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Foreign Ministries of the European Union formally approved Monday the first phase of a military operation that states is aimed at stopping human traffickers from bringing migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe, officials said.
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After meeting in Luxembourg, the top diplomats decided to send ships and aircraft to the region in order to conduct the first intelligence operations within a week.
The move was called a “quick response to the crisis” by the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini: "I am impressed by the unanimity and speed with which we have put this together," she said.
But the move has been criticized by human rights organizations, with Asylum Aid calling for safe legal routes to be the priority.
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We can put smugglers out of business by providing safe legal routes to Europe for refugees, not deploying military! https://t.co/6nW9hOBT1H
— Asylum Aid (@AsylumAid)
junio 22, 2015
In the U.S., Micah Zenko of the Council of Foreign Relations labelled the move “immoral and stupid” on Twitter.
Opposition also came from Russia, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov questioning the legitimacy of the decision. “The issue of the legitimacy of the announced and discussed actions is still on the agenda. We still need to understand how these actions could conform to the principles and norms of international law without the foundation of international law and the according decisions by the [UN] Security Council,” Peskov said, according to Sputnik.
Thousands of migrants escaping war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East have been attempting to enter Europe crossing the Mediterranean sea. The U.N. estimates that around 100,000 migrants arrived in Italy, Greece and Malta since the beginning of the year. At least more than 3,000 have died at sea so far.
The military response by the EU was agreed last April when almost 1,000 migrants died when their makeshift boat sank. In the so-called Phase 1, at least 15 ships, aircraft and drones will be used to monitor the activity of traffickers carrying migrants from Libya to Italy.
Nongovernmental organizations report that in some regions, trafficking of migrants to Europe has become more lucrative than drug trafficking.
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