UNICEF calls for EU to protect minors crossing Mediterranean

UNICEF called on EU member states gathered in Malta yesterday to protect children migrants and refugees who cross the Mediterranean towards Europe, a statement reported by Quds Press said.

The UN body asked EU nations to “adhere fully to the principle of non-refoulement, as sending children back into harm’s way or returning boats to Libya without a proper plan to protect them, would only add to their hardship.”

It called for additional support to credible resettlement and family reunification programmes so that desperate refugees and migrants do not have to turn to smugglers and risk their lives.

UNICEF records showed that the number of refugee and migrant deaths in the Mediterranean reported over the past three months including an estimated 190 children.

“The growing number of children lost at sea underscores the acute danger of the journey from North Africa to Italy, as well as the pressing need for governments on both sides of the Mediterranean to do more to keep them safe,” UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth said.

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UNICEF said that the rate of migrants who made the dangerous journey over the last three months increased by 13 times compared to the same period last year.

EU officials met in Malta trying to find a solution for the immigration crisis that sees many migrants from Libya making a perilous journey to cross the Mediterranean, escaping war, famine and other hardships.