Is the Mediterranean becoming a "Human Cemetery"?

• 02.13.2015, 12:26
•  Europe,  World

The UN believes that the current search and rescue operations of the European Union that are being carried out in the Mediterranean Sea are not adequate, BBC reports.

Speaking about the 300 migrants, who are reported to be missing, Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said on Thursday that the EU should undertake a complete people’s search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea. As Reuters quotes Guterres, "There can be no doubt left after this week's events that Europe's Operation Triton is a woefully inadequate replacement for Italy's Mare Nostrum".

One may wonder why European Triton operation and not the Italian Mare Nostrum is blamed for failing the rescue operation of several migrant groups from Libya in the Mediteranean Sea last Sunday. The reason is that Italy, out of financial difficulties, has just recently replaced its national sea rescue operation with that of the pan-European Triton. The latter is known to fall behind Mare Nostrum with fewer numbers of rescue-boats and with small coverage of area.

At the recent EU leaders’ meeting in Brussels, Matteo Renzi, the Italian PM said that the very issue needed to be solved by addressing the chaos in Libya unless they wanted more people die in the Mediterranean and the latter to become a cemetery, Reuters reports.

According to European media sources, European Commission high officials call the EU member-states to join in finding a sustainable solution to address the migration issue.