Migrants and the Mediterranean, next stop: Italy – UN expert continues study on EU external borders

 

 

Migrants and the Mediterranean, next stop: Italy – UN expert continues study on EU external borders

 

GENEVA, Switzerland, September 26, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, will visit Italy from 30 September to 8 October as part of his yearlong study on the management of the external borders of the European Union, which has already taken him to key EU border countries including Tunisia and Turkey earlier this year.

 

“Given its strategic position in the Mediterranean, with its long coastline, and proximity to North Africa, Italy has become a key point of entry for many migrants seeking to reach Europe,” Mr. Crépeau said.

 

During his nine-day mission to Italy, the human rights expert will meet with a range of government officials responsible for border control and migration, international organisations, migrants organisations, and migrants themselves, to discuss the complex management of the Italian border. The UN Human Rights Council’s envoy will also visit a number of migrant detention centers.

 

Mr. Crépeau’s visit to Italy is the fourth stage in his study on the management of the EU external borders. He visited Brussels in May, and Tunisia and Turkey earlier in in June. Later in the year in November he will also visit Greece.

 

At the end of the mission, the UN Special Rapporteur will share his preliminary conclusions at a press conference on 8 October 2012 at 15h30, at the

Italian Society For International Organization, Piazza di San Marco, 51

00186 Roma.

 

The study, launched by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, will result in a special thematic report which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2013.

 

SOURCE 

United Nations – Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)