(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) A new report released by the human rights organisation Amnesty International Tuesday highlights how the "shameful inaction of European Union (EU) countries has contributed to a spiralling death toll with thousands of refugees and migrants losing their lives in a desperate bid to reach European shores." The report titled Lives adrift: Refugees and migrants in peril in the central Mediterranean, details the findings of recent visits to Italy and Malta, including a research trip on an Italian navy vessel.
"As the EU builds its walls higher and higher, refugees and migrants are increasingly taking to the Mediterranean in a desperate bid to reach European shores. Placed on rickety boats by ruthless smugglers, every week hundreds of them sway between life and death, between hope and despair," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty's Europe and Central Asia Programme Director.
"More than 2,500 people have drowned or gone missing in the Mediterranean on their way from North Africa since the start of the year. Europe cannot ignore the tragedy unfolding on its doorstep. More search and rescue vessels in the central Mediterranean, with the clear mandate of saving lives in the high seas and resources adequate to the task - that's what the EU and its members must urgently provide," he said.
The report says that conflicts and persecution in the Middle East and Africa, economic deprivation and the sealing of land borders in south-eastern Europe have pushed desperate people towards the sea.
In 2014, more than 130,000 refugees and migrants irregularly crossed Europe's southern borders by sea. Nearly all of them have been rescued by the Italian Navy. The vast majority of these people took to the sea from war-torn Libya.
The report identifies structural weaknesses in the search and rescue services in the central Mediterranean and calls for more safe and legal routes to Europe for people fleeing conflict and persecution. The report suggest that this can be done through resettlement, humanitarian admission programmes and facilitation of family reunification.
"The international outcry to do more to save lives at sea was not followed by any meaningful action by EU leaders. Italy was the only EU country to respond by launching Operation Mare Nostrum, deploying a significant part of its navy for search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean," it said.
"Regardless of the dangers and of EU measures to keep them out, refugees and migrants will continue to risk their lives and the lives of their children fleeing their war-torn, rights violating or economically struggling countries of origin. EU states cannot channel them into the world's most dangerous sea route and then abandon them to their fate," said John Dalhuisen.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.