(AFP) The UN voiced alarm Friday at reports that countries are failing to help migrants in distress on the Mediterranean Sea, blocking assistance by NGOs and coordinating pushbacks of their boats.
UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville warned during a virtual press briefing that such measures “are clearly putting lives at risk.”
“We are deeply concerned about recent reports of failure to assist and coordinated pushbacks of migrant boats in the central Mediterranean, which continues to be one of the deadliest migration routes in the world,” he said.
More than 100,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean last year with 1,200 dying in the attempt, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
