When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Italy

NGOs May Be Endangering The Very Migrants They Seek To Rescue

Refugees arriving in Naples in October 2016
Refugees arriving in Naples in October 2016
Isabelle Ory

-Analysis-

More than 4,500 people lost their lives off the Libyan coast last year. And yet, there have never been so many vessels carrying out rescue missions in the area — from Italian coast guard ships and European operation Eunavfor vessels to those from the border control agency Frontex and others chartered by NGOs.

This paradox is a source of concern for European authorities, so much so that some people are pointing fingers at certain NGOs for jeopardizing the rescue of migrants.

The humanitarian response coincided with a geographic relocation of rescue operations, which now take place far from the Italian coast, often fewer than 20 nautical miles off Libya. "One direct consequence of this has been a change in the business model of smugglers," the European Commission wrote in a recent report.

On board, there's no drinking water, and often no life jackets

There is evidence that smugglers increasingly use completely unseaworthy inflatable dinghies that have no prospect of ever reaching the Italian shores, assuming they will be picked up near or within Libyan territorial waters, the Commission found.

Even though the journey between the coasts only takes a few hours, fragile dinghies that are sometimes stuffed with as many as 140 migrants can sink easily. On board, there's no drinking water, and often no life jackets, for the desperate migrants.

There's another assessment of what's taking place. Earlier, a call to the Rome Maritime Rescue Coordination Center would trigger an operation coordinated by the Italian coast guard. Ships that were deployed would be called upon to act. But Frontex, in a confidential note, observes that these calls now only lead to 10% of all rescue operations. Meanwhile, the number of rescue operations carried out directly by humanitarian organizations has skyrocketed, accounting for one-third of such missions.

Frontex has different theories about why this happens: Either the NGOs use radars or smugglers inform migrants where NGOs are waiting, the agency suggests. Libyan coast guards note that some boats don't hesitate to aim powerful searchlights at the coast so they can easily be seen at night.

No officials agreed to talk about these issues on the record. One European diplomat, maintaining anonymity, offered this assessment: "Some NGOs go as far as entering Libyan territorial waters and others even communicate with the smugglers to guide them. It is a reality, even though it has limited scope for the time being."

Another person familiar with the issue described the current situation this way: "There are NGOs and NGOs," said the source. "Doctors Without Borders or the Red Cross help us fight against smugglers. But there are new organizations, less known and created rather recently, which intervene with little conscience and can raise suspicions."

Even if the rescue operations stopped, it wouldn't change the minds of migrants

Frontex says that some vessels may be turning off their transponder devices so as not to get caught. Rescue procedures carried out by civilian ships aren't necessarily properly equipped, which can lead to tragedies, the border control agency notes.

What can authorities do when faced with this situation? Apparently, not much. "We're not going to start chasing NGOs," a senior source says. The European Union doesn't want to be accused of hampering the action of groups who are saving lives.

The EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says that even if the rescue operations stopped, it wouldn't change the minds of migrants. "Even if there were no more (rescue) boats, it still wouldn't deter those who want to come."

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Geopolitics

Senegal's Democratic Unrest And The Ghosts Of French Colonialism

The violence that erupted following the sentencing of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison left 16 people dead and 500 arrested. This reveals deep fractures in Senegalese democracy that has traces to France's colonial past.

Image of Senegalese ​Protesters celebrating Sonko being set free by the court, March 2021

Protesters celebrate Sonko being set free by the court, March 2021

Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

PARIS — For a long time, Senegal had the glowing image of one of Africa's rare democracies. The reality was more complicated than that, even in the days of the poet-president Léopold Sedar Senghor, who also had his dark side.

But for years, the country has been moving down what Senegalese intellectual Felwine Sarr describes as the "gentle slope of... the weakening and corrosion of the gains of Senegalese democracy."

This has been demonstrated once again over the last few days, with a wave of violence that has left 16 people dead, 500 arrested, the internet censored, and a tense situation with troubling consequences. The trigger? The sentencing last Thursday of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison, which could exclude him from the 2024 presidential elections.

Young people took to the streets when the verdict was announced, accusing the justice system of having become a political tool. Ousmane Sonko had been accused of rape but was convicted of "corruption of youth," a change that rendered the decision incomprehensible.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch

The latest