Brussels, 12/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 11 May, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said she was confident about the adoption of a resolution at the United Nations Security Council on the situation of migrants who cross the Mediterranean at great peril. “I am quite confident, given the level of understanding, awareness and political resolve I see, that it is possible to have a resolution in a reasonably short time”, she said, adding that there was still much work to be done to have such a resolution. A European source stated that if there was a resolution, it would not be adopted before next week. The European Union wants a reference in the resolution to Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter in order to be able to use enforcement actions.
“All the members of the Security Council have a strong political resolve to do two things at the same time, and that's exactly our approach - save lives, on the one hand, and dismantle the criminal organisations behind the smuggling and human trafficking, on the other”, Mogherini stated during a press conference, after speaking before the Security Council and meeting the ambassadors of the member countries. During her speech to the Security Council, Mogherini did not describe what the EU intended to do as regards capturing and destroying the traffickers' boats. The extraordinary European Council on 23 April called for systematic action to identify, capture and destroy the boats before they are used by traffickers, in accordance with international law (see EUROPE 11301).
Asked about Russia's opposition to destroying the traffickers' boats, Mogherini said that “destroying the boats is the crucial point for the EU. This means destroying the business model of the trafficking and smuggling organisations, and ensuring that the boats cannot be used again - ensuring that the assets of these organisations are destroyed. Destroyed in the broadest sense”.
“I didn't pick up any resistance from any of the Security Council member states. Obviously, there is a lot of work to be done to reach a resolution (…) I didn't find any opposition to this in my discussions (…) either with the Russians or other authorities”, she said, adding that the draft resolution put together by the European members of the UN Security Council (the two permanent members - France and the UK - and the non-permanent members - Spain and Lithuania) was due to be shared in the coming hours, and that there was still “much work to do on the text, drafting a detailed text”. “But in principle I did not find any opposition to acting on both fronts - saving lives, and fighting against criminal organisations. The reference point is, and remains, the anti-piracy operation that received the green light from the Security Council, off the coast of Somalia” - operation Atalanta, she added.
During her speech, Mogherini stated that the UN Security Council had also called for full implementation of the protocol against the illegal trafficking of migrants and urged all the member states to deal with the illegal migration flows and to contribute to dismantling the smugglers' networks in the region.
Mogherini said she was in contact with the various Libyan parties. In her view, it is not possible to wait for the formation of a national unity government in Libya. “In the meantime, we can't wait. We must look for the support of the different Libyan authorities to work with us, and with the rest of the international community, to save lives and fight against the criminal organisations”, she said.
EU should take action before a UN resolution. Mogherini also said that the EU could take measures “in full respect of international law”, even before a UN resolution is adopted. The mandate of this operation is being worked upon with the EU member states. The European foreign affairs ministers could thus adopt the crisis management concept on 18 May. The EU can take action without a UN resolution if it acts in international waters, on a flag-less boat or if the country whose flag the boat flies gives its agreement. According to one European source, the member states could nevertheless await the UN resolution to take the legal decision to establish the mission. The EU's objective is to begin the operation in June. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)