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European Refugee Crisis - A Failure of Policy & Action
European Refugee Crisis - A Failure of Policy & Action
com
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34108224
Migrant crisis
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says "Europe as a whole needs to move" on how to deal with refugees and
migrants arriving in the EU.
"If Europe fails on the question of refugees, then it won't be the Europe we wished for," she said.
She was speaking after Austrian authorities arrested five suspected people smugglers along the country's eastern
borders.
On Thursday, 71 dead migrants were found near the Hungarian border.
Austrian police say more than 200 others were found alive overnight.
Ms Merkel said European countries must share the burden of refugees.
Germany is the main destination for migrants arriving on the EU's eastern borders and expects the number of
asylum seekers it receives to quadruple to about 800,000 in 2015.
Mrs Merkel said "Germany is a strong country - we will manage."
Media caption The rules governing immigration to the EU - explained in 90 seconds
But she said there would be "no tolerance for those who question the dignity of other people" after a spate of
arson attacks on refugee shelters and anti-migrant demonstrations.
"The number of people... helping strangers get through cities and communities and even taking them into their
homes is far greater than the number of xenophobes," she went on.
Mrs Merkel's call for greater co-operation was echoed by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who warned that
Europe's migrant crisis would be a "long and difficult challenge".
Also on Monday, trains from Budapest carrying hundreds of migrants were stopped at the Austrian frontier.
Austria's rail service OeBB said the route from Budapest was facing severe disruption due to "overcrowding".
Austrian police said they would turn back anyone on board who had made a request for asylum in Hungary - but it
is not clear if this actually happened.
Once in Austria, migrants would have two weeks to decide whether or not they wanted to claim refugee status
there, police said.
Trains were later allowed to proceed and hundreds of migrants arrived in Vienna on Monday evening. Many of
them immediately boarded trains bound for Germany.
Austria also introduced extra checks on vehicles entering from Hungary on Sunday evening, causing long traffic
jams on Hungary's major roads leading to the Austrian border.
Image caption Austrian police are checking lorries at Nickelsdorf on the border with Hungary
Image caption
The Austrian checks appear to undermine the EU's Schengen system, which normally allows unrestricted travel.
But in exceptional circumstances countries can reintroduce border controls under Schengen.
Austria's Interior Ministry told the BBC the checks would not be necessary if there were an agreement to distribute
the migrants fairly.
The head of the European Union's police agency, Rob Wainwright, said catching people smugglers would be
easier with more "effective" border controls but added that the Schengen system had pros and cons.
Five people have been detained in connection with the deaths of 71 people, most of them thought to be Syrians, in
a lorry found last week on the A4 at Parndorf.
Austria was shocked by the gruesome nature of the deaths. Thousands rallied on Monday demanding better
rights for migrants.
As well as the bodies in the lorry in Austria, hundreds more people drowned in the Mediterranean last week while
trying to reach Europe from Libya.
Greece, Italy and Hungary have particularly struggled with the surge of migrants from not only Syria but the rest of
the Middle East and Africa.
An extraordinary meeting of EU interior ministers is to be held on 14 September.
Media caption The BBC's Damian Grammaticas says every country has a different strategy
Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum?
Some governments have refused to take in refugees and resisted EU proposals to agree on a common plan.
Others are tightening their policies on asylum and border security, sometimes because of rising anti-immigration
sentiment.
On Sunday France condemned Hungary for building a razor-wire fence along its border with Serbia to try to keep
out migrants travelling north from Greece via the Balkans.
UK Home Secretary Theresa May blamed the Schengen system - which the UK did not join - for "exacerbating
tragedies". She has demanded tighter EU rules on free movement.
Issue Debate #1: European Refugee Crisis - A failure of Policy & Action
The Refugee Crisis in Europe is a symptom of deep rooted failure of policies and actions of World
Bodies like the European Union and United Nation Agencies. Discuss.
bbc.com
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34140403
Syria's war
A UN inquiry into the conflict in Syria has criticised the "global failure" to protect the country's refugees, saying it
has fuelled Europe's migrant crisis.
Chairman Paulo Sergio Pinheiro urged the international community to act with "humanity and compassion" by
creating legal channels of migration.
The inquiry's latest report says 2,000 Syrians trying to reach Europe have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.
And the Syrian war, it warns, continues to intensify with no end in sight.
More than 240,000 people have been killed since an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in
March 2011.
A further four million Syrians have fled abroad and 7.6 million are displaced internally.
"The competition among regional powers for influence has resulted, among other consequences, in an alarming
exacerbation of the sectarian dimension, instigated by the intervention of foreign fighters and extremist clerics,"
the report warns.
Investigators found jihadist militants from Islamic State (IS) committed "murder, torture, rape, sexual slavery,
sexual violence, forcible displacement and other inhumane acts as part of a widespread attack on the civilian
population".
Al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's local affiliate, was also "imposing its extremist ideology" in areas it captured in Idlib
province earlier this year, the report says.
The Syrian government meanwhile continued its indiscriminate aerial bombardment of residential areas across
theguardian.com
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/07/un-security-council-is-failing-syria-ban-ki-moon
security council should change also, in a more democratic way, transparent and accountable way, he said.
While there is frustration that international action to try to end Syrias deepening humanitarian crisis is being
blocked by Moscow and Beijing, criticism of the permanent members use of the veto for narrow political interest is
longstanding. The US has used its veto to protect Israel from criticism more times than the total number of vetoes
cast by the other permanent members combined.