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Rome - Rescuers coming to the aid of a dinghy packed with migrants off the coast of Libya said on Tuesday they had discovered 13 bodies including those of pregnant women.

"Thirteen corpses in total. People who had names, surnames, mothers, fathers, friends, and lives," said Proactiva Open Arms, a Spanish NGO involved in rescues in the Mediterranean, on Twitter.

"We have found 167 people drifting," it said earlier noting that "several pregnant women and mothers" were among an initial toll of 11 dead and that their relatives were on board.

A Save The Children ship on Tuesday rescued some 70 migrants who were also attempting to cross in a small boat.

The Italian coastguard confirmed the deaths and said worsening weather conditions at sea were likely to dissuade traffickers for now from setting more boats full of people to sail in the Mediterranean.

Close to 94 000 people have been brought to safety in Italy so far this year, according to Italy's interior ministry, an increase of over five percent compared to the same period last year.

More than 2 370 people have died since January attempting the perilous crossing, the UN refugee agency said.

The fresh deaths came as Italy's Interior Minister Marco Minniti was due to meet with NGOs to discuss a new "code of conduct" to regulate the operations of privately run rescue boats.

The 12-point code, which has been given the green-light by Brussels, would ban aid vessels from entering Libyan territorial waters and oblige them to accept anti-trafficking police officers on board.

While some of the NGOs operating in the Mediterranean have agreed to sign the code, others have insisted doing so would put the lives of vulnerable migrants at sea in flimsy vessels at risk.

Minniti has insisted that those who do not sign the document will not be allowed to dock at Italian ports.

Although Italy has repeatedly stressed that it will continue to save lives at sea, Rome has upped its requests for fellow European states to help shoulder the load - particularly in terms of providing shelter to those rescued.

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Rescuers find 13 bodies in crowded migrant dinghy off Libya - News24

A surge in Libyan oil exports production has increased sharply in the past few months, jumping to four-year highs of over 1 million b/d this month is seeing more and more oil tankers travel to and from the North African countrys key oil terminals, increasing tanker activity and pushing up freight rates in the Mediterranean. So far, so good for shipowners.

But as more tankers call at Libyan ports, something which they were happy to avoid altogether less than a year ago, they can find themselves being drawn into the role of unlikely and possibly begrudging humanitarians.

Increasingly they are receiving calls to assist unseaworthy vessels carrying migrants heading for Europe, shipping sources say.

Under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) which was first introduced after the sinking of the Titanic all vessels have a legal obligation to respond to other vessels in distress.

It is a somewhat incongruous image, an oil tanker teeming with rescued migrants, but it captures two of the big contemporary issues in the world our reliance on oil and energy in general, and the profound economic struggles faced by some in this uncertain world that would force them to undertake such a dangerous journey.

The issue of migrants is becoming a real talking point among shipowners, who argue that picking up in-distress migrants is both time-consuming and a potentially serious security risk: the number of people picked up could easily outnumber the crew and they may even be armed. There havent been any problems to date, but it is an obvious concern.

War-torn Libya has over recent years become the key route for migrants from Africa and the Middle East, serving as a portal to Europe.

This is not new, but with the rise in oil flows out of Libya, there are more tankers in the Libyan waters which has also coincided with even more migrants making their way through the desert terrain of northern Africa to sail from Libya, with the ongoing civil unrest and political instability in the country making it a fertile area for human smugglers and traffickers.

So far this year 93,213 people have arrived in Italy by sea, with a good majority of them on oil tankers, according to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Estimates put the number of people from outside Libya currently in the country and trying to get to Europe at around 300,000.

European and African ministers were meeting in Tunis this week to discuss a plan to limit the flow of migrants to Europe to about 20,000, coupled with a much tougher strategy to deport illegal migrants from Italy and break up smuggling rings.

Much rests on whether or not they can come up with workable solutions. The pressure is becoming ever greater, especially with the Balkan route for migrants having recently been closed by central European countries, forcing more to take to the sea and cross through Libya.

In the face of this Italian government is seriously discussing preventing aid vessels from dropping migrants from Libyan waters to Italian ports, tankers that make rescues could be left in limbo if they cannot disembark the refugees they rescue from the sea at Italian ports.

This is an issue that European shipping markets will definitely be following closely as the role of tankers as unlikely aid vessels continues.

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Unlikely humanitarians shippers returning to Libya face a tough moral dilemma - Platts (blog)

The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, wished to contribute to resolving the Libyan crisis by inviting to La Celle Saint-Cloud on 25 July 2017 the Chairman of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord, Fayez Al Sarraj, and the commander of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar.

This initiative fully supports the role of the new Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Ghassan Salam, who took part in the discussions on 25 July. Frances aim is to contribute to drawing up a political solution and helping the Libyans strengthen the Skhirat Libyan Political Agreement to make it more effective and inclusive.

The meeting in La Celle Saint-Cloud follows on from the meetings already held at various levels in Abu Dhabi, Cairo and Algeria, taking up their consensual elements. It aims to foster sustained and inclusive inter-Libyan dialogue in which all actors in good faith have a role to play.

In this context, the following declaration was adopted by the Libyan parties present:

We, Fayez Al Sarraj, Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, and Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army, met in La Celle Saint-Cloud on 25 July 2017 at the invitation of the President of the French Republic and in the presence of Ghassan Salam, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Libya, in order to advance the cause of national reconciliation, and have agreed as follows:

1. The solution to the Libya crisis can only be a political one and requires a national reconciliation process involving all Libyans, including the institutional, security and military actors who are prepared to participate peacefully, with the safe return of displaced persons and refugees and the creation of a transitional justice, reparation and national amnesty process as well as the implementation of Article 34 on security arrangements of the Libyan Political Agreement.

2. We commit to a ceasefire and to refrain from any use of armed force for any purpose that does not strictly constitute counter-terrorism, in compliance with the Libyan Political Agreement and international treaties, and in order to protect Libyas territory and sovereignty and we strongly condemn all that threatens the stability of the territory.

3. We are committed to building the rule of law in a sovereign, civilian and democratic Libya that ensures the separation and peaceful transfer of powers and respect for human rights, and that has unified national institutions, such as the Central Bank of Libya, the National Oil Corporation and the Libyan Investment Authority. It should guarantee the safety of citizens, the integrity of the territory and the sovereignty of the State and the proper management of natural and financial resources in the interest of all Libyans.

4. We are determined, supported by the impartial work of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, to make effective the Libyan Political Agreement of 17 December 2015 and to continue political dialogue building on the Abu Dhabi meeting of 3 May 2017.

5. We will make all efforts to support the consultations and work of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, which need to be the subject of inclusive political dialogue in which the House of Representatives and the High Council of State will play their full role.

6. We will continue our dialogue beyond La Celle Saint-Cloud meeting, pursuant to this declaration, and we commit to create conditions that are conducive to the work of the House of Representatives, the High Council of State and the High National Election Commission for the preparation of the upcoming elections.

7. We will make all efforts to integrate fighters who so wish into the regular forces and call for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of the others into civilian life. The Libyan army will be made up of lawful military forces ensuring the defence of the Libyan territory in compliance with Article 33 of the Libyan Political Agreement.

8. We have decided to work on establishing a roadmap for the security and defence of the Libyan territory against threats and trafficking of all types. We will work so that all security and military forces present adhere to this plan in the framework of the reunification of the military and security institutions in order to coordinate in the fight against terrorism, control migration flows through the Libyan territory, secure and control borders, and combat organized criminal networks that instrumentalize Libya and destabilize the Central Mediterranean.

9. We solemnly commit to work towards the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible as from 25 July in cooperation with the relevant institutions and with the support and under the supervision of the United Nations.

10. We ask the United Nations Security Council to support the guidelines of this declaration, and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to engage in the necessary consultations with the different Libyan actors.

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Libya - Joint Declaration (Paris, 25 July 2017) - France Diplomatie (press release)

DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Facing abuse and violence in Libya, thousands of African children flee to Italy across the Mediterranean Sea, most of them alone and unprepared for Europe, the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

The majority of Africa's child migrants leave home without their parents' knowledge - often due to domestic violence or family disputes - and do not aim to go to Europe, but plan to find work in nearby countries, a UNICEF study found.

Yet hundreds of refugee and migrant children told UNICEF in Italy that being kidnapped, arrested and held in prison in Libya, as well as witnessing violence towards other migrants, had compelled them to take the risky sea crossing to Europe.

At least 12,200 children arrived in Italy in the first half of the year, all but a few having traveled alone, UNICEF said.

"Concerns are growing about unaccompanied children on the move, especially in Libya," said UNICEF spokesman Patrick Rose.

The voyage from Libya across the Mediterranean to Italy - often on flimsy boats run by people smugglers - has become the main route to Europe for migrants from Africa after a European Union crackdown last year on sea crossings from Turkey.

At least 20,000 migrants are being detained in Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Many are extorted for money by smugglers and gangs, and rising numbers are traded - in what they call slave markets - for forced labor and sexual exploitation, the IOM says.

"The situation for migrants (in Libya) is very dangerous ... there is an extreme level of violence at the hands of kidnappers," Rose told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

The UNICEF study, based on interviews with 850 children aged 15 to 17, found that less than half of those who arrived in Italy intended to go to Europe, and that many of their journeys were fragmented and sometimes lasted longer than two years.

More than 7 million children in West and Central Africa are on the move due to violence, poverty and climate change, making up over half of all migrants in the region, according to UNICEF.

Yet most head to other African nations, and only one in five attempt the perilous journey to Europe, the U.N. agency says.

"What is striking about this study is it shows for the first time that there are overwhelmingly far more reasons that push children to leave their homes, than have been previously understood, and fewer pull factors that lure them to Europe," said Afshan Khan, UNICEF director for Europe and Central Asia.

Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org

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Migrant abuse in Libya drives African children across sea to Europe: UN - Reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - The head of Libya's U.N.-backed government will hold talks in Paris this week with a powerful military commander who has so far rejected his authority, a diplomatic source said.

The talks between Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and commander Khalifa Haftar are aimed at stabilizing the oil-producing country, which has been mired in chaos and fighting since rebels toppled strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Western governments are pushing the U.N.-backed political agreement that installed Serraj's Government of National Unity, but Haftar, whose forces have gained ground in the east of the country, has refused to accept the government's legitimacy.

The two rivals held talks in Abu Dhabi in May, the first in more than a year and a half.

"I know Haftar is in Paris already, Serraj is due to arrive soon. They are aiming for Tuesday," the diplomatic source told Reuters.

A French government spokesman had no comment, and officials with Serraj's government did not return calls. But Libya's Nabaa TV cited a Libyan government source saying Serraj would arrive in Paris on Tuesday.

Years of turmoil in Libya have allowed Islamist State militants and people-traffickers to thrive: the North African country is the main point of embarcation for migrants attempting the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean to Europe.

With no national army, brigades of former rebels who once fought together to oust Gaddafi have become powerful competing factions. Each is backed by rival political leaders in fluid alliances locked in a struggle for control.

Serraj is loosely supported by a coalition of armed brigades in the west of the country, but even in the capital Tripoli his government has struggled to impose its authority.

Diplomats say the Paris talks will focus on agreeing on key principles - that the political accord is the way forward, that no military solution exists, and Libya's military should be under civilian control.

French President Emmanuel Macron wants France to play a more active role in tackling the Libyan crisis. He plans to meet Haftar and Serraj, the source said, adding an encounter could help bring around the commander by offering him "some form of legitimacy".

The idea would be to bring them into an agreement allowing the U.N. to implement the peace deal and set up elections.

Libya's neighbors and regional powers have often disagreed on how to resolve the crisis. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are closer to Haftar and his self-styled campaign against Isamist militants. Worried about security, Algeria and Tunisia push a more inclusive approach.

Even in the European Union, splits have emerged over how best to bring Haftar into the fold. French officials fear Islamic State militants - who were driven from Libya's coastal city of Sirte last year - and other jihadists could try to exploit the country's power vacuum to regroup there again after losing substantial ground in Syria and Iraq.

Reporting by Patrick Markey; Editing by Mark Trevelyan

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Libyan premier, rival eastern commander to meet in Paris: source - Reuters