EU to Cooperate with Egypt to Limit Illegal Migration from Libya

The European Union, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the French CIVIPOL agreed on a package of measures to enhance cooperation between the EU and Egypt to address illegal migration. (EU mission in Egypt)
The European Union, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the French CIVIPOL agreed on a package of measures to enhance cooperation between the EU and Egypt to address illegal migration. (EU mission in Egypt)
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EU to Cooperate with Egypt to Limit Illegal Migration from Libya

The European Union, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the French CIVIPOL agreed on a package of measures to enhance cooperation between the EU and Egypt to address illegal migration. (EU mission in Egypt)
The European Union, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the French CIVIPOL agreed on a package of measures to enhance cooperation between the EU and Egypt to address illegal migration. (EU mission in Egypt)

The European Union, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the French CIVIPOL agreed on a package of measures to enhance cooperation between the EU and Egypt to address illegal migration.

The EU signed an agreement with Egypt on Sunday for the first phase of an 80-million-euro border management program, a statement from the EU delegation in Cairo said, at a time when Egyptian migration to Europe has been rising.

The project aims to help Egypt's coast and border guards reduce irregular migration and human trafficking along its border, and provides for the procurement of surveillance equipment, such as search and rescue vessels, thermal cameras, and satellite positioning systems, according to an EU Commission document published this month.

Since late 2016, irregular migration to Europe from the Egypt's northern coast has slowed sharply.

However, migration of Egyptians across Egypt's long desert border with Libya and from Libya's Mediterranean coast to Europe has been on the rise, diplomats told Reuters.

From Jan. 1 to Oct. 28 2022, 16,413 migrants arriving by boat in Italy declared themselves to be Egyptian, making them the second largest group behind Tunisians, according to data published by Italy's interior ministry.

Egypt is likely to experience “intensified flows” of migrants in the medium to long term due to regional instability, climate change, demographic shifts and lack of economic opportunities, according to the EU Commission document published by Reuters.

The agreement for the first 23-million-euro phase of the project was signed during a visit to Cairo by the EU's commissioner for neighborhood and enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi.

It will be implemented by the IOM and CIVIPOL, a French interior ministry agency, and is expected to include the provision of four search and rescue vessels, Laurent de Boeck, head of IOM's Egypt office, said.

The document says that to date, Egypt has addressed irregular migration “predominantly from a security perspective, sometimes at the expense of other dimensions of migration management, including the rights-based protection migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.”

Cairo has always stressed its commitment to provide full protection to asylum seekers and refugees without compromising their freedoms.

The program will seek to develop the capacity of the Egyptian ministry of defense and other government and civil society stakeholders to apply “rights-based, protection oriented and gender sensitive approaches” in their border management, it said.



UN Peacekeepers Say Troops Attacked by Individuals in South Lebanon

A joint force from UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in Naqoura near the Israeli border (Archive - AFP)
A joint force from UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in Naqoura near the Israeli border (Archive - AFP)
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UN Peacekeepers Say Troops Attacked by Individuals in South Lebanon

A joint force from UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in Naqoura near the Israeli border (Archive - AFP)
A joint force from UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in Naqoura near the Israeli border (Archive - AFP)

United Nations peacekeepers said rock-throwing individuals confronted them during a patrol on Tuesday in south Lebanon, calling repeated targeting of their troops "unacceptable".

The UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), deployed since 1978 to separate Lebanon and Israel, sits on a five-member committee to supervise the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

In a statement, UNIFIL said peacekeepers conducting "a planned patrol" coordinated with the Lebanese army were "confronted by a group of individuals in civilian clothing in the vicinity of Hallusiyat al-Tahta, in southern Lebanon".

"The group attempted to obstruct the patrol using aggressive means, including throwing stones at the peacekeepers," the statement read, adding that "one peacekeeper was struck" but no injuries were reported, AFP reported.

The situation was defused when the Lebanese army intervened, allowing the peacekeeping force to continue its patrol.

"It is unacceptable that UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to be targeted," the statement added.

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP a Finnish soldier was slapped during the confrontation.

A witness, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said an altercation ensued between locals and the Lebanese army, who were searching for the man who slapped the peacekeeper.

One man opposing the army was injured and hospitalized, the witness said.

In a statement, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he "strongly condemns the repeated attacks" on UNIFIL forces and called for the attackers to be stopped and held accountable.

There have been several confrontations between people in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds sway, and UN peacekeepers in recent weeks.

Confrontations are typically defused by the Lebanese army and rarely escalate.

In December 2022, an Irish peacekeeper was killed in a shooting at a UN armoured vehicle in the south. Hezbollah surrendered a man accused of the crime, but he was released around a year later.

The November ceasefire agreement, which sought to end over a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, states that only Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers may be deployed in the country's south.

Israel is supposed to have fully withdrawn its troops from Lebanon according to the deal, but has remained in five positions it deems strategic and has repeatedly bombed the country.