Mediterranean migration crisis and the response of the EU: are we protecting humanity?

Dr. Karolis ŽibasLithuanian Social Research Centre

Institute for Ethnic Studies

Refugees, sea/land borders and migration quotas

Social consequences of mass migration

Migration VS human trafficking and smuggling

Rise of xenophobia and islamophobia

Y E S T E R D A Y

Rescuers are searching for hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean after a boat carrying as many as 600 people capsized off the coast of Libya.

The Irish navy said "significant loss of life" was feared and Medecins Sans Frontieres confirmed "many deaths".

Survivors had indicated that between 400 and 600 people were on board the boat when it capsized.

POPULATION GROUPS UNDER CONDITIONS OF CHANGING SOCIAL SPACES (2012–2016) – a long-term institutional

research and development programmeCurrent

Research areas

Research on Ethnic groups

Migration research

Social inequality, equal

opportunities, social and

spatial mobility

Ethnic intolerance

New strategy,Research on:

Conflicting identities

MECHANISMS OF MONITORING OF INTEGRATION OF THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS IN LITHUANIA (2013–2014) EIF

FRANET (2011–2013) – a multidisciplinary research network formed by the FRA

ETHNIC MINORITIES IN SOUTHEASTERN LITHUANIA: ETHNIC, CIVIC, REGIONAL AND LOCAL IDENTITIES (2012–2014)

Lithuanian Research Council.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU ASYLUM POLICY: LEGAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL FOCUS (2012–2013) ERF

INSTITUTE FOR ETHNIC STUDIES: CURRENT RESEARCH AREAS

PLATFORM FOR MIGRATION INFORMATION AND COOPERATION (2012–2013) EIF

PHD

STUDIES

LONG-TERM ACTIVITIES

1. Media monitoring. Since 2005, the Institute of Ethnic Studies is implementing media monitoring of Lithuanian press and compiled a database of texts on ethnic issues.

2. Public opinion polls. Since 2005, the Institute for Ethnic Studies is performing annual public opinion polls on attitudes of Lithuania residents towards different ethnic and social groups (e.g. Roma, Jews, Muslims, refugees, immigrants, etc.). All surveys are conducted by personal interview with respondents; the margin of survey error does not exceed 3 percent.

3. Ethnicity Studies. A peer-reviewed series of ethnicity-related studies and their methodology, published annually in English and Lithuanian.

4. Migration Research

World migration 2009–2011 (Gallup International)

North-South: Although not in the top 20 global corridors, significant numbers of migrants have been recorded along this pathway, with nationals from the United States moving to Mexico (0.6 million) and, more unexpectedly, to South Africa (0.3 million); Germans to Turkey (0.3 million); and Portugal to Brazil (0.2million)

South-South:Ukraine to the Russian Federation (3.7 million) and vice versa (3.5 million); followed by Bangladesh to Bhutan; Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation; and Afghanistan to Pakistan

South-North: Mexico to the United States (12.2 million, equal to 6% of the global migrants); followed by Turkey to Germany; and China, the Philippines and India to the United States

North-North: Germany to the United States (1.3 million); followed by the United Kingdom to Australia; and  Canada, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom to the United States

World migration: flows and systems

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2ff92332-3ed2-11dd-8fd9-0000779fd2ac.html#axzz3aBcM5mN9

90 per cent of all immigrants are migrant workers and their families

2015 – 250 mln. 2013 – 232 mln. 2000 – 175 mln. 1990 – 154 mln.

In absolute numbers, North America (USA and Canada) experience the biggest increase of immigrants

In Europe and Asia– 2/3 of all immigrantsOnly 3 per cent of World population are migrating: too many or too less?

Who are moving? Not the poorest ones

Model of age of the World‘s population in 2006 (percentage of people older than 60)

EUROSTAT / WORLD BANK

Model of age of the World‘s population in 2050 (percentage of people older than 60)

EUROSTAT / WORLD BANK

World‘s birth rate

EUROSTAT / WORLD BANK

Incomes

EUROSTAT / WORLD BANK

GLOBAL PEACE INDEX 2014

Migration flows and migration net Migration net: positive – blue, negative – brown (2011 – 2014)

EUROSTAT / WORLD BANK

Global forced displacement

UNCHR

M I G R A T I O N

• Demography• Labour market and the need of (cheap) labour force• Conflicts• Migration networks• Migration industry• Human trafficking and modern slavery• Societal / political attitudes

F O R T R E S S E U R O P E

Countries of origin of asylum seekers in 2014

UNCHR

Destinations for asylum seekers in 2014: will migration quotas help?

UNCHR

Asylum applications (non-EU) in the EU-28 Member States, 2004–2014 (¹) (thousands)

COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN OF (NON-EU) ASYLUM SEEKERS IN THE EU-28 MEMBER STATES 2013–2014

Will migration quotas help?

Negotiations as in the market

Protests / raise of islamophobia

Changes?

Main routes for asylum seekers: Mediterranean and elsewhere

Mediterranean migration crisis

HUMAN TRAFFICKING / SMUGGLING: 1000–5000 USD FOR DEATH

Mediterranean migration crisis

In 2014:

219,000 people arrived in Europe 3,500 deaths/missing

In 2015 (1 Jan- 27 April):

46,000 arrivals in Europe More than 1,750 deaths/missing

UNHCR

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/mediterranean-migrant-crisis-drowned-saved-photo-report-1497412

HUMAN TRAFFICKING / SMUGGLING: 1000–5000 USD FOR DEATH

Mediterranean migration crisis

Crisis in numbers (of deaths)

Mediterranean migration crisis

HUMAN TRAFFICKING / SMUGGLING: 1000–5000 USD FOR DEATH

Mediterranean, European or World migration crisis?

Mediterranean migration crisisEveryday life in Mediterranean

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/mediterranean-migrant-crisis-drowned-saved-photo-report-1497412

Mediterranean migration crisisEveryday life in Mediterranean

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/mediterranean-migrant-crisis-drowned-saved-photo-report-1497412

Mediterranean migration crisis

Any movies? Soundtracks? Memories?

Political responses?

Mediterranean migration crisis: more in details

UNCHR

Mediterranean migration crisis: more in details Lampedusa (Italy)

Mediterranean migration crisis: more in details Lampedusa (Italy)

Mediterranean migration crisis: more in details Ceuta ir Melilla

Mediterranean migration crisis: more in details Ceuta ir Melilla

Mediterranean migration crisis: more in details Ceuta ir Melilla

Mediterranean or European migration crisis?

Mediterranean or European migration crisis?

Migration crisis in Calais harbor

Mediterranean or European migration crisis?

Migration crisis in Calais harbor

Mediterranean or European migration crisis? Refugees in Eastern-Central EU member states:

Will migration quotas help? Refugees in Bulgaria

Mediterranean or European migration crisis? Refugees in Eastern-Central EU member states:

„Solving“ the problem

Hungary: A 4-metre-high fence along its border with Serbia to stem the flow of illegal migrants

Bulgaria: 100-Mile Fence On Turkish Border Built To Combat Syrian Refugee Crisis

Mediterranean or European migration crisis? Refugees in Eastern-Central EU member states:

„Solving“ the problem

Calais migrants: Britain to build huge fence at Channel Tunnel port in France

Mediterranean or European migration crisis? Refugees in Eastern-Central EU member states:

„Solving“ the problem

Upgrading the border fences around the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. The security system detailed in the graphic installed in the hope of preventing groups of immigrants from storming the fences.

BORDER FENCE JUMPING: A ‘HUMAN RIGHT’? POLITICAL RESPONSE?

However, people are coming ... and dying

Mediterranean migration (crisis) is

•Not about illegal/irregular migration •Not about asylum seekers•Not about refugees / migration quotas

•It is about human trafficking and smuggling•It is about human beings and their rights •It is about right to live

IS IT MIGRATION (CRISIS) OR HUMAN TRAFFICKING / SMUGGLING?

“Harrowing photos show migrants abandoned at sea by ruthless human traffickers in Indonesia”

“SLAVERY AT SEA The Continued Plight of Trafficked Migrants in Thailand's Fishing Industry”

“EU ministers fine-tune plan to seize boats of migrant traffickers before they go out to sea”

“EU draws up plans for military attacks on Libya targets to stop migrant boats”

MORE FENCES – LESS LEGAL CHANNELS – MORE IRREGULARITY – MORE TRAFFICKING

THE NEW AGENDA ON MIGRATION (2015)

The New Agenda on Migration (2015) presents a blueprint for immediate key actions to tackle the situation in the Mediterranean including, amongst other measures:

• A funding package to triple the allocation for Triton and Poseidon in 2015-16; • Immediate support to a possible Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations to

systematically identify, capture and destroy vessels used by smugglers; • A proposal to ensure a balanced participation of Member States to the common effort of

relocation based on a quota system defined on the following criteria: size of the population’s total GDP; average number of spontaneous asylum applications and the number of resettled refugees; unemployment rate;

• A recommendation proposing an EU-wide resettlement scheme to offer 20.000 places in the next two years.

The agenda (2015) builds on four pillars:

• Reduce incentives for irregular migration• Better manage external borders • A strong common asylum policy• A new policy on legal migration

Human rights? Dignity? Freedom?

F O R T R E S S E U R O P E: F O R W H O M?

• MORE FENCES• LESS LEGAL CHANNELS• MORE IRREGULARITY• MORE TRAFFICKING• MORE DEATHS• MORE VULNERABILITY• MORE EXPLOITATION• MORE PRECARIUOS WORK• LESS HUMAN RIGHTS AND

DIGINTY

• EU NEEDS IMMIGRANTS• BUT EU DOES NOT WANT

IMMIGRANTS• EU NEEDS „DIRTY ARMY OF

WORKERS“ WITHOUT RIGHTS

• EU NEED LABOUR FORCE, BUT NOT HUMAN BEINGS

Is there a space to discuss human rights? Where and how? ... Slaves for life ...

EU RESPONSE TO MIGRATION CRISIS

European migration crisis„Successful arrival“: immigrants in the EU (TCNs VS European Citizens)

• Irregular status / precarious work / exploitation

• Illegal immigrants / criminals rather than victims of smuggling/human trafficking and exploitation

European migration crisis„Successful arrival“: immigrants in the EU (TCNs VS European Citizens)

W h o c a r e s ?

There are currently a total of 3212 rough sleepers who identified as British, and 2695 people from Central and Eastern Europe. The latter group is dominated by 1388 Romanians, 639 Poles, 227 Lithuanians, and 119 Bulgarians.

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/06/19/londons-european-homeless-numbers-soar-as-uk-nationals-numbers-decline/

MIGRATION AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2ff92332-3ed2-11dd-8fd9-0000779fd2ac.html#axzz3aBcM5mN9

21 MLN. – VICTIMS OF FORCED LABOUR

2015 – 250 mln.2013 – 232 mln. 2000 – 175 mln. 1990 – 154 mln.

MODERN SLAVERY INDEX 2014

Migration net per 1000 population

MIPEX

Migration net per1000 population

Human trafficking in the EU

• HUMAN TRAFFICKING• FORCED LABOUR• MODERN SLAVERY• SEXUAL EXPLOITATION• CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES• ILLEGAL FIGHTS • BEGGING • FORCED MARRIAGES / DOMESTIC VIOLENCE• CARE WORK • ETC.

Global Slavery Index 2014

GLOBAL SLAVERY INDEX AND POLITICAL

RESPONSE 2014

http://flarenetwork.org/learn/europe/article/the_slave_trade_is_alive_and_kicking_in_britain.htm

• HUMAN TRAFFICKING• FORCED LABOUR• MODERN SLAVERY

CITIZENS OFTHE EUROPEAN UNION

LABOUR

From Mediterranean migration crisis to freedom of movement

From refugees / irregular immigrants (third country nationals) to mobile EU citizens

HUMAN TRAFFICKING / FORCED LABOUR / MODERN SLAVERY

CITIZENS OFTHE EUROPEAN UNION

LABOUR

• EU NEEDS IMMIGRANTS• BUT EU DOES NOT WANT

IMMIGRANTS• EU NEEDS „DIRTY ARMY OF

WORKERS“ WITHOUT RIGHTS

• EU NEED LABOUR FORCE, BUT NOT HUMAN BEINGS

The Lithuanian case

“There were three of us sharing a room - mine had no bedding - and very little furniture. It was too late to buy a duvet, so I tried to sleep in my clothes but was dead with cold.”

“My room slept 12 men and women. Another 10 workers lived in several rooms upstairs. Another three were crammed in a camper van nearby, and all of us shared three toilets and two showers.”

“The beds were so close my neighbors had a nasty habit of throwing their hands at me in their sleep. Every evening, mature women had to put on their nightclothes facing semi-naked men. It was demoralizing and degrading.”

“I felt vulnerable, I had to plead for my work and for the money I had earned. This may not be slavery, but I felt like a slave.”

BBC (2007)Labour migration or modern slavery?

The Lithuanian case

Migration in the EU

1980

Free movement

Migration from third countries

2004 / 2007

Free movementand modern slavery

Free movement with restrictions and modern slavery

Migration from third countries, migration crisis and modern slavery

1945-1973 Principle of free movement or embedded liberalism

1973-1985 Euro pessimism / Euro sclerosis

1985-2000 Embedded neo-liberalism / securitization of migration

2004 – further securitization and restriction period

FREEDOM of movement VS INTEGRATION and FREEDOM of settlement

Hansen, Peo (2010) ‘‘More Barbwire or More Immigration, or Both? EU Migration Policy in the Nexus of Border Security Management and Neoliberal Economic Growth’, The Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 189–101.Hansen, Peo and Sandy Brian Hager (2010) The Politics of European Citizenship: Deepening Contradictions in Social Rights and Migration Policy, New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books.Huysmans, Jef (2006) The Politics of Insecurity: Fear, migration and asylum in the EU, London: Routledge.

European migration crisis

• 1957 – EU as economic project• Economic growth • Demographic changes →

demographic crisis• Immigration• Economic project→ immigration

project (89 percent of population growth – immigrants from third countries

• Human rights → security (securitization of immigration (policies)

• (The end of) multiculturalism → Islamophobia

• Immigration (policies) → security• Restriction periods • Disintegration • Migration Crisis • Fortress Europe

2001 09 11 – New York2004 03 11 – Madrid 2005 07 07 – London

2007 – Suburbs of Paris (riots)2008 – Carton controversy in Denmark 2009 – Referendum in Switzerland2009 – Victories of anti-immigrant right wing parties in EP2010 – Deportation or Roma people / burkas in France

2010 – 'The end of multiculturalism‘ in Germany 2011 – ‚The end of multiculturalism‘ in the UK2015 – Charlie Hebdo2015 – IS

Inadequate links between migration / migrant disintegration and

terrorism

Raise of anti-immigrant attitudes

Ethnic Minority Communities & Social Cohesion Research: http://www.mori.com/ethnic/index.shtml

DateReligion-based crime in 2004

Religion-based crime in 2005

05.30. 9 15

06.06. 13 19

06.13. 10 21

06.20. 14 16

06.27. 8 15

07.04. 11 68

07.11. 22 92

07.18. 20 67

07.25. 19 79

08.01. 7 60

08.08. 9 35

08.15. 10 28

08.22. 6 21

08.29. 8 19

09.05. 23 17

09.12. 10 19

09.19. 14 14

09.26. 7 22

10.03. 10 30

10.10. 12 20

2005 07 07London

DateRacial-based hate crime

in 2004Racial-based hate crime

in 2004

05.30. 379 325

06.06. 418 318

06.13. 337 323

06.20. 334 370

06.27. 326 329

07.04. 357 350

07.11. 367 506

07.18. 391 447

07.25. 398 419

08.01. 357 399

08.08. 426 372

08.15. 353 370

08.22. 333 288

08.29. 325 325

09.05. 345 329

09.12. 303 305

09.19. 310 309

09.26. 301 319

10.03. 298 289

10.10. 278 333

2005 07 07London

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2640040/Rebellion-swept-Europe-EU-sceptics-anti-migration-parties-make-historic-gains.html

Eurobarometer

European migration crisis: any solution?

European migration crisis: any solution?

• Immigration quotas: reception VS settlement

• Fight against human trafficking

• Investments in security operations

• Border control

• Asylum procedures in countries of origin

• Fight against conflicts

• Change the mind-set of contemporary societies / politicians

• Improve integration policies in CEE

• Human rights VS securitization of migration