The situation on the Mediterranean Sea is getting worse, despite the warnings of human rights defenders and despite the recommendations of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights who criticizes the approach focused on measures preventing migrants and refugees to arrive in Europe at the expense of the human rights-based humanitarian approach.

The absence of a systemic and durable solution, the lack of solidarity towards the States concerned by the arrival of migrants across the Mediterranean (Greece, Spain, Italy), the restrictive measures employed towards civil society acting within the limits of humanitarian law and international maritime law, many citizens organize rescue at sea, fulfill their ethical duty, civil disobedience, and risk their lives and freedom.

The courage shown by Carola Racket, captain of the last Sea Watch boat that docked at Lampedusa, has once again awakened public opinion and parliamentarians across Europe. We cannot remain indifferent to this new disaster that continues to transform the Mediterranean Sea into a cemetery.

In April 2019, solidarity and indignation were shown at the event organized at the Palais de l’Europe by the Intelligence Unit – Migration of the Conference of INGOs, sponsored by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The many participants “called on the governments concerned and the EU to take steps to ensure that the complex problems of migration no longer lead to the criminalization of those who assist people in distress”.

Faced with these new cases of “crime of solidarity”, the watch cell of the Conference of INGOs calls for respect for the rule of law and requests the cancellation of the charges against Pia KLEP, captain of the Sea Watch 3, accused by the Italian justice of complicity in illegal immigration between 2016 and 2017.

Both national authorities and intergovernmental institutions should remember that “civilizational” progress is only possible through the participation of civil society and the commitment of the population to human rights, democracy and the state. by right. This is the time to demonstrate it by agreeing on a common and effective response for a management of the reception of migrants who takes as a compass the dignity of the human person.

Marie Hélène, RENATE representative to Council of Europe Conference of INGOs. Strasbourg the 5th of July 2019.

The struggle to effectively communicate your work is something that NGOs of all sizes suffer from. It is crucial for both raising funds and awareness, as well as instilling donor confidence in an organisation’s work. Yet, there is not much training available on it, especially for smaller, frontline NGOs. ARISE’s mission is to build up frontline networks to effectively do their job; so I was delighted when the Albanian country group invited me to provide some training on this exact topic.

My training was unfortunately brief, and could only provide guidance for the process of creating better communications and PR, rather than providing an in-depth solution. It is my hope, however, that it will have provided each attendee with a better sense of how they might – for not much cost – produce better PR and communications materials. Each of the organisations do fantastic work and hopefully the training will give them some better tools to be able to inform donors and others of what they do.

Each of these smaller organisations, by themselves, could not have afforded such a training. This is where RENATE as a network can offer such value by convening the training for all the country members, thus lowering the cost for each. It is one area where being in a network can add immense value to frontline organisations. I would encourage RENATE and other country groups within international networks to invest in more of these solid trainings for its frontline members. Hopefully, they will result in impactful change far outside what each organisation can afford alone.

Ana Stakaj, co-ordinator of the RENATE members in Albania, was delighted with the attendance of 25 members, which included a member from Kosovo,  (CARITAS Kosovo) who travelled especially for the meeting.  The evaluations indicated the training was excellent and most professional. People left very satisfied and glad of the opportunity now to take time to absorb all that had been presented and discussed.

For more on the ARISE Foundation:

http://www.arise.foundation/

From Singapore whilst attending the ICN Congress of nurses, Kevin Hyland, OBE,  shares with us the most up-to-date resource for those working in the nursing profession, in order to guide them in their role in detecting and protecting victims of Human Trafficking.

The guide was launched at the ICN Conference in Singapore on 30 June last and with a membership of 20 million nurses worldwide, Kevin is optimistic about the possibilities for widespread, positive impact from grassroots level upwards.

Endorsed by the  International Council of Nurses, a Federation of more than 130 national nursing associations, the pamphlet is a joint publication of the International Council of Nurses supported by the HR Directorate HSE (Irish Health Services Executive) and the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, RCSI, Ireland.

The resource is in the form of a fold-out pamphlet which firstly outlines the types of Human Trafficking, listing sex trafficking, labour trafficking, organ harvesting and removal. It also lists associated criminal activities such as cannabis cultivation, street crime, street begging, benefit fraud and forced marriages to name but a few.

It highlights some general indicators to look out for in the case of suspected human trafficking and what actions to undertake if a nurse thinks they have identified a person who has been trafficked.

Hopes are high for a positive and critical impact to prevent human trafficking, following the launch of a Joint Liaison Task Force Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Human Beings (JLT-MS) launched at Europol on 2^nd July 2019.

The new task force, coordinated by Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC), will focus on intelligence-led coordinated action against criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling and trafficking of human beings. Liaison officers from all EU Member States and potentially operational cooperation partners will work even closer together to identify networks, prioritise, prepare and execute cross-border operations.. This new operational platform will allow liaison officers from all EU Member States to step up the fight against constantly adapting criminal networks.

Additionally, the new operational platform offers an opportunity to target the proceeds of crime ,in particular money laundering and asset recovery.

Optimistic in responding to the news of the launch of this new task force, Imelda Poole, President RENATE Europe said ‘’This is excellent news. At last, cross border work is being taken really seriously to combat the crime of Human Trafficking and to confront the criminal gangs with even more intelligence than they can muster. It gives hope to us who work at grassroots.’’

Full Press release at: https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/new-task-force-europol-to-target-most-dangerous-criminal-groups-involved-in-human-trafficking-and-migrant-smuggling

This report assesses the reality of families today in the context of sweeping economic, demographic, political, and social transformation. The report features global, regional, and national data. It also analyses key issues such as family laws, employment, unpaid care work, violence against women, and families and migration.

This landmark report proposes a comprehensive family-friendly policy agenda to advance gender equality in diverse families. A package of policies to deliver this agenda is affordable for most countries, according to a costing analysis included in the report. When families are places of equality and justice, economies and societies thrive and unlock the full potential of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report shows that achieving the SDGs depends on promoting gender equality within families.

Full report at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/progress-of-the-worlds-women