Migration – Taking a look beyond the “safe Mediterranean”. Cooperation strategies between home and host countries Rome, 9 December 2013
«Barça or Barsak»1: Needs and perspective of the families of missing migrants, Senegal - Angela Valenza, Legal Advisor, International Committee of the Red Cross, Delegation to the EU, NATO and the Kingdom of Belgium Thank you for inviting us to present our views at this event. My role will be to briefly present the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross deployed in relation to families of missing migrants in counties of origin, such as Senegal. My presentation will also indicate, some possible measures that could make a difference for the families in the context of persons who went missing in the Mediterranean sea, on their way to Europe. 1. Introduction Allow me first to say a few words about the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) position in the framework of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement). The Movement is the largest humanitarian network. It is present in every country and supported by millions of volunteers. Its mission is to alleviate human suffering, protect life, health, and human dignity. The Movement is composed of the ICRC, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and of 189 National Societies. Each of these entities has its own legal identity and role, but they are all united by seven Fundamental Principles and specific channels of communication and coordination. Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the Movement. The ICRC mission is defined in the following terms: - The ICRC is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflicts and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. - It directs and coordinates the international relief activities conducted by the Movement in situation of conflict and other situations of violence. - The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. A key characteristic of the ICRC is that it was given a mandate by the States party to the Geneva Conventions. Its work is therefore firmly rooted in public international law. According to the Statutes of the Movement, the ICRC may also take any humanitarian initiative which comes within its role as a specifically neutral and independent institution.
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«Barcellona or the death» 1
National Societies act as independent auxiliaries to their national authorities in the humanitarian field. They provide a range of services including disaster relief, health and social programmes. The Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies carries out development work to strengthen the capacities of the National Societies and conducts relief operations to assist victims of disasters. 2. The ICRC Action in the Field of Migration The ICRC decision to intervene and the extent of its involvement in the field of migration are assessed in the light of the following factors (in order of importance): - Situation of conflict and other situations of violence; - A specific request for support by a National Society or a State in the ICRC areas of expertise (i.e. detention; restoring family links, including the missing); - And, in exceptional circumstances, the ICRC can decide to intervene where grave humanitarian needs are identified and it could offer a specific operational added value (in areas of its expertise). The ICRC acknowledges that migration is a complex phenomenon that requires an understanding of the implications along the “migratory route”, therefore in the countries of origin, of transit and of destination. The mode of action adopted by the ICRC may well vary from one context to another, depending on the assessment of the situation. Particular attention is given to the presence and the capacity of other actors, both within and outside the Movement, that have particular experience in working with migrant populations. In the framework of migration, the ICRC also provides guidance and technical support to National Societies in the field of detention and restoring family links (including the missing). 3. «Barça or Barsak»: Study on the Actual Needs of the Families of Missing Migrants, Senegal As a matter of clarification, for the ICRC “Missing person is a person whose whereabouts are unknown to his or her relatives and, or who, on the basis of reliable information, has been reported missing in accordance with the national legislation in connection with an armed conflict, a situation of internal violence or disturbances, natural catastrophes or any other situation that may require the intervention of a competent State authority”. The ICRC expertise in relation to missing has developed primarily in situations of armed conflict. Its approach is to support the families to clarify the fate and whereabouts of their relatives reported missing, including by supporting specific mechanisms established by the parties for this purpose. The ICRC efforts have further developed during the last decade to better understand the specific needs of the families of missing, be that socio-economical, legal and administrative, psychological and psychosocial needs, etc. and to set up “Accompaniment programmes”, when and where possible and necessary, to respond to the needs and to mobilise authorities and other service providers to do so. The ICRC has also strongly strengthen its expertise in the field of forensic sciences, and is today offering - when necessary - its technical advice in this field.
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All this expertise developed by the ICRC can of course be also important and beneficial when persons are reported missing in relation to a phenomenon that today reaches unexpected scales, with enormous humanitarian consequences, such as migration. The work carried out in Senegal, to which I refer today, is a good example. In cooperation with the Senegalese Red Cross, a needs assessment of the families of missing migrants was conducted by the ICRC in 2012. During the study, over 250 individual interviews were carried out with family members of missing migrants. In addition to some family group interviews, consultations with representatives of administrative and religious authorities and of associations of families of missing persons were also organised. More than 50 locations were visited in different regions in Senegal. This work aimed at identifying concrete difficulties and specific needs of the families of missing migrants and existing institutional and non-institutional resources (i.e. governmental, NGOs), in order to design an adapted answer to enable the national authorities, the ICRC and other components of the Movement, as well as other actors to better respond to the situation. Between 2006 and 2008, irregular migration from Senegal to Europe became massive and dramatic. All regions of Senegal have been affected by the phenomenon to a different degree. Locations along the coast, such as Thiaroye-sur-Mer, Yarakh, Kayar, St. Louis and Elinkine, have become departure points for the Senegalese migrants, as well as transit zones for Guineans, Liberians, Gambians, Malians, etc. Many of these migrants went missing and it is difficult to say nowadays if they are dead or alive. Their families still struggle with this permanent uncertainty. Approximately 350 missing persons were identified by the ICRC and the Senegalese Red Cross throughout Senegal during the above mentioned assessment. However, this in only the visible part of the iceberg and it is believed that many more Senegalese migrants went missing. According to interviewed family members, the missing migrants are mostly men, originating primarily from Dakar, Tambacounda, Louga, Thiès, St. Louis, Kaolack, Sédhiou, Kolda and Ziguinchor. Most of them were aged between 26 and 40 when they disappeared. 54% of them are married and often left children (under 18 years old) behind. At the time of their disappearance, 41% were independent workers, 23% employees and 6% students. The problems of the families of missing migrants are generally similar to those faced by the families of missing persons, as a result of conflict or natural disaster. During the interviews conducted with these families, three basic needs were identified: -
Need to know what happened to the missing relative. About 77% of families have initiated the search of the missing relatives. Approximately 60% of the families continue to wait for trustful news.
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Need for economic support. Most of the families are farmers and fishermen. Near 92% are experiencing financial difficulties, as often it is the breadwinner who went missing.
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Need for psychological support. Most persons, in particular mothers and wives, continue to experience emotional problems, leading to insomnia and anxiety, due their feeling of culpability.
Furthermore, the need for assistance to resolve legal and administrative problems also emerged during the discussions. About 65% of families do not have information about the laws that can protect them and the procedures to ask for benefits. 4. Conclusions
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The Movement, through its worldwide Family Links Network, continue receiving requests from families of missing persons also in relation to migration. A number of these requests come notably from the families of migrants, who went missing in the Mediterranean sea, on their way to Europe. On the basis of our operational experience, some important measures that could make a difference for these families would be: 1. States where the families of the missing persons are originating from should have a central mechanism or structure to which these families could willingly turn to in order to register their cases and get information as to what has been done to trace and locate their loved ones. This could allow the State of origin to better understand the scope of the phenomenon and the needs of the families, and to possibly provide them with some support. 2. States along the “migratory routes” and of destination should also gather information in a consolidated and coordinated way and transmit all relevant one concerning missing persons to the States of origin of these individuals.
3. Strong coordination should be established between relevant authorities of States concerned. When it comes to the phenomenon of migration to Europe, the involvement of the EU institutions and policies in this field should be strengthened in order to support and facilitate the transmission of information about the fate and whereabouts of the missing persons to their families. 4. The unique role and work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in the field of restoring family links should be supported and facilitated as well. This support should come from the States concerned, as well as from the relevant institutions of the European Union (EU), notably by ensuring that no restrictions are imposed on the components of the Movement in the collection, management and transfer of personal data aimed at tracing missing persons and restoring family links, in line with its data protection policy (i.e. collection and use of the data with informed consent and for the only purpose for which it is collected, meaning the strictly humanitarian objective of clarifying the fate and whereabouts of missing persons).
5. Proper management of the dead bodies and data on deceased persons help to reduce the number of human remains that cannot be identified. For remains for which the identity and the State of origin are known, States can put in place measures to help facilitate the management of information on the dead, and the return of remains to families. For remains for which the identity and the State of origin are unknown, a full post-mortem data collection is necessary. Likewise, a centralized registry of unidentified bodies, including information on the location of recovery and the place of temporary storage or burial following post-mortem examination, can greatly assist in associating unidentified remains with consolidated data on missing persons, including tracing requests and ante-mortem data. The responsibility of States is key in this field, and the EU could examine possible ways to provide support them in this regard.
Thank you for your attention.
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