At least 144 Bangladeshi nationals have been repatriated from Libya. They have already left Benghazi by air with the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Among them, 12 Bangladeshi nationals were detained at the Benghazi Ganfuda Detention Centre in Libya. The flight is expected to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Friday (February 23).  

The 25 survivors were taken to a detention center in Libya. The International Organization for Migration has said the central Mediterranean remains one of the world's most dangerous migration routes.   Around 61 migrants are believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after their vessel was swamped by high waves off the coast of Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said late on Saturday. Most of the victims were from Nigeria, Gambia and other African countries. They included women and children.   There had been 86 people on board the boat, which departed from Zuwara on Libya's western coast, witnesses told the agency. Authorities transferred the 25 survivors to a detention center back in Libya. The IOM said it "provided medical support" to the survivors who the organization said were all in good condition. 'One of the world's most dangerous migration routes' "The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world's most dangerous migration routes," the IOM said. IOM spokesperson Flavio Di Giacomo said that more than 2,250 people have died this year on the central Mediterranean migrant route. He said this was a "dramatic figure which demonstrates that unfortunately not enough is being done to save lives at sea." The Mediterranean Sea is one of the main routes for migrants in Africa to reach Europe, via Italy.   Sea migrant arrivals to Italy have almost doubled compared with the same period last year, with around 140,000 people coming ashore so far this year. Other deadly incidents this year included the sinking of a fishing boat packed with hundreds of migrants off Greece in June. The vessel had departed from Tobruk, Libya, and 78 deaths were recorded.  The fate of 518 remains unknown, according to an IOM report.  

Amid the ongoing issue of illegal immigration, around 450,000 Afghan migrants have willingly returned to the country from Iran, Khaama Press reported, citing Iranian local media reports. Quoting Javad Khani, the official who is in charge of managing illegal migrants at the National Organisation for Migration in Iran, Tasnim News Agency has stated that there is a possibility of approximately four million illegal migrants being present in the country. This Iranian official claims that eight main towns in Iran--Tehran, Sistan and Balochistan, Khorasan Razavi, Qom, Kerman, Yazd, Fars, and Alborz--are home to 92 per cent of the country's illegal Afghan migrants. Tasnim News Agency is a semi-official news agency in Iran associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Iranian official further underlined that at least one million illegal Afghan migrants in the country have received identity cards to date, Khaama Press reported, citing Iranian local media. According to a Khaama Press report, Javad Khani further noted that the enormous number of migrants in Iran are citizens of Afghanistan, and initiatives have been launched to organise those lacking the necessary paperwork. Last week, Afghan refugees in Iran raised concerns regarding the increase in deportations, arrests, and harassment by the police, TOLO News reported. The Taliban has called on neighbouring countries to not deport Afghan refugees. Deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan has intensified, and now Iran has also initiated forced deportations. Afghan refugee representatives in Iran have criticised the Iranian government and the international community for their perceived lack of support and have called on them to address the challenges faced by Afghan refugees. "Afghan refugees are being deported from Iran. The Iranian people and government are very oppressive towards refugees. Iran pushes out refugees ahead of winter when it is not right," said Spogmai Jabbarkhil, an Afghan refugees' representative in Iran, as per TOLO News.

Over 2,500 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean so far in 2023 while trying to cross into Europe, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Thursday in New York. That is a stark increase from the 1,680 dead or missing migrants in the same period last year. Migrants and refugees "risk death and gross human rights violations at every step," Ruven Menikdiwela, director of the UNHCR New York office, told the Security Council. This comes on the same day when European Union interior ministers met in Brussels to discuss how to handle people migrating to Europe by sea amid growing concern from member states Italy and Germany. Member states and the European Parliament have been negotiating for years on far-reaching reforms to the bloc's common asylum system but without results. What did the UN say? Some 186,000 people have already arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean Sea between January and September 24 of this year, according to the UNHCR. Of this, 130,000 have arrived in Italy, marking an 83% increase compared to last year. Others landed in Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Malta. As for the origin of the migrants, 102,000 crossed the Mediterranean from Tunisia and another 45,000 from Libya. Roughly 31,000 people were rescued at sea or intercepted and disembarked in Tunisia and 10,600 in Libya, Menikdiwela said. Menikdiwela reminded the Security Council that the land journey from sub-Saharan African countries, where many migrants originate, to the departure points on the coast of Libya and Tunisia "remains one of the world's most dangerous." "Lives are also lost on land, away from public attention," Menikdiwela said.  Foreign minister says country limited Tunisian Interior Minister Kamel Fekih told DW that his country was limited in what it could do to stem the flow of migrants to Europe. "From the beginning, we have emphasized that migration cannot be managed without addressing its causes. But Tunisia can only protect its own borders. It cannot be a border guard for others, except [indirectly] by monitoring its own borders." Fekih also referred to the difficult economic situation in his country. "Tunisia is in a difficult situation. We are therefore unable to take in this [high] number of African immigrants from sub-Saharan and Sahel countries." The minister also made it clear that he expected financial aid from the EU to be paid out soon as part of the recently agreed cooperation with the EU on the issue of irregular migration and the associated smuggling crime.

In a first,  Relief Organisation (Migrant) Jammu and Kashmir are providing Electors Photo Identification Cards (EPICs) to the Kashmiri migrant voters at Jammu who filled their voter forms during the Special Summary Revision held in the month of September 2022. Continuing with the Campaign, EPICs were distributed among the Kashmiri migrant voters today at the migrant Camp Jagti where a large number of migrant voters availed this facility and collected their EPICs, a press statement read. The Relief Organisation, in collaboration with the office of Chief Electoral, J&K, in a first-of-its-kind initiative, is facilitating the distribution of "EPICs" to Kashmiri migrant voters at their convenience and for the purpose, a Special Campaign has been launched from June 19 to July 1 in migrant camps and non-camp areas in Jammu. Before this, the EPICs, after final printing, were placed at the disposal of local Block Level Officers of Kashmir Valley for further distribution, it said. Kashmiri Migrants being out of the valley were not able to collect their EPICs owing to the fact that they are residing at various places in Jammu and other parts of the country, it added. Source: The Economic Times

Authorities found the group of migrants, which included 11 children, after they were abducted in the northern city of Matehuala. Mexico's military on Thursday said that troops had managed to find all 49 missing migrants who were abducted from a bus earlier this week. Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said 650 police and soldiers were mobilized to search for the abducted group which included 11 children. Sandoval said the migrants were found in a number of groups in the central state of San Luis Potosi and neighboring Nuevo Leon in the north. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday that a gang was responsible for kidnapping the group. Some migrants managed to flee captors Earlier on Thursday media reported that nine people wad been rescued after they fled, and at that time 40 were still missing. Officials said the migrants were traveling north towards the US in a bus from the southern state of Chiapas when they were attacked. Those who were rescued were from Venezuela and Honduras, according to reports citing authorities in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon. Some of the migrants told authorities that members of a criminal syndicate had boarded the bus when it stopped at a gas station. The gang demanded a ransom of $1,500 (€1,383) for each kidnapped person, said the National Confederation of Mexican Transporters. Latest incident in string of abductions "Unfortunately, there are gangs that engage in kidnapping," Lopez Obrador said. Gangs and drug cartels have long been active in the area where authorities had been searching for the migrants. In recent months, a string of such kidnappings has been reported, as gangs seem to increasingly charge migrants for fees to cross Mexico and then abduct them for ransom. The National Institute of Migration has said that more than 2,100 migrants were kidnapped in Mexico last year. Around 35 people, including tourists and migrants, were abducted last month in the country's northeast. They were later found in a desert area.

Bangladesh has urged international community to scale up global actions including climate financing for protecting persons displaced by climate change and associated disaster. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen made the call while speaking at a panel discussion organized by IOM during its 2023 International Dialogue on Migration held at the United Nations Headquarters on Friday, according to a press release received here today. The foreign secretary also called upon development partners to extend financial support for implementing the recently launched Bangladesh's national adaptation plan 2023-2050. "The recently adopted UN General Assembly Resolution requesting for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on obligations of States in respect of climate change recognizes the link between climate change and displacement of affected persons," he said. Masud shared various initiatives undertaken by the Bangladesh government in addressing the impact of climate change including the Eighth Five Year Plan' incorporating action point to address the environment, climate change adaptation and mitigation, establishment of Climate Change Trust Fund and launching of 'Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan'. "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also undertaken the biggest housing project for climate migrants in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, the "Khurushkul Special Ashrayan Project", he added. Earlier on the day, the foreign secretary held a bilateral meeting with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Department of Peace Operations at the United Nations Headquarters. During the meeting, Lacroix thanked Bangladesh for serving the UN peacekeeping operations as the top troops and police contributing country with dignity, sincerity and high professionalism. Masud requested Under-Secretary-General (USG) to appoint more officers from Bangladesh in the Department of Peace Operations. In return, USG assured to work more closely with Bangladesh in this regard. Permanent Representative Muhammad Abdul Muhith accompanied the foreign secretary in the meeting.

The Council of Europe has slammed member states for their "degrading treatment" of migrants at the borders. It said many were subjected to "punches and slap blows" by law enforcement officials. The Council of Europe's Comittee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published its annual report on Monday, criticizing member states and particularly those on the EU's external border for "inhuman and degrading treatment" of migrants pushed back from their borders. Foreign nationals were subjected to "punches, slaps blows with truncheons, other hard objects [...] by police or border guards," the CPT said in the report. What tactics were used against the migrants? The report did not list specifics on the numbers of cases or the most likely locations, but spoke of "numerous consistent and credible allegations" of mistreatment "at the borders of several Council of Europe member states." It said it had examined pushback practices along all of the major known land and sea routes, destined mainly for EU member states in the end, in the Balkans, the Mediterranean and on Europe's eastern borders.  "Other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment were also deployed, such as firing bullets close to the persons' bodies while they lay on the ground, pushing them into rivers (sometimes with their hands still tied)," the report said. Officials also coerced the migrants to remove their clothes and shoes, "forcing them to walk barefoot and/or in their underwear and, in some cases, even fully naked across the border." The CPT also gathered medical evidence, such as dog-bite marks on the limbs of affected people. The supporting evidence for the pushback operations, as mentioned by the victims, was collected by examining informal logbooks, CCTV footage, and photographs at the European frontier, the CPT said. 'Pushbacks must end' "Many European countries face very complex migration challenges at their borders, but this does not mean they can ignore their human rights obligations. Pushbacks are illegal, unacceptable, and must end," said the head of CPT, Alan Mitchell. The Committee also urged its 46 member states to ensure that migrants have the right to proper medical and vulnerability assessments and can apply for asylum. "Detention should only be used as a measure of last resort," the report said. The migrants should also be protected against ill-treatment during the detention and have access to a lawyer, and be made aware of their rights, the report added. It urged for cases of detention to be accurately recorded. Rising numbers of refugees More than 5 million people came to Europe at the end of 2016, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) website. Thousands have been either killed or gone missing during their journeys since 2015. Also, the number of migrants arriving in Europe doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year, reaching up to 330,000 in numbers, according to EU's border agency Frontex. Russia's war on Ukraine has also added to migratory pressures as countries face higher food and fuel prices. Russia was excluded from the Council of Europe and by extension the CPT after its invasion of Kyiv last year.

The bodies were found in Cutro in eastern Italy. The migrants reportedly drowned after their boat broke up against rocky reefs. At least 59 people were found drowned off the southeastern Italian coast early on Sunday after the boat they were in broke up off the coast, Italian officials said. Eighty more migrants were rescued after their wooden sailng boat smashed into rocky reefs and sunk. Italian police and Carabinieri arrived at the scene in the city of Cutro, in Crotone, the Italian ANSA news agency reported.  The boat took off from Turkey and was believed to be carrying over 170 migrants when it ran into trouble in the Ionian sea at dawn, according to UN bodies. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration therefore expected the death toll to climb, they said in a joint statement The retrieved bodies included those of women and a baby. Rescue operations involved firefighters, divers and aquatic rescuers, the national firefighters' department said on Telegram. The boat was believed to be carrying migrants mostly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, the UN bodies said. Italy and Spain often complain that they take in the biggest number of those trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe, hoping for what they believe will be a better life, as their shores are usually closest to the boats rescued by NGOs. How did the Italian government react? Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her "deep sorrow" for the lives lost, blaming "human traffickers."  She pledged in a statement to stop irregular sea migration to prevent more "tragedies," demanding "maximum collaboration" from countries of "departure and of origin." Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi meanwhile stressed the importance of ending sea crossings that he said offer migrants the "illusory mirage of a better life" in Europe, enrich traffickers, and result in such tragedies. The far-right government has recently pushed through parliament a controversial law that restricts migrants' rescue.  The bill limits migrant aid vessels to a single rescue attempt at a time. Critics argue this risks increasing the number of migrants lost at sea. Prayers and vows for migration efforts European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the need to redouble efforts on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. The policy document sets out the EU's migration agenda for years to come. Von der Leyen said she was "deeply saddened by the terrible shipwreck." "The resulting loss of life of innocent migrants is a tragedy," she said. Pope Francis also expressed his sorrow for those whose bodies have been recovered. "I pray for every one of them, for the missing and for the other surviving migrants," the Pope said in his weekly address to crowds in St. Peter's Square. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi expressed solidarity with the survivors of the shipwreck, but urged for state action. "Time for states to stop arguing and to agree on just, effective, shared measures to avoid more tragedies," he said. Chiara Cardoletti, UNHCR Representative for Italy, the Holy See and San Marino, also said rescue capacity, which she described as "insufficient," needed to be strengthened and improved, especially when migrants are "driven to flee conflict and persecution." “It is unacceptable to witness such horrors, with families and children entrusted to dilapidated and unseaworthy boats. This tragedy must lead us to act and act immediately”.

The truck, which was carrying timber, had hidden close to 40 migrants from Afghanistan. Four Bulgarian suspects have been arrested. The police in Bulgaria found the bodies of 18 migrants in an abandoned truck near the capital Sofia on Friday. The Bulgarian Interior Ministry said that according to initial information, the truck was carrying about 40 migrants and the survivors were taken to nearby hospitals. The country's Health Minister Assen Medzhidiev said most of the survivors were in very bad condition. "They have suffered from lack of oxygen, their clothes are wet, they are freezing, and obviously haven't eaten for days,'' Medzhidiev said. Officials said that based on initial information, the migrants originated from Afghanistan. Four Bulgarians have been detained as suspects in the case. Migrants trafficked to Bulgaria The truck, which was transporting timber, had hidden the migrants "under some wood" said officials. The head of the National Investigative Service, Borislav Sarafov, explained that the migrants had illegally crossed the border via Turkey. They had hid in the woods for two days before being loaded onto the truck in southeastern Bulgaria. He confirmed that the migrants died from asphyxia and added that given the number of victims, "this is the deadliest incident with migrants in Bulgaria." Bulgaria: A gateway to Europe The Balkan country of Bulgaria is located on a major route for migrants from the Middle East and Afghanistan who are seeking to enter Europe through Turkey. The country of 7 million is the poorest member of the EU. Bulgaria has erected a 259-kilometer (161-mile) barbed wire fence along its border with Turkey. However, with the help of local human traffickers, migrants continue to enter. Data from the Interior Ministry reflects that in 2022, the border police thwarted 164,000 "irregular crossing" attempts, compared to 55,000 in 2021. Mounting criticism against Bulgaria Sofia has faced mounting accusations of human rights abuses as asylum seekers reported that they have been pushed back, locked up, stripped and beaten. Bulgarian authorities have denied the accusations. In December, Austria and the Netherlands blocked the country's bid to join the Schengen border-free zone, over security and rule-of-law concerns. Bulgaria asked the EU for €2 billion ($2.1 billion) to strengthen the border fence and improve surveillance. Brussels has refused the request. Previous such incidents  The gruesome discovery of the recent bodies drew comparisons to previous cases. In 2015, at the peak of Europe's migration crisis, the bodies of 71 migrants were found piled up in the back of a poultry refrigerator truck in Austria. A Hungarian court handed three Bulgarians and an Afghan national life prison sentences over the case.  In 2019,  39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck in Britain shortly after it had crossed over from mainland Europe. In recent years, several such cases have been reported in Croatia, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands.