Today’s famine ships? The Mediterranean migrant emergency

Yesterday saw further reports of migrants being rescued from three additional capsized boats in the Mediterranean.

Joel Millman, spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration told reporters in Geneva:

Read full BBC report

Concern Worldwide CEO Dominic MacSorley speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland has said:

This is only really the tip of the iceberg of what we’re dealing with at a global level, and certainly within Syria and the region. There is a need not to focus only on rescue and resettlement – these are very critical parts, but they’re band aids. We need to have the uncomfortable conversations around trying to find sustainable solutions to these problems.

We need to start establishing legal and credible avenues for migrants that are seeking protection...And we need to start supporting the countries that are carrying the bulk of the refugee crisis, like Lebanon.

There has to be faster legal mechanisms within Europe to process genuine cases of persecution. Also we have to look at the quotas. There has been a huge call by UNHCR to accept more refugees for resettlement. The quotas that Europe has imposed need to be looked at and need to be expanded.

We now have 50 million people that are homeless or displaced throughout the world. International aid organisations are struggling financially to meet those demands. Money should never be an issue…the bigger issue is to use the might of the UN for political diplomacy. Those efforts need to be redoubled.

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