In light of this week's boat tragedies on the Mediterranean, and the hundreds of refugee and migrant lives that have been lost, UNHCR is today calling on the European Union to urgently change its approach to dealing with sea crossings with a view to ensuring that saving lives is the top-most priority.
"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," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "The focus has to be about saving lives. We need a robust search and rescue operation in the Central Mediterranean, not only a border patrol."
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