Many were paying human smugglers based in Libya, but such voyages at times ended in tragedy. After 400 migrants drowned in April, Italy’s foreign minister, Paolo Gentiloni appealed for international help in dealing with the crisis. He pointed out his country’s navy was bearing the brunt of rescuing migrants.
Department of National Defence sources say Canada’s military could have responded, as a frigate was operating in the Mediterranean, but no direction for that was received by the Conservative government.
Asked why the Canadian military was not directed to provide such support, Steven Vo, spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson, said Canada has made significant humanitarian contributions to those fleeing the fighting in Iraq and Syria.
Portions of Iraq and Syria have been seized by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, prompting thousands to try to reach safety in Europe.
“Alongside robust humanitarian assistance, (ISIL) must be confronted directly through military action along with our allies,” Vo said Thursday, repeating a similar message from earlier in the day issued by Conservative leader Stephen Harper.
But in April, Defence Minister Jason Kenney said Canada had no responsibility to help on the migrant issue.
“This is a challenge for African and European countries in and around the Mediterranean,” Kenney explained in an interview on CBC. “We do not bear responsibility for decisions that people make to hire unscrupulous human traffickers and put them in danger’s way.”
Human smugglers have flourished in Libya in the chaos created by the 2011 overthrow of that country’s leader, Moammar Gadhafi.
Kenney acknowledged that Canada played a major role in the NATO mission that removed Gadhafi from power, but said the migration crisis was in no way linked to the situation in Libya.
In April the European Union proposed bombing the smuggler’s boats in Libya to prevent them from being used. That didn’t happen but some European nations increased their efforts to rescue migrants at sea.
In May, the Royal Navy sent one of its warships, HMS Bulwark, to help. The ship rescued at least 500 migrants off the coast of Libya. The Irish naval service also committed a ship in May. That vessel helped save 2,000 migrants. On Aug. 22 the Italian navy rescued 3,000 migrants in the Mediterranean.
The Royal Canadian Navy has been operating a warship in the Mediterranean since 2014 as part of the Conservative government’s contribution to NATO’s response to the crisis in Ukraine.
Migrants fleeing poverty and war in Africa and the conflict in Syria pay smugglers for passage to the shores of Europe. So far this year an estimated 350,000 have successfully made their way into Greece and Italy.
But the United Nations estimates that at least 2,500 people have died this summer trying to cross the Mediterranean.
In April the Italian government pleaded with its allies to get involved in dealing with the migrant crisis.
“The emergency is not just about Italy,” foreign minister Gentiloni said. “We have a duty to save lives and welcome people in a civilised manner, but we also have a duty to seek international engagement.”
Original Article
Source: canada.com/
Author: DAVID PUGLIESE
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