[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5529]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          REFUGEE AND MIGRANT DEATHS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to discuss an enormous human 
tragedy: another boat carrying desperate refugees and migrants capsized 
in the Mediterranean Sea and, in this most recent instance, over 850 
men, women, and children have died. It is profoundly heartwrenching to 
view the anguished images of innocent refugees and migrants, men and 
women, old and young, who embarked on this desperate journey bound for 
a more hopeful future, but which instead ended in death on the 
Mediterranean Sea for so many people.
  In 2014, we know that well over 218,000 refugees and migrants crossed 
the Mediterranean Sea, many fleeing violence, conflict, and persecution 
in Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and elsewhere, traveling on overcrowded and 
unseaworthy boats. Last year, over 3,500 women, men, and children died 
or went missing in their desperate attempts to reach Europe. According 
to the International Organization on Migration, IOM, this year's death 
toll in the Mediterranean Sea is believed to have surpassed 1,750 
victims already--a drastic spike when compared to the same period last 
year. During the first 3 weeks of April alone, more than 11,000 people 
have been rescued.
  This is a journey of unimaginable peril, and only the most despairing 
families with nothing to lose would sacrifice their lives in the hopes 
that this voyage will deliver an escape from misery. From Syria to 
Iraq, from South Sudan to Yemen, multiplying conflicts, gross human 
rights violations, statelessness, the effects of climate change, and 
food and water insecurity are all contributing to millions of people 
being forced from their homes in search of safety and survival.
  The international community is witnessing the enormous costs of 
unending wars and the failure to resolve or prevent conflict. The 
number of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced people 
worldwide has, for the first time in the post-World War II era, 
exceeded 50 million people, according to the United Nations High 
Commission on Refugees, UNHCR.
  This massive increase is largely driven by the war in Syria, which is 
now in its fifth year. The Assad regime's ruthless attacks on Syrian 
civilians--compounded by horrific violence by armed extremists--has led 
to Syria's disintegration and massive internal and external 
displacement of its people.
  Europe, facing conflicts to its south in Libya, east in Ukraine, and 
southeast in Syria, Iraq and the Horn of Africa, is currently seeing 
the largest numbers of refugees and migrants arriving by boat across 
the Mediterranean. To confront this enormous challenge, European 
Council President Donald Tusk called on member states on Monday, April 
20, to meet their funding commitments for Trident, the European 
Union's, EU, naval operation in the Mediterranean. EU leaders also 
agreed to meet on Thursday, April 23, to consider increasing resources 
for rescue operations and the 10-point action plan on migration 
proposed by the Joint Foreign Affairs and Home Council.
  The proposed plan would alleviate pressure on the member states 
receiving the majority of those rescued and also aims to combat 
trafficking and smuggling.
  The EU's proposed 10-point plan is an important first step, but a 
bold and comprehensive response is urgently needed. First, rescue at 
sea is and should be the top priority. It is a moral imperative based 
on European values, as well as a fundamental principle of maritime law. 
A robust search and rescue operation, comparable to Mare Nostrum, that 
focuses on saving lives must be reinstated. While the reinforcement of 
the Joint Operations in the Mediterranean is welcomed, border 
surveillance operations are not an answer to this crisis.
  Second, there needs to be a credible and firm commitment from 
countries both in Europe and across the globe to resettle significant 
numbers of refugees. Moreover, efforts to encourage legal alternatives 
to such dangerous voyages must be pursued. These include enhanced 
family reunification, private sponsorship programs, and study and labor 
migration programs for people in need of international protection.
  Finally, I urge the U.S. Government to provide robust assistance, and 
to work closely with our European partners, so that we might all rise 
to the demands presented by this humanitarian crisis and commit to the 
measures needed to prevent tragedies such as the drowning deaths of 850 
men, women, and children off the coast of Libya this past weekend.

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