Current:Home > StocksUNHCR to monitor implementation of Italy-Albania accord to ensure migrants’ asylum rights respected -AdvancementTrade
UNHCR to monitor implementation of Italy-Albania accord to ensure migrants’ asylum rights respected
View
Date:2025-04-15 18:37:06
ROME (AP) — The U.N. refugee agency, which has expressed serious concerns about Italy’s deal to process some migrants’ asylum requests at holding centers in Albania, has agreed to monitor the first three months of the agreement.
UNHCR recalled that it wasn’t a party to the Italy-Albania deal, had maintained reservations about it and requested clarification about how it would be implemented. But the agency said in a statement on Wednesday that it had agreed to monitor its execution to help “safeguard the rights and dignity of those subject to it.”
The agency said that it would counsel migrants about their right to seek asylum and ensure that the procedures used are “consistent with relevant international and regional human rights standards, are fair, and promote protection and solutions for those in need of international protection.”
The contentious five-year deal, inked last year, calls for Albania to house up to 3,000 male migrants at a time who have been rescued in international waters while Italy fast-tracks their asylum claims. It was supposed to have become operational this month, but construction delays at the two new detention centers in Albania put off the start date.
Italy’s right-wing government has held up the agreement as an important example of burden-sharing of Europe’s migrant responsibilities, while also serving as a deterrent to would-be refugees. The European Commission, which has long struggled with Europe’s migrant debate, has endorsed it.
But human rights groups have denounced what they call Italy’s outsourcing of its responsibilities under international law to process the asylum requests of Italy-bound migrants rescued at sea. The center-left opposition in Italy has called the centers Italy’s “Guantanamo.”
UNHCR said that its monitoring mission would be funded by sources other than Italy and Albania to ensure that it remains independent and said it would report back after three months with recommendations.
According to the agreement, migrants will be screened initially on board the ships that have rescued them, with vulnerable migrants taken to Italy while others are sent to Albania for additional screening.
UNHCR and other agencies have expressed concern both about the onboard screenings, and whether they will truly be able to identify vulnerable migrants, as well as migrants’ access to adequate legal counsel once in Albania.
In a January appearance at Italy’s lower chamber of parliament, UNHCR’s Italy director, Chiara Cardoletti, said that the issue of legal representation would be complicated by housing the migrants in Albania, especially establishing a relationship of trust and confidentiality.
She noted that none of the protocols to date had established how migrants who aren’t eligible for asylum would be sent home. And she also questioned the costs, and recommended regardless that more resources be spent reinforcing the migrant processing centers in Italy.
The two centers in Albania will cost Italy 670 million euros ($730 million) over five years. The facilities will be fully run by Italy, and both centers are under Italian jurisdiction, while Albanian guards will provide external security.
UNHCR’s announcement of a monitoring mission came on the eve of an annual update by Italy’s interior minister about a host of security issues, including migration. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi noted that Italy had registered a 20% increase in the number of repatriations of migrants this year who aren’t eligible for asylum.
At the same time, the number of new migrants arriving in Italy is sharply down this year: As of Wednesday, 37,644 people had arrived by boat this year, compared to 100,419 over the same period last year, according to interior ministry statistics.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
veryGood! (6742)
Related
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Miranda Kerr is pregnant! Model shares excitement over being a mom to 4 boys
- What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend viewing, reading and listening
- Ecuador says 57 guards and police officers are released after being held hostage in several prisons
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- 12-year-old shot near high school football game in Baltimore
- Former Italian premier claims French missile downed passenger jet in 1980, presses Paris for truth
- USA TODAY Sports' 2023 NFL predictions: Who makes playoffs, wins Super Bowl 58, MVP and more?
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- NWSL's Chicago Red Stars sold for $60 million to group that includes Cubs' co-owner
Ranking
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Murderer who escaped from prison may attempt to flee back to Brazil: DA
- 50 Cent throws microphone into crowd, reportedly hitting concertgoer: Video
- Stormy conditions leave thousands stranded at Burning Man Festival
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Murderer who escaped from prison may attempt to flee back to Brazil: DA
- Some businesses in Vermont’s flood-wracked capital city reopen
- Nick Saban takes Aflac commercials, relationship with Deion Sanders seriously
Recommendation
Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
Carlee Russell’s Ex-Boyfriend Thomar Latrell Simmons Gives Tell-All on Abduction Hoax
More than 85,000 highchairs are under recall after two dozen reports of falls
Shopping center shooting in Austin was random, police say
Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
'Channel your anger': Shooting survivors offer advice after Jacksonville attack
Dick Vitale finishes radiation for vocal cord cancer, awaits further testing
Kris Jenner Packs on the PDA With Corey Gamble During Magical Summer Vacation