Violation of migrants’ rights in the Maghreb and the Mediterranean and the need for a Permanent People’s Tribunal on Migration in Italy in 2025

Violation of migrants’ rights in the Maghreb and the Mediterranean and the need for a Permanent People’s Tribunal on Migration in Italy in 2025

The tragedies experienced by migrants in the Mediterranean and the Maghreb are a reflection of the migration policies pursued by governments on both shores of the Mediterranean. This sea, which has always been a link between peoples, has been transformed into a huge cemetery swallowing up the new damned of the earth who, forced to flee misery, marginalisation, repression, war and the harmful effects of climate change in their countries of origin, are seeking a better life by facing the risks of violence and death to cross the security citadels. The security policies pursued by states both north and south of the Mediterranean have resulted in an unprecedented decline in the protection of migrants’ rights. In the Maghreb region, the powers that be are pursuing security policies that affect the rights of migrants and nationals alike. The degrading treatment, expulsions and forced displacement of migrants continue to grow in line with the agreements and disagreements between the countries of the South and the countries of the North. These all-security policies are accompanied by arrests of human rights activists and opponents of government policies. Moreover, by adopting policies of externalising borders, the European Union is strengthening and legitimising the authoritarian powers in place on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, abandoning a foreign policy based on the promotion of human rights and democracy.  

The conference will be an opportunity to identify the situation of migrants, the legal shortcomings in their protection and, above all, to denounce these security practices and make our contribution to converging our resistance and organising a Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on Migration in Italy in 2025, which will focus on deciphering the violations of fundamental rights resulting from restrictions on freedom of movement, socio-economic and cultural violations and the rise of racism and xenophobia.

Moderation: Sara Prestianni, Euromed Rights

Interventions: 

• Nour Khalil, Refugees Platform in Egypt (RPE) 
• Kamal Lahbib, Forum des Alternatives Maroc (FMAS – Morocco)
• Alaa Talbi, Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES)
• Fausto Melluso, ARCI
• Antonio Manganella, Avocats Sans Frontières (AFS)
• Luciana Castellina, TPP secretariat
• Gianni Tognoni, TPP secretariat