Pope Francis on Sunday appealed to governments to stop returning migrants to countries like Libya where they are sent to detention centres rife with abuse, and prioritise saving lives of those crossing the Mediterranean.
The pontiff’s message comes against the backdrop of the report that Italy have witnessed an increase in migrant arrivals from Libya in recent times and the debate within a divided EU shifts to migrants entering the bloc’s eastern borders with Belarus.
‘I express my closeness to the thousands of migrants, refugees and also others in need of protection in Libya,’ Francis said in a heartfelt message following his Sunday Angelus prayer on Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
‘I don’t forget you ever. I hear your cry and pray for you,’ he said.
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‘So many of these men, women, and children are subject to an inhumane violence,’ the pope said. ‘Yet again I exhort the international community to keep their promises and find common, concrete, and lasting solutions, to manage the migrant flows in Libya and all the Mediterranean.’
Governments must stop returning migrants to ‘non-secure countries’ like Libya, the 84-year-old pontiff said.
He urged them to prioritise saving lives in the Mediterranean, offer safe disembarkations at ports and guarantee migrants ‘alternatives to detention’ and access to asylum.
Italy and the European Union have for years financed, trained and equipped the Libyan coastguard to intercept migrants heading for Europe on makeshift boats.
Those intercepted at sea and returned to Libya are placed in detention centres in deplorable conditions.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK