The FB page of Eunavfor Med - Sophia reported that the French ship JACOUBET rejoins the Task Force of Operation Sophia again. European Union operation focused on combating and eliminating the phenomenon of trade in migrant smugglers and human traffickers. An operation that actively contributes to the EU's efforts to restore stability and security in Libya and in the Central Mediterranean region.
Operation EUNAVFOR MED Sophia it is only one element of a broader EU global response to the migration issue, which seeks to address not only its physical component but also its root causes, including conflict, poverty, climate change and persecution. The mission's main mandate is to undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture and dispose of ships suspected of being used by migrant smugglers, in order to contribute to wider EU efforts to destroy the business model of human trafficking in the Southern Central Mediterranean and prevent further loss of life at sea. As agreed by the EU ambassadors in the Security Committee on 28 September, the operation moved to phase 2 of international waters, which involves the embarkation, search, seizure, on the high seas, of ships suspected of being used for smuggling or human trafficking. On June 20, the Council extended the mandate of Operation Sophia until July 27, 2017, strengthening the mission by adding two additional tasks:
- training of Libyan coast guards and navy;
- to contribute to the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya.
Because the mission is called Sophia
Sophia is a child born on 24 August 2015 at 04.15 on board the German frigate Schleswig-Holstein, which operates in the central Mediterranean Sea as part of the EUNAVFOR MED task force. Born to a Somali mother recovered together with 453 other migrants and disembarked the same day in the port of Taranto, Sophia takes its name from the German ship dedicated to the Prussian princess Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein (8 April 1866 - 28 April 1952).
"I will suggest to the Member States to change the name of our operation: instead of calling it EUNAVFOR MED, I suggest using the name: Sophia. Honoring the lives of the people we are saving, the lives of the people we want to protect and conveying the message to the world that fighting smugglers and criminal networks is a way to protect human life ".
images: FB OPSOPHIA page