‘Migration priority is saving lives’, UN chief tells Renzi

Italian Prime Minister calls on United Nations to prioritise the fight against human traffickers of irregular migrants 

Matteo Renzi, Ban Ki-moon, and Federica Mogherini
Matteo Renzi, Ban Ki-moon, and Federica Mogherini

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stressed to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi that the authorities “should focus on saving the lives” of irregular immigrants crossing the Mediterranean.

He was speaking during a meeting with Renzi and EU foreign policy High Representative Federica Mogherini on board the San Gusto, a ship engaged in search-and-rescue operations off the Sicilian coast.

He warned that there can be “no military solution to the human tragedy that is occurring in the Mediterranean” and said that the “challenge” is now to ensure asylum to the increasing number of people around the world who are fleeing from war and seeking refuge.

With regards the Libyan situation, Ban Ki-moon reiterated that “there is no alternative to dialogue”, adding that UN-special representative Bernardino Leon is “working tirelessly with the Libyan parties involved to help reach a spirit of compromise”.

Renzi retorted that tackling the human traffickers of migrabnts so as to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe should be a priority that the United Nations should support.

“Italy used to face the Mediterranean immigration issue by itself, but now the whole international community is aware that it is a global issue and not a matter for one country alone to solve,” Renzi said. “We were alone in the past, and now we can finally see something moving.”

An urgent European Council summit was held last week, following a shipwreck off the Libyan coast in which an estimated 800 migrants drowned. Following the meeting, the EU agreed to triple the monthly budget of Frontex’s Triton border mission to €9 million. Mogherini has also been tasked with proposing actions to capture and destroy human smugglers’ vessels before they can be used.