This year most migrants have arrived on crowded boats from Tunisia The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, is to visit the Italian island of Lampedusa.
More than 40,000 refugees, including many Libyans, have arrived on the tiny island, often making the crossing in crowded, unsafe boats.
Some have been escaping the violence in north Africa, whilst many have seen an opportunity to get into the EU.
Actress Angelina Jolie is also visiting Lampedusa, whose population is 5,000, as a UN goodwill ambassador.
Mr Guterres' visit to Lampedusa on Sunday is to see for himself the crowded conditions faced by the migrants.
Thousands have been sent to camps on mainland Italy, leading to a political row with other European Union countries which fear the migrants may cross their borders.
Others have been sent back to Tunisia.
In her role as a UN goodwill ambassador, Ms Jolie will also be present on Lampedusa, just as the UN celebrates World Refugee Day on Monday.
It is the 60th anniversary of the UN's refugee convention and the agency will present its annual report at a conference in Rome.
Refugees will also be taking part in the meeting but it comes at a time when the host nation is making it tougher for migrants to stay.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government is under pressure to keep down the number of refugees arriving in the country.
Italy has just issued a new decree increasing the amount of time an illegal migrant can be held from six months to a year and a half.
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-europe-13826315
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