Italian Foreign Minister, Angelino Alfano, said on Monday that the International Organization for Migration managed with the help of the Italian government to send around 19.000 migrants back to their countries of origin in 2017 within the voluntary return program.

In his briefing to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Italian Parliament, Alfano stated that improving the conditions of migrants’ shelters in Libya is a priority for the government, adding that “tangible results” had been achieved in combating “human smuggling networks” in Libya.

He also indicated that the Italian government allocated USD 18 million dollars for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration to make their work more effective.

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