|
|
UN:
MORE THAN 200 BOAT PEOPLE FEARED DEAD AT SEA, SAYS UN AGENCY:
14/12/2007 (MaximsNews Network)
|
|
UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 14 December 2007 --
Over 200 people attempting a perilous voyage across the seas are feared dead
or missing after separate incidents off Turkey, the Canary Islands and Yemen in
recent days, the UN refugee agency said today, calling for concerted action to
avoid such tragedies.
Jennifer Pagonis, spokesperson for the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that last Saturday, 51 people
drowned when a boat carrying irregular migrants from Turkey to Greece sank in
rough weather off the Turkish coast. Another 35 people are still missing and are
presumed to have also drowned.
Last weekend, the Spanish media
reported that up to 90 migrants were missing at sea after two separate incidents
involving large canoes attempting to reach the Canary Islands from Senegal and
from Western Sahara.
In Yemen, where 27,000 people, mostly
Somalis and Ethiopians, have arrived by boat this year, UNHCR staff reported 31
people drowned or missing between 5 and 12 December.
These incidents brought the overall
toll to 207 in one week, noted Ms. Pagonis.
The agency drew attention to the fact
that tens of thousands of boat people risk their lives each year attempting to
flee across the world’s waterways. While most are migrants seeking a better
life, some are also refugees fleeing persecution and violence.
At a two-day dialogue organized by
UNHCR in Geneva this week, governments, non-governmental organisations and
experts voiced support for strengthening efforts to ensure the protection of
those who are on the move worldwide.
At a session devoted to rescue at sea,
the agency urged participants to do everything possible to avoid tragedies such
as those seen recently.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
~~~~~
MaximsNews.com, An Independent Voice from the
U.N., provides commentary and analysis from
leading world figures: King Abdullah II
(Jordan), HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein
(Jordan), Sir Brian Urquhart, Hans Blix, Amb.
Richard Holbrooke, Anwar Ibrahim, Bianca Jagger,
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Shashi Tharoor, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Noeleen Heyzer,
Masood Haider, Kerry
Kennedy, Ian Williams, Stephen Schlesinger, Sen.
Timothy E. Wirth, Marc Morial, Amb. Jayantha
Dhanapala (Sri Lanka), Amb. Pierre Schori
(Sweden), Amb. William H. Luers, Susan Roosevelt
Weld, Rory Kennedy, Mehri
Madarshahi, J. Michael Adams, Gloria Feldt,
Jeffrey Laurenti, Rodney D. Smith, Ashley
Bommer, Rory
O'Connor, Genevieve Stamper, Max Stamper and
others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MaximsNews®
LLC
NEWS NETWORK FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network reaching over 30,000 in the International Community. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries.
Established in 1999.
The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews®
LLC.
MaximsNews.com
U.N. ® LLC www.MaximsNews.com
| MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com |
Please
contact us about Republishing:
Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2007, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights
reserved.
|
