An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 15 Italy was responsible for dealing with migrants landing on its shores, Prime Minister Ranzi wanted to share the prob- lem and sought assistance from Europe. (It is estimated that since 2013, over 700,000 migrants, mainly sub-Saharan Afri- cans, have landed in Italy, and in 2015 alone, it was estimated that more than one million migrants crossed the Mediterra- nean into Europe.) This help was slow in coming and it was not until the 2013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck that EU governments began to work together to provide humanitarian assistance. The Italian government decided to strengthen the national system for the patrolling of the Mediterranean Sea by commencing Op- eration Mare Nostrum, a military and humanitarian mission established to rescue migrants and apprehend traffickers. Not everyone attempting the crossing succeeded. In 2013 the president of Malta described the stretch of water as a 'cemetery', due to the large number of migrants who drowned there after their vessels capsized. The president of the European parliament, Martin Schultz, stated in 2014 that because of Europe's migration policy 'the Mediterranean had turned into a graveyard'. At a meeting of the European Council on the 23rd April 2013, EU heads of state and government agreed that the im- mediate priority was to prevent more people from dying at sea. It was agreed to use all the tools at the EU's disposal and to work in cooperation with countries of origin and transit of migrants to tackle the root causes of the evolving humani- tarian crisis. Action was needed and EU funding was allocated for extra personnel to shore up frontline agencies dealing with the crisis, including Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. Operation Sophia was launched as part of the EU's ini- tiatives to provide a comprehensive response to the crisis. Ireland, as part of a bilateral agreement with the Italian gov- ernment, commenced operations in the region by undertak- ing humanitarian search-and-rescue missions. The work of the Irish Naval Service in the region saved an estimated 16,800 lives and they received numerous com- mendations for their missions. In order to try and alleviate the migration crisis from North Africa, Defence Forces personnel have been deployed on the ground in a number of African countries to train local forces and assist in the rebuilding and security of these nations, which will hopefully enable them to return to some form of stability in the future. Since 2015 the numbers of migrants have greatly reduced, many still attempt to cross into Europe from North Africa and the crisis is far from over. Instability still threatens many countries, and conflicts are escalating rather than subsiding. Refugees from war torn regions will continue to seek safety and sanctuary in Europe for the foreseeable future. LÉ Samuel Beckett departs for the Mediterranean. LÉ Niamh on Mediterranean Operations, 20th September 2015. LÉ Roisin on deployment to Mediterranean Operations.

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