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       UN Urges World to Address Surge in 'Risky' Asylum Attempts by Sea

   by VOA News

   The United Nations refugee agency says the world needs to better focus
   on responding to the hundreds of thousands of people making "risky" sea
   journeys in search of asylum or migration.

   UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres is hosting a conference Wednesday and
   Thursday in Geneva to discuss rescues at sea, ways to encourage safer
   forms of migration and addressing the underlying causes of why people
   are fleeing their countries to begin with.

   The agency says at least 348,000 people have tried to make sea
   crossings so far this year, a likely record, with 4,272 reported
   deaths.

   The most dangerous routes have been across the Mediterranean Sea, where
   more than 3,400 people have died in 2014. The area has seen a surge of
   activity with 207,000 people trying to make the trip, which the U.N.
   says is more than triple the previous high from 2011.

   The two-day meeting in Geneva includes sessions focusing on the
   Mediterranean and the three other major routes for people making sea
   journeys. Those include the Gulf of Aden off the Horn of Africa, the
   Caribbean Sea, and the waters off Southeast Asia.

   Guterres said some governments are prioritizing keeping out foreigners
   above considering asylum, and that they need to design policies that
   make sure "human lives do not end up becoming collateral damage."

   The UNHCR also warned about the number of people becoming victims of
   organized crime, saying that smuggling networks are "flourishing" and
   profiting from humans who are desperate to try to get to another
   country.

   In a background document prepared for the meeting, the agency said
   refugees and people seeking asylum or a better life someplace else are
   often packed aboard flimsy vessels run by ruthless groups, and that
   many are "beaten, raped, tortured or tossed overboard."

   It stresses the need to first to protect people's basic rights by
   ensuring anyone found in distress at sea is rescued. It further calls
   for nations to examine how they can expand regular opportunities for
   migration with things like humanitarian visas, increasing the number of
   people admitted for resettlement or expanding family reunification
   opportunities.

   The U.N. says whatever progress is made will come down to better
   national and regional cooperation and coordination, and that not doing
   so will have "stark" humanitarian, political and financial costs.
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   sky-attempts-to-flee-by-sea/2552903.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/un-urges-world-to-address-surge-in-risky-attempts-to-flee-by-sea/2552903.html