EN_CPT_AR.book Page 26 Monday, October 25, 2010 5:14 PM CPT General Report 2009-2010 47. In the report, the CPT expresses the view that, in its present form, Italy’s policy of intercepting migrants at sea and obliging them to return to Libya or other nonEuropean countries, violates the principle of non-refoulement. The Committee emphasises that Italy is bound by the principle of non-refoulement wherever it exercises its jurisdiction, which includes via its personnel and vessels engaged in border protection or rescue at sea, even when operating outside its territorial waters. Moreover, all persons coming within Italy’s jurisdiction should be afforded an appropriate opportunity and facilities to seek international protection. The information available to the CPT indicates that no such opportunity or facilities were afforded to the migrants intercepted at sea by the Italian authorities during the period examined. On the contrary, the persons who were pushed back to Libya in the operations carried out from May to July 2009 were denied the right to obtain an individual assessment of their case and effective access to the refugee protection system. 48. The Committee adds that, in the light of the information available, Libya cannot be considered a place of safety, nor a safe country in terms of human rights and refugee law; the situation of persons arrested and detained in Libya, including that of migrants – who are also exposed to being deported to other countries by Libya – indicates that the persons pushed back to Libya are at risk of ill-treatment. Moreover, from the findings of the CPT’s delegation, it appeared that the Italian authorities knowingly pushed back particularly vulnerable persons, and perhaps also persons who could attest to their status as refugees. 49. In their response, the Italian authorities refer to the above-mentioned operations as the “return of migrants, intercepted in international waters, upon request by Algeria and Libya” and as search and rescue operations. They state that in the course of such operations, during the period examined by the CPT, no migrant, once transferred onto an Italian ship, expressed his/her intention to apply for asylum. Further, it is affirmed that English- and French-speaking personnel are present aboard Italian vessels in order to provide adequate information to migrants in the event of an asylum request, and that when such a request is articulated the migrant is brought to mainland Italy. The Italian authorities also argue that Libya is bound by international conventions under which it must respect human rights, that it has ratified the 1969 Organisation of the African Union Refugee Convention, under which it must protect all persons who are persecuted and who originate from “areas at risk”, and that the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has an office in Libya which can respond to the protection needs of those persons who are returned. Report and response published April 2010, CPT/Inf (2010) 14 and CPT/Inf (2010) 15 26