Amnesty asks Swiss to help end European migrant crisis

Amnesty International is urging the Swiss and other European nations to create a new rescue operation in the Mediterranean for migrants like these disembarking from an Italian Coast Guard ship on April 22 Keystone

Amnesty International has written to the Swiss president calling for the government to help establish a huge new search-and-rescue operation in the Mediterranean that would be coordinated by all European countries.

The human rights group requested Switzerland’s financial backing on Wednesday for a new naval and aerial operation to address growing concerns about the flood of refugees and migrants risking their lives or dying in capsized boats while attempting to flee war zones and poverty stretching from the Middle East to North Africa.

Amnesty’s recommendations came as part of its “blueprint for action” by European nations on the eve of an emergency European summit to grapple with the crisis in the Mediterranean, where hundreds of migrants are feared to have drowned in recent weeks trying to cross Europe’s southern borders. Authorities believe a shipwreck off Libya on Sunday may have killed more than 800 migrants.

In its letter to Simonetta Sommaruga, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, Amnesty’s Swiss chapter also said Switzerland must work harder “to prevent attitudes of rejection on the part of the Swiss population”.

According to the group, the opening of more “safe and legal routes” to Switzerland and other European countries is a priority that will depend not only on relaxing the region’s fortress-like mentality but also specifically easing conditions for granting more visas and taking in more refugees.

EU plan

The European Union on Monday backed a ten-point plan that includes beefing up maritime patrols to seize vessels used by traffickers. The EU mainly blames traffickers for the problem, which it has been trying to address through greater law enforcement efforts.

The human rights group’s report said nearly 21,000 people had crossed the central Mediterranean so far this year, about the same as last year, but more were dying or vanishing than before because Italy’s emergency work was winding down and other potential rescuers lacked the resources to fill the gaps.