BRUSSELS, Jan 13 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday urged the European Union (EU) to show greater gestures of solidarity with migrants, and condemned the forced returns of undocumented immigrants by some EU member states.
In a statement, the UNHCR Representative for Community Alliance Affairs Gonzalo Vargas Llosa highlighted the need for the 27 EU member states to help save lives, protect these people and find some solutions to halt forced displacement.
Likewise, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa asked Portugal and Slovenia, nations that are holding the EU’s rotating presidency this year, to promote talks and initiatives that enable to set up a sustainable, viable and rights-based asylum system.
The UNHCR remains deeply concerned about credible and repeated reports of migrant returns, and also urges EU member states to give priority to the establishment of independent monitoring mechanisms in order to curb these processes.
In addition, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa called to provide both political and financial supports to States and regions hosting a greater number of asylum-seekers, while considering it critical to address the causes of forced displacement and irregular migration.
Whether the EU showed a greater commitment to solidarity through resettlement, complementary avenues and family reunification, there would be fewer people who would undertake dangerous journeys in search of safety, he said.
