UNHCR holds a technical workshop/consultation in collaboration with IOM on Saving Lives at Sea

4 Aug 2015

UNHCR holds a technical workshop/consultation in collaboration with IOM on Saving Lives at Sea

Tunis – 29 July 2015, The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in joint cooperation with the Organization for International Migration (IOM) held a two day technical consultation on the topic of 'Saving Lives at Sea'.

Key Libyan stakeholders were invited to Tunis to participate in workshop that was intended to serve as a forum by which to collectively address the ongoing concerns for those directly involved in rescue, and disembarkation operations. A total of 19 participants attended the workshop from key operational institutions including the Libyan Coast Guard, the Port Security Department, and the Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM) and the Libya Red Crescent (LRC).

Libya remains a hub for irregular movement, with ongoing conflict and lack of security that often times leaves many with little alternatives than to risk their lives at sea in hope for safety and stability. To date, UNHCR has recorded a total number of 4,561 refugees and migrants who have been rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard while UNHCR Italy has recorded 89,000 that have arrived on their shores, however, there remains those who along with their hopes have perished at sea. UNHCR has recorded a total number of 2,000 who have lost their lives at sea in 2015.

Given the continued efforts to minimize the loss of life at sea, through the workshop, UNHCR jointly with IOM Libya through ECHO funded project have set the stage for future cooperation by establishing a ‘Contact Group’, a forum that will allow for enhanced coordination and communication while supporting capacity development and collectively improving humanitarian response for those who are disembarked in Libya.
The two day work-shop involved takin a critical look at current rescue/interception procedures and disembarkation in Libya and ways to improve this response, while further examining issues around land border crossings apart from sea borders.

The workshop also informed the participants on various thematic areas including, the legal framework which governs refugees and migrants, while further welcoming guest speakers from ICRC/LRC and IMC to explain their work and possible assistance they could provide around the themes of containing communicable diseases, handling the remains of those migrants who have drowned and were recovered from the Mediterranean Sea.