Support Our Work Mailing list About / Contact

MSF denied access to holding centre in Lampedusa

01 March 2004

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

On 22 April 2004, the Italian section of the humanitarian doctors' organisation Medici Senza Frontiere (MSF) issued a statement criticising the exclusion of its volunteers from providing medical assistance to migrants in the detention/identification centre on the island of Lampedusa, off the coast of Sicily. The interior ministry did not renew an agreement with the local police force that allowed MSF staff access to the centre. MSF reports that it has been present in the centre since September 2002, providing assistance to approximately 7,000 persons per year. The refusal to guarantee MSF staff access to the centre was officially motivated by the efficiency of the centre's management, although according to Loris de Filippi, responsible for the Italian section of MSF "our staff have repeatedly observed the serious inadequacy of the medical assistance issued to the foreigners", and the centre is often overcrowded, ill-equipped for emergencies, such as the simultaneous arrival of large numbers of migrants, and is unhygienic. MSF relates the denial of access to the centre in Lampedusa to its volunteers as a result of the highly critical report on Italian detention centres (see Statewatch vol 14 no 1) that the organisation published on 26 January 2004, about which it has asked to be heard by interior ministry officials without receiving a reply.

MSF press statement, 22.4.04; www.msf.it/msfinforma/comunicati_stampa/22042004.shtml

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 Previous article

Asylum seekers mutilate hands to avoid Eurodac

Next article 

Migrant deaths

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error

Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.

About | Contact | Privacy Policy