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UN chief stresses need for joint European rescue mechanism in Mediterranean

Xinhua, April 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underscored the need for joint European rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea via phone with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi Tuesday.

The phone call came two days after a migrant shipwreck that might have caused 800 deaths in international waters south of Italy's Sicily.

The two agreed that the international community has a shared responsibility to ensure the protection of migrants and refugees that are making the journey across the Mediterranean Sea, according to the readout of their phone call.

"The Secretary-General underscored the need to ensure a robust joint European rescue-at-sea mechanism in the Mediterranean Sea, and stressed the need for ensuring safe and regular avenues of migration and access to protection," the readout said.

On Monday, Ban urged the European Union to accelerate its support for addressing the migrant issue in the Mediterranean, saying the region is fast becoming "a sea of misery" for thousands of migrants. Endi