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Human Rights Commissioner Löning travels to Tunisia
The Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, Markus Löning, will be in Tunisia from 9 to 11 March. On Thursday (10 March), he will travel to the Tunisian-Libyan border to see at first hand the situation in the refugee camps. In Tunis on Friday (11 March), he will meet representatives of the interim government and exchange views with human rights organizations on the current situation.
Before embarking on his trip, Markus Löning issued the following statement in Berlin today (9 March):
“Tunisia is steering a course towards democratic reforms and the rule of law. We will do everything we can to support this process in dialogue with the Tunisian people.
I want to expressly commend the great solidarity which the Tunisian people has shown towards those fleeing Libya at such a difficult time. The German Government will continue to support the efforts to deal with the humanitarian situation.
The violence in Libya must be stopped. The situation in that country and measures to help end the violence are being discussed with urgency in international fora.”
The situation in the region is also a focus at European level. EU foreign ministers will meet tomorrow (10 March) to examine the situation in Libya and the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy with its partner countries to the south.
The Heads of State and Government will come together for an Extraordinary European Council on this issue on 11 March.
The German Government is providing financial assistance for the evacuation of refugees and has made available flights and naval units. It is also helping to provide emergency medical services in Libya. All in all, the German Government has made available 2.8 million euro for humanitarian aid in the Libya crisis.