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Resolution 2050 (2015)
The human tragedy in the Mediterranean: immediate action needed
1. The Parliamentary Assembly expresses
its utmost concern about the ongoing humanitarian plight of irregular
migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. The dramatic increase
in the death toll in recent weeks has become a matter of urgency
which should be addressed without further delay.
2. In 2014, the total number of irregular migrants and refugees
who crossed the Mediterranean Sea amounted to over 210 000, including
170 000 arrivals in Italy. At the same time, 3 500 people perished
at sea. Over the first three months of 2015, the figures amount
to over 30 000 arrivals and 1 500 drowned at sea. Regrettably, each
day brings new reports of dramatic events.
3. The lack of legal ways for refugees to come to Europe makes
them dependent on dangerous routes and has already caused the loss
of thousands of lives. Smugglers exploit the vulnerable position
of refugees by putting their lives at risk. The boats used are often
unseaworthy and, to maximise profit, they are always severely overcrowded;
basic safety equipment is inadequate or completely lacking; there
is insufficient food and water available for passengers; and often
the smugglers themselves abandon the boat on the high seas, leaving
the migrants to rely on their own minimal ability to navigate, and
the hope of being rescued by public authorities.
4. It has to be recognised that the current increase in the number
of victims is partly a consequence of the termination of the Italian
Mare Nostrum search and rescue operation, due to the lack of solidarity
from countries of the European Union, which has not been living
up to its responsibilities, and its replacement with the European
Union Triton operation, with a narrower mandate and much smaller
human, budgetary and logistical resources. On the other hand, one
cannot ignore the side effects of the Mare Nostrum operation which
many observers think contributed to the increased flows of seaborne
migrants setting out from North Africa.
5. The sharp increase in the number of arrivals once again puts
into question the Dublin Regulation according to which the entire
responsibility for receiving and processing irregular migrants and
asylum seekers is laid upon a limited number of receiving countries,
Italy in particular, but also Malta, Spain and Greece. This sharp
increase raises questions about the relevance of the present asylum
law and procedures.
6. The situation is not likely to settle down in the near future.
Armed conflicts and instability, persecution based on ethnic or
religious grounds and extreme poverty in Africa and the Middle East
will continue to generate large numbers of migrants, refugees and
asylum seekers. Estimated figures refer to 70 000 people waiting
for boats on the Libyan coast. Turkey alone has received some 2
million people fleeing the war in Syria and Iraq.
7. The recent declarations of the leaders of the terrorist organisation
known as “Islamic State” announcing their intention to smuggle their
own people in among the flows of refugees, tasked with committing
terrorist attacks in Europe, have raised legitimate questions about
security.
8. The recent tragic incident when, as a result of a fight which
broke out on one of the boats, nine migrants of Christian origin
were allegedly thrown overboard by passengers of Muslim confession,
coupled with recent reports about the killing of 27 Christian migrants
by the so-called “Islamic State” on the Libyan coast, raises very
serious concerns.
9. The Assembly is of the opinion that the key challenge is to
reduce the number of people setting off on a dangerous sea journey.
It is crucial to identify and address ways to decrease migratory
pressures in the countries of origin and transit.
10. The Assembly therefore calls on the member States of the European
Union to adopt a comprehensive approach to deal with mixed migratory
flows across the Mediterranean, with a view to implementing urgent
and concerted measures, and in particular to:
10.1. strengthen, as a matter of urgency, search and rescue
operations at sea, with increased contributions from all member
States;
10.2. adopt effective measures and co-ordinate common action
at European level in the fight against human traffickers and smugglers;
10.3. review the Dublin Regulation with a view to sharing responsibility
and costs for receiving and processing irregular migrants and asylum
seekers, with quotas for their distribution throughout the European
Union member States determined by each country’s population and
economic resources;
10.4. increase legal alternative migration channels, including
resettlement, facilitated access to family reunification and other
protection entry mechanisms advocated by the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR);
10.5. step up humanitarian aid and development projects in the
countries of transit and origin with a view to improving standards
of living in these countries and help to develop capacity building
and institution building in countries of transit and of first asylum
with a view to alleviating migration pressures;
10.6. enhance co-operation, including administrative, judicial
and investigative co-operation with the countries of origin and
transit, in particular on the southern shore of the Mediterranean
Sea;
10.7. ensure access to asylum for those in need of international
protection by introducing the possibility of external application
processing and, to this end, thoroughly review, if necessary, asylum
policies.
11. The Assembly welcomes the 10-point action plan on migration
of the European Union Council of Ministers of 20 April 2015 introducing
short-term measures aimed at handling some of the challenges with regard
to irregular migration in the Mediterranean and the decision today
to convene an extraordinary European Union summit. However, the
Assembly considers that the measures announced are utterly insufficient
and expects the comprehensive European Union Agenda on Migration,
due to be announced in May, to address the issues mentioned in the
previous paragraph.