Brussels, 27/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - During his visit to Brussels on Wednesday 27 May, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon once again expressed his opposition to destroying the boats that bring migrants across the Mediterranean. His call comes as the EU continues trying to obtain a UN Security Council resolution allowing it to launch a naval operation (EUNAVFOR Med) to destroy the boats used by traffickers.
“Destroying these boats could lead to depriving people of their already very limited means”, Ban stated at a press conference with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. According to Ban, “a military operation has some limited effectiveness”. He added that “destroying boats has other implications” - but gave no further details.
Ban stated that he supported strengthening the search and rescue operations. “Our priority should be given to saving lives and to humanitarian assistance for these people”, he said several times.
“Yes, more decisive actions are certainly needed against the smugglers and traffickers, but alternatives to these dangerous sea-crossings are also needed - like resettlement, family reunification, study visas…”, he told the European Parliament. He stated that over 1,800 people had died in the Mediterranean since the start of the year - in other words, 20 times more than last year.
“Half the people are fleeing from war, persecution, abuse and violation of human rights, and they have the right to protection as refugees”, he said. In Ban's opinion, the EU has a “role to play and a collective responsibility for action”. He also said that, with an ageing population and low birth rate, the EU will need labour to continue its economic growth. “You will need migrants”, he summed up.
Elsewhere, he hailed the proposal made by the European Commission the same day (see other article) on an emergency resettlement mechanism for 40,000 asylum seekers, saying he thought this was a “step in the right direction”. Ban called on the EU member states to show “compassion” when they decide on this “important proposal to share the resettlement responsibilities”. “Sharing the load fairly will enable the EU to address the enormous increase in migration flows and will enable an example to be set for other regions in the world”, he said.
Action plan against terrorism. In addition to immigration issues, Ban also spoke about preventing violence and terrorism. He announced that, by the end of the year, he would present an action plan to address the challenges posed by violent extremism and terrorism. “The inexcusable violence against civilians is a challenge to the values of peace, justice, tolerance and human dignity, and the destruction of cultural heritage is a threat for humanity”, he said. “We must avoid making the situation still worse by our response (…) and we must think about the sub-layers of this violence”, he added.
Ban also spoke about the need to “create a sustainable world for everyone”. In his view, there are three “historic” meetings in 2015 “for a sustainable, prosperous and fair world”. At the conference for development funding in Addis Ababa in July, the developed countries will therefore have to set the example, he said, by giving funds to fight against extreme poverty. He also called on the OECD countries to meet the 0.7% of GNI target for overseas development assistance. The second event will take place in September when the countries adopt the post-2015 development agenda, and the third event will be the climate conference in Paris in December. There is a need “to continue to show high ambition by Paris and after Paris by strengthening the climate goals by 2020 and being still more ambitious after 2020”, he said. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)