05 Sep 2015, 07:59 am Print
“Europe cannot go on responding to this crisis with a piecemeal or incremental approach. No country can do it alone, and no country can refuse to do its part,” the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said in a statement laying out a set of six guidelines ahead of a key round of emergency EU meetings on the crisis.
Guterres said the biggest influx of refugees into Europe for decades required a “massive common effort” and break with the current fragmented approach, which he said has led Europe overall to fail to find an effective common response.
“More than 300,000 people have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea so far this year. Over 2,600 didn't survive the dangerous crossing, including three-year-old Aylan, whose photo has just stirred the hearts of the world public,” the refugee agency chief said, referring to what UNICEF called a “heart-breaking” incident in which the young Syrian boy’s body washed ashore in Turkey two days ago.
Guterres praised some exemplary and “truly inspiring” examples of generosity and moral leadership on the part of some countries and many private citizens, but reiterated his appeal for a collective strategy including a renewed drive to settle conflicts.
“A very preliminary estimate would indicate a potential need to increase relocation opportunities to as many as 200,000 places,” he recommended.
“Europe is facing a moment of truth,” Guterres said, spelling out five other fundamental principles he said should be borne in mind in all efforts to resolve the issue:
This is a primarily refugee crisis, not only a migration phenomenon. The vast majority of those arriving in Greece come from conflict zones like Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan and are simply running for their lives.
“This massive flow of people will not stop until the root causes of their plight are addressed,” Guterres said.
Photo: UNICEF/Gjorgji Klincarov
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