Washington, DC – Earlier this week (10/10) the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe – also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission – convened a briefing on the current humanitarian situation facing Syrian refugees in Europe and the root causes of their flight.

The briefing, held at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., brought together international experts and representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations to assess the responses of international community partners and make recommendations for action from all levels, including the United States.

Representing IOM, the UN Migration Agency, was Luca Dall’Oglio, chief of mission in Washington. He opened his remarks by reminding the audience of the deadly sea journeys that several thousands of migrants and refugees have taken over the last year.

“In spite of the intensification of search and rescue operations, the human toll has remained unacceptable,” Dall’oglio said, referring to more than 2,700 migrants and refugees who have died or gone missing across the Mediterranean Sea basin since January 2017.

According to IOM’s Missing Migrants project, more than 140,000 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea so far this year, with over 75 per cent arriving in Italy.

The number of migrant and refugee arrivals over the past few years is manageable for Europe, said Dall’Oglio, who added that more states should act in solidarity with “front-line” states such as Italy and Greece.

Dall’Oglio’s argument was echoed by the other panelists who also called European states to share responsibility and to remain committed to the implementation of the EU relocation scheme through which IOM had already assisted 30,000 asylum seekers at the end of September.

Nonetheless, more remains to be done, as less than a third of the total number of refugees planned for, have been relocated. The scheme, set up in 2015, aimed to relocate over 106,000 asylum seekers from the two frontline EU Member States – Greece and Italy – by the end of this year.

During the briefing, Dall’Oglio also expressed concern over the exploitation of migrants and refugees by smugglers and traffickers and advised states to take action.

“Without legal avenues and better information delivery, the market for smugglers’ services will continue,” Dall’Oglio said. “Irregular flows will not be stopped by action to combat smuggling and trafficking alone,” he added.

The briefing was moderated by Nathaniel Hurl, policy advisor at the U.S. Helsinki Commission. In addition of IOM’s representative, the panel of experts included Matthew Reynolds, UNHCR Regional Representative for the U.S. and the Caribbean, Philip Hyldgaard, Executive Director at A21 Campaign and Jill Marie Gerschutz-Bell, Senior Policy and Legislative Specialist at Catholic Relief Services.

For more information, please contact IOM Washington: Hajer Naili, Tel: +1 202-568-3757, Email: hnaili@iom.int