UN Committee on migrants urges Europe to do more for Syrian asylum-seekers

Europe and notably the Gulf States, should do more to address one of the most tragic mass displacements of people since World War II, the UN Committee on the Protection on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families said on Monday.

The Committee called on the international community to take immediate action to respond to this humanitarian crisis by protecting the lives and health of these people, be they migrants or asylum-seekers.

According to the Committee, the neighbouring States have opened their borders to millions of Syrian migrants, and other countries especially in Europe should do more to help the millions of people being forced to migrate from their homeland in search of safe havens abroad due to the on-going war in Syria.

In the view of the Committee, it is unconscionable that hundreds of men, women and children have died while trying to reach safe shores.

"We are once again shocked and dismayed at the appalling loss of life in the Mediterranean Sea", Committee Chair Francisco Carrion Mena said following the latest drowning of Syrian migrants off the coast of Turkey this week as the Committee was meeting in Geneva.

The UN committee also called on countries to provide more regular channels of migration, and the undeniable flow of migrants towards Europe must be managed in a more ordered and human-rights based way.

According to the UN Committee, states need to recognize the economic and social contributions of migrants and to dispel stereotypes and myths, as well as combat xenophobia and racism against this very vulnerable group of human beings.

"Europeans once fled war and famine and sought opportunities elsewhere. The countries that took these migrants in were enriched by their contributions. Given this background, European and other countries should open their arms and not turn their backs," said the Committee's Chair Francisco Carrion Mena. Endit