Strasbourg, 12.10.2012 - At the end of his three day visit to Rome and Sicily, the rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on "The arrival of mixed migratory flows to Italian coastal areas", Christopher Chope (United Kingdom, EDG), met with some of the survivors of the recent boat tragedy off Lampedusa in the migrant detention centre of Contrada Milo in Trapani (Sicily). According to one of the 56 survivors, more than 70 people drowned, when their boat capsized in early September.

Migrant Deaths off Turkey, Italy Coasts Should Trigger Action

(Milan, September 8, 2012) – The deaths of scores of migrants and asylum seekers in the Mediterranean over the past 48 hours should prompt concerted European Union action to limit further deaths in the Mediterranean, Human Rights Watch said today.

08/08/2012 20:43 GMT

ROME, Aug 8, 2012 (AFP) - A group of 160 Syrians travelling in a fishing boat arrived in the southern Italian port of Crotone on Wednesday, the Italian ANSA news agency said.

The group from the conflict-torn country was made up mainly of families and included 76 men, 36 women and 48 children.

Their boat was spotted about six kilometres or 10 miles offshore by a coastguard unit that escorted them to port.

The Syrians, all apparently in good health, were taken to a reception centre.

05/16/2012 17:10 GMT

ROME, May 16, 2012 (AFP) - Italian Interior Minister Anna Maria Cancellieri said on Wednesday that 1,056 undocumented migrants on a total of 23 boats have landed in Italy from Libya and Tunisia so far this year.

The migrants arrived mainly in the southern regions of Apulia and Calabria, as well as the tiny island of Lampedusa south of Sicily which is closer to North Africa than to the Italian mainland.

04/03/2012 09:36 GMT

ROME, April 3, 2012 (AFP) - Six Somalis and four Eritreans drowned during a Mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy, according to some of the 48 survivors on a boat that arrived on the island of Lampedusa said on Tuesday.

The refugees, who were rescued by the Italian coast guard after their boat began drifting in stormy weather, said the victims fell off during the journey.

The incident happened shortly after they left a port near the Libyan border with Tunisia in the night between Friday and Saturday, Italian media reported.

03/04/2012 11:46 GMT

ROME, March 4, 2012 (AFP) - An Italian fishing trawler rescued 103 migrants including 21 women and a child on a boat that was taking on water Sunday, as officials said better weather at sea could bring a new wave of migrant arrivals.

The fishermen spotted the boat some 57 nautical miles (106 kilometres, 66 miles) south of Lampedusa -- a tiny outcrop that is closer to the shores of North Africa than to the Italian mainland -- and took the migrants on board.

February 21, 2012 | by Costanza Hermanin

On Thursday February 23, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights will rule on a case that has serious implications for the refugee policy around the world. The case in question, Hirsi and others v. Italy was brought on behalf of a group of Somali and Eritrean migrants, whose boats was intercepted in the Mediterranean by an Italian vessel in 2009.

Concern for migrants' detention on the ships

ROME - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Save the Children - working together as partners since 2006 in the framework of Praesidium Project at the Reception and Rescue Centre of Lampedusa - are expressing their concern over the Italian authorities ' decision to declare Lampedusa an unsafe port.

Rome/Brussels, June 23, 2011 – With the European Council scheduled to meet again on Friday to discuss migration issues, Médecins Sans Frontières MSF (Doctors Without Borders) condemns the terms of the bilateral agreement (memorandum of understanding) signed on June 17 between Italy and the Libyan National Transition Council. The agreement is intended to provide mutual aid and cooperation in the struggle against illegal immigration, specifically by repatriating illegal immigrants.