Helping refugees
June 9, 2011
Thomas Hammarberg, human rights commissioner at the Council of Europe, has called on the EU to increase its efforts to prevent more refugee drowning deaths in the Mediterranean.
In a statement released Wednesday, Hammarberg estimated that around 1,400 people had lost their lives so far this year while attempting to flee Libya for Europe by crossing the Mediterranean. The majority of those killed were from Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and other sub-Saharan countries.
The most recent incident took place last week, when at least 150 people drowned after their boat capsized.
Europe's 'silence and passivity' difficult to accept
Hammarberg said Europe wasn't doing enough to come to the aid of these refugees.
"European governments and institutions have more responsibility for this crisis than they have demonstrated so far," Hammarberg said on his official website. "Their silence and passivity are difficult to accept. When preventing migrants from coming has become more important than saving lives, something has gone dramatically wrong."
Hammarberg points out that while European governments have made attempts to halt the flow of immigrants from North Africa, many people fleeing the unrest in Libya have grounds for seeking international protection.
To reduce the number of people killed while making the risky crossing, Hammarberg has suggested an increase in air surveillance that could identify departing vessels and spot any that may be vulnerable - due to overloading, for example.
"In view of the ongoing military operations it would be difficult to argue that there are no resources for such reconnaissance activity," said Hammarberg.
NATO forces have been conducting airstrikes against forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi since March.
Author: Matt Zuvela (AFP, KNA, EPD)
Editor: Martin Kuebler