Is the channel crossing crisis a global issue?

[Blackandbluesed]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2ln150287yo

Sadly more people have died attempting to cross. I understand the various crossing points into Europe have similar issues with high death tolls. Is this now becoming a global/humanitarian crisis that should be being discussed with urgency to seek a resolution on a world stage?

It would be a good idea if the world would unite on this as migration will increase with climate change, so it would help if they started now.

But they won't.

During COVID the world's airplanes were grounded, and cruiseliners moored up. Whilst the solution would have been hard work, it was a global opportunity to talk about climate change solutions. These industries could have been brought back very differently (v.v. differently)

But not a squeak.

These things won't be done, however sensible the idea.

The problem underpinning it is inequality and non functioning economies/states.

Its not so much the issue of where people want to go, its how badly they are trying to leave where they are from

I believe so, and it needs a global response. As do so many issues such as climate change, which is connected to migration anyway.
Can we do it? Not sure.

It is absolutely a global issue.

Global people smuggling gangs who have no care for the safety of their "cargo" as long as they get paid. Often modern day slavery waiting at the other end of the route if they cross safely.

And it's going to get worse as climate change makes more of the planet inhabitable.

The West needs to stop interfering in stable but questionable countries, unseating the dodgy dictators and leaving chaos and anarchy which people rightly want to flee.

The Middle East and North Africa are still suffering from the Blair War Years and it will no doubt take decades more for these countries to settle down.

The numbers are currently tiny compared to what is to come when climate change renders whole countries uninhabitable. The time for global action was 60 years ago. Now all we can really do is watch it happen.

Yes it is a global issue. Eg the UN are always advocating to countries to have safe routes for asylum. Every stretch of water in the world has the same problem of small boats bringing a mix of people who are refugees fleeing war and want to seek safety, and economic migrants fleeing poverty who are seeking jobs and a better life.

A mix of people on the same boats, exploited by the same trafficking and smuggling gangs as States don’t have any formal and legal channels open to them.

The answer is legal routes for people fleeing war, conflict and persecution to reach safety. And legal routes for people wanting to migrate for better economic opportunities to move as a migrant worker.

The UN and many international organisations have serious recommendations and models for both. The problem is that countries across the world, from Indonesia to Australia, from Iran to Oman, from Saudi to South Africa, from Greece and Spain and the UK to Canada and the US, from Dominican Republic to Brazil to Argentina … these countries don’t want to let them in.

So what are we do to about people moving? Human mobility is a thing. For different motivations and needs. But the tensions with States not wanting to cooperate are getting worse. Something has to give.

Mediterranean crossings

Latest Mediterranean deaths highlight need for safe migration routes | UN News

Not heard about as much over here - and many more deaths.

It is a global issue but until the UK does something useful to help the problem of people coming to the UK, then it seems a bit irresponsible to turn to the rest of the world for a solution.

This country should be providing safe routes and allow asylum applications from elsewhere. If they can manage it for all the Ukrainian refugees and all the people from Hong Kong, they can do it for people from the Middle East and Africa too.

There’s another thread about this issue and the recent fatalities, and I gave all the reasons it wouldn’t work on there, but it was easy with Ukraine & Hong Kong because it was only two countries and we weren’t going to refuse any of them.

If we allow asylum applications from outside of the UK, it won’t stop the boats because people who are refused asylum will still want to come. But they’ll be trying harder to evade the authorities, which means taking bigger risks with weather, quality of vessels etc, which means more fatalities.

And safe passage means that anyone who is refused a visa but wouldn’t have gone on a boat, doesn’t have to simply stay where they are, they can just come to the UK and do whatever they like and we won’t be able to prevent it.

@Feelingstrange2

A bit off topic but I have to comment on your claim that:

"During COVID the world's airplanes were grounded."..

They weren't.....

The reality was there was a massive reduction in commercial schedules across some regions (not all) and a fair number of passenger flights continued to operate because many individuals in what were deemed as essential roles had to travel long distances quickly.

Air freight certainly carried on, indeed demand for air freighting of essential items was such that some airlines were flying some really essential freight such as surgical masks and other items of PPE from overseas into UK in the cabins of passengerless airliners.

Good article in DT about the problem in the Canary Islands. It seems to be the most deadly route and has become more used since Italy reduced the boats coming from Tunisia.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/09/15/canary-islands-el-hierro-graveyard-small-boat-migrants/

There were also reports that a lot of flights flew empty to allow the carriers to maintain airport slots.

For info most if all authorities/airports suspended the "use or lose" slot rule for a big chunk of pandemic period.

I think a bit of confusion might have been caused by the fact there were flights with airline callsigns operating with no passengers but carrying a lot of freight.

Yes it's a global issue. Not an issue that a mere political party can solve sadly.

Its a France and UK issue. France dont care cos they want rid of them so that leaves it as a UK issue. And yes it is a global humiliation but Starmer wont fix it given how wet he is.

Zero boat crossings before we voted for Brexit suggest otherwise.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4351994

"A key part of the issue is that the government failed to secure a post-Brexit returns agreement"

"the most effective way to stop more small boat crossings would be for the UK to agree new post-Brexit returns policy with France, and the wider EU"

"The report also claims that the argument that rising numbers of small boat crossings are creating the backlog of asylum claims, is not accurate. Instead, case worker understaffing at the Home Office, reliance on outdated systems and the abolition of six-month targets, are to blame."

Simply for the issue of channel crossings there is a solution, that doesn't need a global response.

I might have missed it, but I can’t see that that report refers to the number of people returned under the Dublin Agreement? I can guarantee you that migrants and traffickers do not give a shit about whether or not the UK is or isn’t in the EU, or whether they can be returned to Europe under that agreement. Look at this report from Migration Watch. The numbers are tiny. Yet we didn’t withdraw from the EU until 2020. https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/briefing-paper/444/transfers-of-asylum-seekers-from-the-uk-under-the-dublin-system#:~:text=There%20were%20just%20209%20transfers,4. These figures wouldn’t make sense if the increase in boats had anything to do with Brexit. The number of returns would have been much, much higher pre Brexit if Dublin was that effective.

The UK is searching freight in France and has invested a fortune in security and equipment to detect people. In comparison, a trafficker can just wander along to one of the local beaches, where there is no security, and pop 50 people in a boat, which would be a massive pain in the neck to do with a lorry unless they pay the driver to turn a blind eye. It’s quicker, it’s cheaper, there’s more chance of the boat making it to the UK and it’s safer for the traffickers than hanging round the port, where they can be watched.

@notimagain

ok maybe i was techinally wrong but hopefully ive made my point.

even when an opportunity is handed to the international politicians nothing is done. Nada. Not even a wimper about trying.

So, what hope is there when things are bobbling along with no easy (or at least easier) opportunity.

I think the UN are toothless. Be that by design or just international lethargy.

Migration Watch? Fuck them and all who sail in them.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/andrew-green-a-divisive-peer-for-a-divided-time-9817055.html

You're correct this is not a Dublin agreement issue, the numbers were very low and the country has to accept people under certain conditions. We took more than we returned under that agreement.

On the question from the op I have thought International law will strain as we progress and today I wondered if a reputable country might break from it fairly soon which would break down the convention

Starmer's policy will prove problematic as the director of Amnesty International migration / refugee rights stated today the 'smash the gangs' will cause higher number of deaths in the Channel

Higher number of crossings and deaths will be difficult for him

I do think the next bogeyman to be given the special treatment will be boat-crossings/migration - to that end many things, including climate change will probably be front and centre. Trying to get people to give a toss about climate change is difficult but when you tie it neatly to the boogeyman, everyone's going to be drinking from cardboard straws.
Having said that, the world is getting worse and worse - climate instability, inequality, among other things will be difficult to reckon with. I'm not entirely sure what purpose a 'world forum' would serve. To be quite frank, this is very much the chickens coming home to roost.

I’m very happy to stand corrected if you can find a better source of figures for removals under Dublin prior to us withdrawing from Brexit?

You might not like him, and that’s fair enough, but it’s still the case that the small boats aren’t down to Brexit. Many things are, but not the small boats.

I did see murmurs that some official in Germany was suggesting that they take over the facilities in Rwanda, which was shut down pretty quickly, but they are still having discussions about ‘…processing asylum applications in third countries under international humanitarian law and with support of the United Nations." according to the BBC. Do you think Germany will break from it? Or another country?