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UN bodies urge EU leaders to improve response to Mediterranean tragedies

Xinhua, April 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Major UN humanitarian bodies on Thursday issued a joint statement here strongly urging European leaders to put human life, rights, and dignity first when agreeing upon a common response to the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean.

The joint statement was undersigned by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for International Migration and Development, and Director-General of the International Organization for Migration.

"We urge EU (European Union) member states to demonstrate moral and political leadership in adopting a holistic and forward-looking action plan centered upon these values," the statement said.

According to the joint statement, the EU response needs to go beyond the present minimalist approach in the 10-point plan on migration announced by the EU on Monday, which focuses primarily on stemming the arrival of migrants and refugees on its shores. Instead, the UN officials called for the safety, protection needs, and human rights of all migrants and refugees to be at the forefront of the EU response.

"EU leaders must look beyond the present situation and work closely with transit and origin countries both to alleviate the immediate plight of migrants and refugees, and address in a more comprehensive way the many factors that drive them to resort to such desperate journeys by sea," said the statement, adding that enforcement alone would not solve the issue of irregular migration, but could increase the risks and abuse faced by migrants and refugees.

The UN suggested an action plan that included setting in place a state-led, well-resourced search-and-rescue operation, creating sufficient channels for safe and regular migration, making a firm commitment to receive significantly higher numbers of refugees through EU-wide resettlement, bolstering arrangements to support those countries receiving the most arrivals (Italy, Malta, and Greece) and distributing responsibility more equitably across the EU for saving lives and protecting all those in need.

According to the high-level UN humanitarian leaders, combatting racist and xenophobic rhetoric vilifying migrants and refugees should also be highlighted by the EU member countries.

Earlier this week, UN High Commissioner for Refugees has confirmed that only 28 out of the estimated 85O migrants on board the boat which sunk in the Mediterranean Sea on April 18 are known to have survived, following similar cases earlier last week, as 400 migrant deaths on April 14 south of Malta and 50 more on April 17 were reported. Endit