Whereabouts of the 501 Tunisian migrants who disappeared or were subject to enforced disappearance between 2011 and 2013

30.9.2014

Question for written answer E-007312-14
to the Commission
Rule 130
Sabine Lösing (GUE/NGL) , Cornelia Ernst (GUE/NGL) , Fabio De Masi (GUE/NGL)

According to the Tunisian association ‘Terres pour Tous’, 501 Tunisians disappeared between 2011 and 2013 while attempting to enter the EU, although they were identified by relatives on or after their arrival in Italy either from TV footage or from Red Cross photos. Some of those who disappeared in March 2011 are said to have entered the refugee camp in Lampedusa and then to have been sent on to other camps without first being registered; alternatively their data may have been subsequently deleted. This could constitute enforced disappearance, which is recognised as a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute. Several joint Italian-Tunisian investigation commissions have since been set up, including one with members from the Italian Interior Ministry and the Tunisian Foreign Ministry, but they have not provided relatives with any information about the whereabouts of the missing people.

1. Does the Commission have any information about the findings of the Italian and Tunisian authorities' investigation commissions on the missing migrants?

2. What does the Commission know about the whereabouts of these migrants who arrived in the EU but then disappeared, and is the Commission aware of any similar cases of the disappearance or enforced disappearance of migrants in the EU?

3. What does the Commission propose to do to help clear up these missing persons cases, and to guarantee in future the safety from disappearance or forced disappearance of migrants arriving in Europe ?