Majority of migrants crossing sea to get to EU not in need of protection, says UN envoy

The majority of migrants using one of the most common sea routes into Europe are not in need of “international protection”, a report by the UN refugee agency has found.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) found that more than 70 per cent of those making the perilous crossing from Libya are unlikely to qualify for asylum when they arrive.

In response to the figures, Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR special envoy for the region, has admitted that a “fair and equitable return mechanism” must be put in place or “the entire asylum system will be called into question”.

It comes as a record number of migrants attempt to cross the English Channel in small boats, many of whom will have come across the Mediterranean into Europe before travelling across land to Calais.

Tony Smith, the former director general of the Border Force, has said that officials are seeing the “same faces” among those attempting to make the crossing.

“A lot of people who are in Calais have already been told that they cannot stay in the EU, some of them have been refused in a couple of different countries, but they don’t want to go back," he told the Telegraph.

“The French can’t remove them so they are just their names and details and telling them to stop trying to break the law.”

Mr Smith, who now chairs an international border association including the UK border force, said that the smugglers have the “upper hand” and it will encourage more people to travel to northern France to "try their luck".

“They have found a gap in our defences. The Government cannot fix this on its own because it is an international issue which requires French action,” he said.

“We must put the smugglers out of business. These are busy shipping lanes, the boats could get run over by a ferry without even knowing it, and babies drowning in the Channel is not what anyone wants to see.

“There is a real reason for stopping this no matter what your opinion on asylum is, this is a matter of life of death. These are human beings and these organised criminal gangs do not care if they survive or not.”

He said that an agreement of “cross jurisdiction” is needed, with French and British border officials doing joint patrols and taking anyone found attempting the perilous crossing back to France.

More than 5,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year, with August’s total of more than 1,200 so far making it the busiest month on record.

Meanwhile UN figures show that of the 41,129 migrants who have come to Europe by sea or land this year, the most common nationality of arrivals is Tunisian, accounting for 18.3 per cent, followed by Algerian at 10.3 per cent.

According to the UNHCR, arrivals from Libya to Italy and Malta made up 68 per cent of arrivals to Europe via the Central Mediterranean between January and May.

Some 8,600 people have departed from the North African country by sea, with Bangladeshis, Sudanese and Somalis the most common nationalities making the crossing.

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The report states: “As of the end of May, an estimated 28% of the people who had crossed the sea from Libya are likely to be in need of international protection.”

The vast majority of those attempting to reach Britain from Calais have travelled over land through the EU, experts say with UN figures showing that the most common route into the Schengen zone is across the Mediterranean.

Mr Smith said that smugglers who facilitate the crossings tell the migrants to claim asylum, as they can then no longer be dealt with or sent back to their country of destination by the Border Force.

To be granted asylum a person needs to prove that they are unable to return to their home country because of persecution. Many of those who are not eligible for asylum are considered to be economic migrants.