UN rights chief seeks assist for surge in central Med migrants

GENEVA — The U.N. human rights chief has known as for an growth in common migration channels and search-and-rescue operations after a “steep improve” within the variety of migrants and asylum-seekers making dangerous makes an attempt to cross the central Mediterranean to Europe.

Volker Türk known as for solidarity with Italy, which has historically acquired a lot of the inflow, including that the Italian coast guard had rescued some 2,000 individuals on the route since Friday. Italy’s right-wing authorities this week imposed a six-month state of emergency to cope with the scenario.

“We’re seeing a steep improve within the variety of determined individuals placing their lives at grave danger,” mentioned Türk, who’s the U.N. excessive commissioner for human rights, in an announcement. “We can’t afford to dither, and to turn into embroiled in yet one more debate about who’s accountable.”

“Human lives are at stake,” he mentioned, whereas additionally urging Italy’s authorities to scrap a regulation handed this yr that restricts civilian search and rescue operations.

The attraction got here a day after the Worldwide Group for Migration introduced the reported variety of lifeless and lacking alongside the central Mediterranean reached the very best degree of any first quarter since 2017 within the first three months of this yr.

The IOM documented 441 migrant deaths alongside the route throughout January, February and March 2023, in contrast with 742 in 2017 and 446 in 2015.

Additionally Thursday, the Worldwide Federation of Purple Cross and Purple Crescent Societies mentioned it was scaling up humanitarian help and safety providers alongside the route — together with psychological assist, first support, household reunification providers and assist with disembarkation in Italy.