Today's “solidarity” voyage by high-ranking United Nations and European Union (EU) officials on an Italian Navy vessel off the coast of Sicily must prompt EU governments to expand Operation Triton's operational area and overhaul migration and asylum policy to stem the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Mediterranean, Amnesty International said. An Amnesty International delegation returned yesterday from Sicily and Lampedusa, where it gathered harrowing testimonies from survivors of recent shipwrecks and met local officials who expressed outrage at European leaders’ limited approach to search-and-rescue operations. Talking points:
On Monday 27 April, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, will join Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on board the Italian Navy ship San Giusto off the coast of Sicily. According to a European Commission statement, the aim of the visit will be "to assess the situation and help ensure European solidarity for the efforts undertaken to save the lives of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea." Amnesty International has just published a briefing, Europe’s sinking shame: The failure to save refugees and migrants at sea, calling on European governments to take immediate and effective steps to end an ongoing catastrophe that has left thousands of refugees and migrants dead. |
27.04.2015 Africa
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