50 EU and African States met for a two day conference on migration controls and development in Tripoli from 22 to 23 November 2006
Their host Muammar Gaddafi, of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, opened the conference by telling the assembled ministers that the world should not try to restrict international migration because it is 'inevitable' and commanded by God.
See:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/6176720.stm
Gaddafi failed to mention the Italian funded detention centres for migrants his regime has built at Gharyan near Tripoli or those close to Kufra and Sebha, during his address to the assembly, nor did he mention the repatriation programs for irregular migrants in Libya, sponsored by her northern neighbours .
The EU has also offered 1.5 million euros ($1.9 million) to Libya to back an Italian project to monitor the border with Niger
See: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2245899,00.html
The conference ended with a joint statement promising general measures to boost co-operation in controlling unauthorised migratory flows and to facilitate managed migration. The African states had pushed for a multi-billion dollar development fund to be provided by the EU, but in the end the EU states failed to set up the fund requested by African states
See: ** EU backs away from migration fund **
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/6178500.stm
Instead the EU focussed on promised support for initiatives on labour matching, with the aim of co-ordinating the links between labour supply and demand and on developing 'Migration Profiles' of the migrants' countries of origin.
Franco Frattini, the European Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security, also emphasised the highest importance that the EU states currently attach to the effective implementation by their African partners of their commitments under Article 13 of the Cotonou Agreement to take back migrants rejected by the EU.
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/06/728&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
The British Minister Liam Byrne was especially keen to have a dialogue with his African colleagues on how to make it easier for them to take their nationals back quickly and to do away with unnecessary barriers to removing people 'who do not have a right to be in the UK'
http://www.britainusa.com/sections/articles_show_nt1.asp?a=45310&i=41081&L1=41013&L2=41081&d=-1
See:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/6176720.stm Gaddafi failed to mention the Italian funded detention centres for migrants his regime has built at Gharyan near Tripoli or those close to Kufra and Sebha, during his address to the assembly, nor did he mention the repatriation programs for irregular migrants in Libya, sponsored by her northern neighbours .
The EU has also offered 1.5 million euros ($1.9 million) to Libya to back an Italian project to monitor the border with Niger
See:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2245899,00.html The conference ended with a joint statement promising general measures to boost co-operation in controlling unauthorised migratory flows and to facilitate managed migration. The African states had pushed for a multi-billion dollar development fund to be provided by the EU, but in the end the EU states failed to set up the fund requested by African states
See: ** EU backs away from migration fund **
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/6178500.stm Instead the EU focussed on promised support for initiatives on labour matching, with the aim of co-ordinating the links between labour supply and demand and on developing 'Migration Profiles' of the migrants' countries of origin.
Franco Frattini, the European Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security, also emphasised the highest importance that the EU states currently attach to the effective implementation by their African partners of their commitments under Article 13 of the Cotonou Agreement to take back migrants rejected by the EU.
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/06/728&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en The British Minister Liam Byrne was especially keen to have a dialogue with his African colleagues on how to make it easier for them to take their nationals back quickly and to do away with unnecessary barriers to removing people 'who do not have a right to be in the UK'
http://www.britainusa.com/sections/articles_show_nt1.asp?a=45310&i=41081&L1=41013&L2=41081&d=-1 
