Tag Archives: Migrants

29 May 2015

UN Secretary-General: Europa has collective responsibility to act to address challenge of migration

The UN Secretary-General emphasised the importance of addressing the challenge of migration, in the Mediterranean and in Southeast Asia, in his speech to the European Parliament in Brussels. Around 1,800 had drowned in the Mediterranean this year already, which was a 20-fold increase on 2014. He stressed that ‘Europe has an important role to play and a collective responsibility to act.’ ‘Saving lives should be the top priority’, he said, adding ‘[a]nd while we need to see more effective law enforcement actions against traffickers and smugglers, we also need safer alternatives to dangerous voyages, as well as legal channels such as resettlement, family reunification and work and study visas.’ (more…)

Source: UN News Centre | Ban tells European Parliament to work together to address challenge of migration
Source: UNSG | Statement | Secretary-General's remarks to the European Parliament | Brussels | 27 May 2015

22 May 2015

UNHCR official on Southeast Asian migrants issue: ‘it is key for States to share the responsibility to disembark these people immediately’

The United Nations refugee agency has said it is ‘extremely alarmed’ at reports suggesting that Indonesian and Malaysian authorities have pushed back boats carrying numerous migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Indonesian navy stated that it had escorted a boat out to sea this week in a move which may signify a change in the government’s overall policy. Similarly, Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency announced that it would prohibit foreign ships from docking unless they are unseaworthy and sinking. (more…)

Source: UN News Centre | UN voices alarm over ‘pushbacks’ of boats carrying migrants in Southeast Asia

20 May 2015

UN Crime Commission opens, urges collective action to combat migrant smuggling

The Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, has expressed horror and called the number of migrants dying in the Mediterranean ‘the latest reports of a tragedy seemingly without end’. (more…)

Source: UN News Centre | UN anti-crime chief opens Crime Commission urging action to prevent migrant smuggling

12 May 2015

UN Special Representative for International Migration: Mediterranean migrant crisis calls for collective action

The Mediterranean migrant crisis calls for collective action focused on the immediate need to save lives or else it will represent ‘a moral failure of the first order’, one that undermines international law and security, Peter Sutherland, the UN Special Representative for International Migration warned. (more…)

Source: UN News Centre | Mediterranean crisis demands ‘intensive dialogue’ among UN and regional actors, Security Council told

11 May 2015

EU proposes refugee-quota system: responsibility must be shared between member states

In the wake of migrant boat crises in the Mediterranean the European Commission has proposed a controversial Union-wide immigration policy. The proposal, which is set to launch on 13 May 2015, seeks to impose a quota system on the 28 member states requiring them to share the burden of ‘persons in clear need of international protection’ and ‘ensure a fair and balanced participation of all member states to this common effort’. The policy document lays down binding rules establishing a regime of refugee sharing among the member states based on a ‘key’. The system, drafted by EU Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos, determines the proportion of refugees each state is obliged to accept based on criteria ranging from rates of unemployment to national wealth. (more…)

Source: The Guardian | EU plans migrant quotas forcing states to 'share' burden

← Older posts
×