NEW YORK: Nearly a month after the sinking of an overloaded boat off the Greek coast where 700 people, including Pakistanis, were killed, a prominent global humanitarian body has called on the European Union (EU) to ensure a “full, transparent” investigation into the tragedy.
“So far, there have been no moves to launch such an investigation into the shipwreck – one of the deadliest on record in the Mediterranean Sea – despite calls to do so from NGOs and members of the European Parliament,” the New York-based International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a statement.
The IRC stressed the need for the EU and its member states to urgently expand safe, regular routes for people on the move, including committing to resettle at least 44,000 refugees in 2024.
“The EU and its states must shift their focus from deterring people from reaching Europe, to safeguarding them along their journeys – this includes strengthening search and rescue, providing information to people on the move, and upholding the legal right”, the humanitarian body said.
At the United Nations, Pakistan stepped up pressure for the investigation into huge loss of lives, amid media reports that the Greek Coastguards were slow in responding the distress calls from the doomed ship. “Mediterranean Sea crossings have become increasingly treacherous,” Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told a UN Security Council’s informal meeting on ‘Refugees and Asylum Seekers crossing borders on Land and At Sea: New Wave of Crisis’. –Agencies
