UNHCR calls on Europe to improve aid to Libyan refugees at sea
(BRUXELLES2) This is an "urgent appeal" from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming launched a " appeal to European nations to ask them to urgently improve mechanisms for rescue at sea. We are also appealing to ship captains to be more vigilant and continue to act according to the traditional rule of helping people in distress at sea. ».
This call comes as several testimonies echo shipwrecks in the Mediterranean. Refugees who arrived in Lampedusa reported the sinking of a boat, this one " had 600 people on board and was not found as it left Tripoli last Friday explained Flemming. While another testimony, that of " a senior Somali diplomat in Tripoli reports 16 bodies discovered (...) the exact number of dead is unknown she added. A figure which is added to the 800 people of whom there is no news, according to the UNHCR, and who have probably died.
A selfish and blind Europe complains UNHCR
Europe welcomed less than 2% of the population fleeing Libya as a result of the conflict”, explains the UNHCR. 35 boats carrying 12.360 people have reached European shores according to the UNHCR, 11.230 arriving in Italy and 1.130 Malta. A figure to be compared with the 740.000 people - including nearly 250.000 Libyans - who have already fled and were welcomed in Tunisia (mainly), Egypt or Niger.
But the number of migrants, fleeing by sea, Tripoli in particular, is increasing rapidly. On Saturday and Sunday alone, 2400 people arrived. And the European Union has not, for the moment, shown a response commensurate with the challenges in terms of welcoming refugees or migrants. The UNHCR launched an initial appeal last month to European states to urgently put in place more effective and reliable mechanisms to ensure rescue at sea in the Mediterranean. We reiterate that call today explained Flemming.
What does the Frontex mission do?
It should be noted that the European Union has deployed off the European coast, and in particular Lampedusa, near Libya, a surveillance mission, made up of coast guard ships and planes from several countries. This mission coordinated by the border surveillance agency (Frontex) normally aims to monitor migration and, by international obligation, to assist refugees. And it would be amazing to know if these coast guards had any knowledge of ships that were wrecked. And if not, why didn't they know about it. We asked - a few journalists - the question at the European Commission. We are waiting for the answer...
