UNHCR spokeswoman Carlotta Sami told Times of Malta this afternoon that the Valletta Summit on Migration needs to establish legal channels for refugees and better conditions for migrants. (See video above)
Earlier, human rights lawyer Katrine Camilleri said the migration debate is exclusively about the needs of European states and not about what migrants are willing to die for.
Speaking at a civil society event organised by local non-government organisations, Dr Camilleri expressed concern that the needs of refugees and migrants were hardly taken into account and their voices remained unheard.
“Unless we look at these needs, any solutions we come up with will fail,” she said on behalf of local NGOs.
Refugees were “looking for life” and not just survival.
“They don't want to be warehoused in camps without the possibility of belonging. Unless these fundamental needs are taken into account, they will continue to be denied dignity and lose their lives in their attempt to find life,” she said.
Over the past two years, some 7,000 people perished in the Mediterranean Sea.
The summit convened by the European Council was another opportunity to go beyond words to concrete action, Dr Camilleri said.
Faced with what has been referred to as an unprecedented challenge of migration, the EU’s response has remained fragmented with major emphasis on strengthening border control and improving mechanisms to return migrants.
Meanwhile, no steps have been taken to create safe and legal ways for people to reach a place where they could obtain protection, she said.
“We are not saying that border controls and security are not important, but people are by far more important,” Dr Camilleri added.
The event included the participation of speakers from international human rights organisations, including Elsa Chyrum, from the Human Rights Concern Eritrea.
She called for a stop to aid development that is being sent to the east African country as she feared that the funds were being pocketed by the government.
Another speaker, Iverna McGowan from Amnesty International, noted how civil society representatives were being excluded from EU Council summits and debates.
“It is very hard to get hold of documents following these debates, and most of the information we get is off the record.
“Civil society is not invited to address or even observe such discussions, and this lack of transparency at the European capital does not set a good example for other states,” she told timesofmalta.com
Earlier Ms McGowan noted that while European leaders had squabbled for months over the relocation of 160,000 people, there were at least 800,000 displaced people in Ethiopia alone.
Meanwhile, her colleague from Oxfam, Sara Tesorieri, spoke of the need for EU and African leaders to use the summit to address the causes forcing people to flee their homes, such as climate change and arms’ trade.
Ms Tesorieri also referred to the Trust Fund for Africa, expected to be announced during the summit. While welcoming the decision to use resources to address issues of poverty and conflict in Africa, Oxfam is objecting to the use of such funds to solely curb migration.
Development aid should be used to help eradicate poverty, and for schools and clinics, not barbed wire and checkpoints, she said.