembarkation platforms and controlled centres
Finally, the EP Legal Service will present the MEPs with their views on the lawfulness of the “regional disembarkation platforms” and “controlled centres” proposed by the European Council last June as a means to improve the processing of migrants and refugee flows into the EU.
When: Tuesday, 27 November, from 11.45 to 13.00
Where: European Parliament in Brussels, József Antall (4Q2)