UN chief urges EU to accelerate support for addressing migrant issue

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged the European Union (EU) to accelerate its support for addressing migrant issue in the Mediterranean.

"The Mediterranean is fast becoming a sea of misery for thousands of migrants," said Ban at his briefing on the World Humanitarian Summit. "I urge the European Union to show solidarity by accelerating its support."

Ban's remarks came after recent reports that nearly 700 migrants are suspected to have died at sea when a packed ship capsized in international waters south of Italy's Sicily on Saturday night.

"Today's headlines have brought new reminders of why the Summit is needed," said Ban, who also condemned the attack in Somalia on a UN vehicle, in which several UN staff, who "bring humanitarian action to life," were killed and injured.

The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit will be held in Istanbul on May 26-27, 2016, to generate global support for changes in humanitarian action.

According to UN statistics, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance around the world has doubled in just ten years. Over 31 million people are displaced by conflict, more than at any time since 1945.

In this regard, the UN chief called on all actors in the international community to join the summit to commit to a new vision for humanitarian action, saying that new ways must be found to make people more resilient to shocks and less reliant on humanitarian aid.

"It will also be an opportunity to join the efforts of the humanitarian community with other actors from development, peace- building and peacekeeping for a more coherent approach in the achievement of our common goals," he added. Endite