UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday that European governments' refusal to accept migrant rescue vessels sailing in the Mediterranean was "wrong, dangerous and immoral".
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2018) UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday that European governments' refusal to accept migrant rescue vessels sailing in the Mediterranean was "wrong, dangerous and immoral".
"European states must agree on a shared, predictable disembarkation mechanism for refugees and migrants rescued at sea. Meanwhile, it is wrong, dangerous and immoral to keep rescue ships wandering in the Mediterranean while governments compete on who takes least responsibility," he posted on Twitter.
This summer, the issue of migrant rescue vessels has been especially acute, with a number of European states, where migrants fleeing armed conflicts and economic crises in Africa and the middle East are arriving by sea, taking a tough stance on accepting arrivals.
Last week, Italy, Malta and Spain refused to accept the Aquarius migrant rescue vessel carrying over 140 illegal migrants, with Spanish authorities claiming that Spain was not the "safest port," and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini saying that the vessel could "go anywhere, but not to Italy."
In June, Italy and Malta have already denied entry to the Aquarius that was then carrying over 600 rescued migrants, while Spain eventually allowed the vessel to dock in Valencia. However, both Spain and Italy denied entry to another rescue vessel, the Lifeline, later in June.
According to the International Organization for Migration, Spain currently tops the list of Mediterranean countries by the number of migrant sea arrivals, with over 25,100 migrants arriving in the country since the beginning of the year. Italy follows with a total of 19,231 arrivals.
