Migrants: 2,700 Tunisian minors in Italy in 2021 – IOM

(ANSAmed) – TUNIS, SEPTEMBER 20 – The number of people who have reached Italy from Tunisia and Libya have increased by 33% in 2021 compared to 2020, said the mission chief for Tunisia of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Azzouz Samri.

He made the statement at the opening session of the seventh edition of the “Summer school on migrations”, organized by IOM, in collaboration with the Tunisian national institute for labor and social studies (Intes), this year under the theme “children and migrations”.

Italian authorities have reported the irregular arrival of nearly 10,000 children in 2021, including 2,700 Tunisians, said Samri on the sidelines of the event. He added that among the 8,000 migrants in Tunisia, 1,800 are children, and 400 migrants have benefited from social and judicial protection measures.

“The delegates for the protection of minors have adopted 39 preventive measures between 2020 and 2021 to house unaccompanied minors, as well as for the treatment of 113 migrant minors exposed to risks”, he stressed. “Social marginalization in many countries of the southern Mediterranean and the civil war in Libya, as well as economic and social crises, are at the foundation of irregular migration”.

For his part, the director general of the National observatory of migrations (ONM), Ahlem Hammami, told Tunisian news agency Tap that Tunisia has ratified all conventions on the right of the child and adhered to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) which includes 152 member countries.

“The fight against the irregular migration of children is a collective effort and a shared responsibility between the State, civil society and international organizations”, he added.

During the seventh edition, participants discussed the socio-economic causes of migration towards the northern shore of the Mediterranean, warning against the dangers of the exploitation of minors and organ trafficking.