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UN Demands Protecting Migrants from Traffickers in Libya

Migrants who were rescued by the Libyan Navy on July 24. (Libyan Navy)
Migrants who were rescued by the Libyan Navy on July 24. (Libyan Navy)
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UN Demands Protecting Migrants from Traffickers in Libya

Migrants who were rescued by the Libyan Navy on July 24. (Libyan Navy)
Migrants who were rescued by the Libyan Navy on July 24. (Libyan Navy)

The United Nations has underscored the importance of protecting vulnerable illegal migrants from traffickers.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Persons (NCCPIM&TIP), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and European Union emphasized the need to continue to raise awareness about human trafficking.

“Every year the entire world commemorates the World Day against Trafficking in Persons on the 30th of July as a reminder of the crucial role we should continue to play in raising awareness on this crime and its forms, in preventing it from taking place and protecting the vulnerable populations from falling prey to criminal groups, in supporting victims of trafficking in persons, and in prosecuting offenders and bringing them to justice,” they said.

This year the day comes at a time when all countries and communities are confronting challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic has affected the lives of men and women, adults and children from diverse backgrounds and with the deterioration of the economic conditions, their vulnerability to be trafficked has increased,” read the statement.

Meanwhile, the Libyan Navy spokesman said that the coast guard rescued 18 illegal migrants off the coast of the western city of Khoms after their rubber boat broke down.

On Tuesday, Libyan security forces deported 27 Tunisians who had taken part in an illegal migration operation.

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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.