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EU should follow Aussie migrant policy: PM Abbott

Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks at a press conference in Sydney on April 18, 2015. © AFP

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the European Union (EU) should adopt his country’s controversial measures to stop refugees from making it to its shores, claiming the strategy is the only way to prevent tragedy at sea.

Abbot made the comments on Tuesday just days after 800 migrants lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, when their vessel capsized off Libya’s coast.

"We have got hundreds, maybe thousands of people drowning in the attempts to get from Africa to Europe," said Abbott, adding that the "only way you can stop the deaths is in fact to stop the boats."

The Australian prime minister continued by saying that the only way to stop people from drowning at sea “is to stop the people-smuggling trade” and called on Europe to “adopt strong policies that will end the people-smuggling trade across the Mediterranean.”

Abbott's conservative government introduced a military-led operation at sea after coming into power in September 2013.

Under the policy, Australian navy ships intercept refugee boats and turn them back to where they departed from in order to stop would-be asylum seekers from reaching the Australian continent. Another measure taken by the navy is to send the migrants on board vessels to offshore processing camps in the Pacific islands of Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

Any migrants who arrive by boat to Australia are blocked from resettling in the country even if they are found to have a legitimate case to be granted refugee status. The migrants are given two options either to return to their place of origin or to live in Papua New Guinea, Nauru or impoverished Cambodia, under bilateral deals.

The United Nations (UN) and human rights groups have condemned Australia’s controversial policy, saying it violates international laws such as the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which Canberra is a signatory.

The country’s offshore processing of asylum-seekers has also been faced with strong criticism over conditions at the detention camps and the lengthy processing times.

Abbott’s remarks came as the EU foreign and interior ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss the influx of people trying to reach Europe. The 28-member body is also facing increasing criticism for lagging in its response to the crisis.

In this video grab, a boat of the Italian Guardia Costiera takes part in a rescue operation of migrants off the coast of Sicily on April 12, 2015. © AFP

In the past week, two shipwrecks have reportedly claimed the lives of some 1,300 migrants. In addition, some 400 people are also believed to have perished in a third similar incident on April 13.

On Monday, the EU announced a 10-point action plan aimed at curtailing the flow of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and vowed to increase control and rescue operations.

The plan, approved by the EU foreign and interior ministers, will be presented to a summit on Thursday, a European Commission statement said.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has slammed the EU migration policies as “callous,” warning that the current situation is turning the Mediterranean into a “vast cemetery.”

CAH/GHN/HMV


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