News archive: May 2015
29 May 2015
The UN Secretary-General emphasised the importance of addressing the challenge of migration, in the Mediterranean and in Southeast Asia, in his speech to the European Parliament in Brussels. Around 1,800 had drowned in the Mediterranean this year already, which was a 20-fold increase on 2014. He stressed that ‘Europe has an important role to play and a collective responsibility to act.’ ‘Saving lives should be the top priority’, he said, adding ‘[a]nd while we need to see more effective law enforcement actions against traffickers and smugglers, we also need safer alternatives to dangerous voyages, as well as legal channels such as resettlement, family reunification and work and study visas.’ (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Ban tells European Parliament to work together to address challenge of migration
Source: UNSG | Statement | Secretary-General's remarks to the European Parliament | Brussels | 27 May 2015
22 May 2015
The United Nations refugee agency has said it is ‘extremely alarmed’ at reports suggesting that Indonesian and Malaysian authorities have pushed back boats carrying numerous migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Indonesian navy stated that it had escorted a boat out to sea this week in a move which may signify a change in the government’s overall policy. Similarly, Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency announced that it would prohibit foreign ships from docking unless they are unseaworthy and sinking. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | UN voices alarm over ‘pushbacks’ of boats carrying migrants in Southeast Asia
20 May 2015
The Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, has expressed horror and called the number of migrants dying in the Mediterranean ‘the latest reports of a tragedy seemingly without end’. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | UN anti-crime chief opens Crime Commission urging action to prevent migrant smuggling
15 May 2015
This is our News Items Overview of 16 April 2015-15 May 2015, a summary of recent news relating to shared responsibility. (more…)
12 May 2015
The Mediterranean migrant crisis calls for collective action focused on the immediate need to save lives or else it will represent ‘a moral failure of the first order’, one that undermines international law and security, Peter Sutherland, the UN Special Representative for International Migration warned. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Mediterranean crisis demands ‘intensive dialogue’ among UN and regional actors, Security Council told