The Director-General for Italians Migration Policies, Luigi Maria Vignali, signed today on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation the Protocol to implement “Humanitarian Corridors/Evacuations for Afghanistan”. The ceremony, held at the Palazzo del Viminale, was attended by the Minister of the Interior, Luciana Lamorgese.
Signatories to the agreement, in addition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior, are IOM and UNHCR and civil society organisations, including the Community of Sant’Egidio, CEI (Italian Episcopal Conference)/Caritas, FCEI (Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy)and Waldensian Table, ARCI (Italian Cultural Recreational Association) and NIHMP (National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty).
Upon the initiative of Minister Di Maio, and in line with the Italian Action Plan for Afghanistan, the project will create a legal channel of entry into Italy for 1,200 Afghan citizens refugees in neighbouring countries (Iran and Pakistan) in continuity with the efforts already made in the ‘Aquila Omnia’ operation.
As a sign of the Italian government’s commitment to assisting Afghan refugees, the protocol confirms and innovates the Italian “good practice” of humanitarian corridors, the most advanced in Europe in terms of refugee reception.
