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UN: The EU is partly responsible for the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean

THE European Union is partly responsible for the deaths of migrants boarding boats to cross the Mediterranean in search of better fortune through unanswered distress signals, obstruction of rescue efforts and so-called “Repatriations” to Libya, announced today the United Nations, reports APE.

Thousands of refugees and migrants, many of them from Africa, make long and dangerous journeys to Europe each year via Libya. often boarding small inflatable boats.

Death rates have risen since the beginning of the year: at least 632 people have died on the way, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a 37-page report entitled “Fatal Ignorance”, which speaks of a “mass-scale human tragedy.”

The report notes that the lack of protection for migrants “is not a tragic anomaly, but rather a consequence of clear decisions and practices of the Libyan authorities, EU Member States, EU institutions and other actors”.

The EU has not only reduced its formal search and rescue operations, but governments have prevented humanitarian organizations from rescuing migrants at risk by restricting boats and targeting people through administrative and criminal proceedings, according to the report.

There have also been “repatriations at sea” where migrant vessels have been forced to return from international waters to Libya with the help of European helicopters, as described by migrants at the UNHCR.

The exhibition, which covers the period from January 2019 to December 2020 and based on interviews with 80 migrants, also reports that some deportations have put migrants at risk.

Some boats were shot at or set on fire, causing migrants to fall into the sea or their boats to capsize. Immigrants are often exploited and abused in Libya.

Commenting on the report, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Michelle Bachelet called for urgent implementation of rescue and rescue reforms and practices in Libya and for ensuring that the EU and its member states comply with international law.

“The real tragedy is that so much pain and so much death along the way to the central Mediterranean can be prevented,” Bachelet said.

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