European Commission says new strategy to be adopted in May in response to over 1,000 migrant deaths in the Mediterranean in recent days
The European Commission (EC) said in a statement yesterday that a new European Migration Strategy is being prepared in response to a sharp rise in the number of migrants dying in the Mediterranean Sea as they seek to cross to Europe from Libya.
The EC said it is currently consulting with EU Member States, European agencies and international organisations in order to prepare the new strategy, which will be adopted by the Commission in mid-May.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have both expressed concern at the rising death toll of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean.
Yesterday, UNHCR said the latest boat capsizing in which well over 600 were feared dead may be the biggest ever death toll from a single incident.
It comes after IOM reported last week that around 400 migrants lost their lives when a wooden fishing boat carrying about 550 people capsized.
Even before news of yesterday's tragedy, IOM said the death toll for the first four months of 2015 had increased roughly tenfold compared to the corresponding period last year.
VOA News reported last week that April has been extraordinary in terms of the number of people rescued at sea, with an IOM spokesman saying migration from Libya toward Italy is growing at a far more alarming and more deadly rate than last year, as refugees and migrants flee violent and crime-ridden conditions in the North African country.
IOM said that approximately 10,000 migrants were rescued by the Italian navy, coast guard and commercial ships in just six days from April 10 to 16.
Director of the IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean said on Friday: "The Italian maritime forces are doing incredible work and are trying to rescue as many people as possible … What strikes us most, however, is the increase in the number of fatalities: ten times last year's figure during the same period. This is unacceptable. Search and rescue efforts must be more comprehensive and supported by the European Union and its Member States. This is a humanitarian emergency that involves us all."
The EU ended the official Italian search and rescue operation, known as Mare Nostrum, in November of last year, replacing it with the much smaller Operation Triton.
Following yesterday's capsize, António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees said: "This disaster confirms how urgent it is to restore a robust rescue-at-sea operation and establish credible legal avenues to reach Europe. Otherwise people seeking safety will continue to perish at sea. But it also points to the need for a comprehensive European approach to address the root causes that drive so many people to this tragic end. I hope the EU will rise to the occasion, fully assuming a decisive role to prevent future such tragedies."
In yesterday's statement, the EC said: "The reality is stark and our actions must therefore be bold. These are human lives at stake, and the European Union as a whole has a moral and humanitarian obligation to act."
"The only way to truly change the reality is to address the situation at its roots. For as long as there is war and hardship in our neighbourhood near and far, people will continue to seek a safe haven on European shores," the statement continued.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in a statement: "Stopping this needless suffering is a huge international challenge which demands a comprehensive, co-ordinated response. We must target the traffickers who are responsible for so many people dying at sea and prevent their innocent victims from being tricked or forced into making these perilous journeys."
According to UNHCR, so far in 2015, more than 35,000 asylum seekers and migrants have arrived by boat in southern Europe and some 1,600 have died. In total last year, around 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean, and 3,500 lives were lost.