Thirty-nine people, including seven women—one of them pregnant—and 13 children, were rescued at sea this morning by the crew of the M.V. Louise Michel after Alarm Phone alerted the vessel to an overcrowded and unseaworthy rubber boat in distress.

According to the crew, those rescued had been traveling without adequate life-saving equipment, fuel or food. Some were reportedly suffering from fuel burns. The group is now being transported toward Messina.

The rescue comes as monitoring of migration-enforcement operations in Libya points to hundreds of people being intercepted, arrested or otherwise processed in operations across the country.

Between October 2 and 4, an estimated 312 to 342 people were reportedly caught up in such operations, although the actual number could be higher.

Around Tobruk, monitoring reports indicate that approximately 120 to 150 people were intercepted during land operations. In Tripoli’s Tajoura and Ain Zara areas, around 85 people were reportedly detained during house and workplace raids.

Off the coast of Zawiya, a further 62 people were reportedly intercepted at sea and returned to Libya, while around 45 others were reported to have been caught along southern transit routes near Kufra.

The figures illustrate the different stages of migration enforcement faced by people attempting to leave Libya: interception on land, detention, interception at sea and, in some cases, deportation or forced return.

At the same time, civilian search-and-rescue organisations operating in the Mediterranean continue to face investigations, administrative measures against their vessels, fines and political criticism over their activities.

The contrast has prompted criticism from rescue organisations, which argue that humanitarian groups face increasing restrictions while Libyan security and interception actors continue to receive European cooperation, training, equipment and funding as part of efforts described as “migration management.”

The issue has become a contentious part of Europe’s migration policy, with advocates questioning whether measures intended to prevent irregular migration are contributing to the detention and forced return of people who are attempting to reach safety.

For the 39 people rescued by the Louise Michel, the journey has continued toward Italy. For hundreds of others reportedly intercepted across Libya in recent days, the outcome has been detention, return or removal from migration routes.

L’ancien responsable de la politique et de l’évaluation au HCR, Jeff Crisp, s’est interrogé sur la représentation des migrants à la prochaine Conférence de Vienne sur les migrations 2026, demandant combien de migrants y participeront par rapport aux responsables chargés des affaires intérieures, de la sécurité et du contrôle des frontières.

Crisp a soulevé cette question en réaction à une publication du Centre international pour le développement des politiques migratoires (ICMPD), annonçant l’ouverture des inscriptions pour suivre en ligne sa conférence annuelle phare.

« Combien de migrants seront présents à cette conférence ? Et combien de responsables des affaires intérieures, de la sécurité et du contrôle des frontières ? », a écrit Crisp.

L’ICMPD a indiqué que la 11e édition de la Conférence de Vienne sur les migrations se tiendra les 16 et 17 novembre et réunira des décideurs de haut niveau, des praticiens et des experts d’Europe et d’ailleurs pour un échange de haut niveau sur les politiques migratoires.

Dans sa publication, l’organisation n’a pas précisé combien de migrants ou de représentants d’organisations dirigées par des migrants participeraient à la conférence.

L’intervention de Crisp attire l’attention sur la composition des forums consacrés aux politiques migratoires, notamment sur la mesure dans laquelle les personnes ayant une expérience directe de la migration y sont représentées aux côtés des responsables gouvernementaux et des professionnels des politiques migratoires.

La Conférence de Vienne sur les migrations est organisée chaque année par l’ICMPD, une organisation internationale qui travaille avec les gouvernements et d’autres parties prenantes sur les politiques migratoires et de mobilité.

La conférence de 2026 doit se tenir à Vienne, avec un accès en ligne disponible pour les participants inscrits.    

Former UNHCR policy chief Jeff Crisp has questioned the representation of migrants at the forthcoming Vienna Migration Conference 2026, asking how many migrants will participate compared with officials responsible for interior affairs, security and border control.

Crisp raised the question in response to a post by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) announcing that registration had opened for the livestream of its annual flagship conference.

“How many migrants will be at this conference? And how many officials from the interior, security and border control establishment?” Crisp wrote.

ICMPD said the 11th edition of the Vienna Migration Conference will be held on November 16 and 17, bringing together senior decision-makers, practitioners and experts from Europe and beyond for a high-level exchange on migration policy.

The organisation did not indicate in the post how many migrants or representatives of migrant-led organisations would participate in the conference.

Crisp’s intervention draws attention to the composition of migration-policy forums, particularly the extent to which people with direct experience of migration are represented alongside government officials and policy practitioners.

The Vienna Migration Conference is organised annually by ICMPD, an international organisation that works with governments and other stakeholders on migration and mobility policy.

The 2026 conference is scheduled to take place in Vienna, with livestream access available to registered participants.