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Mr. President, We are glad this resolution is finally adopted. When EU High Representative Mogherini addressed the Council in May, she conveyed the sense of urgency to address the human smuggling crisis in the Mediterranean. Predator smuggling and trafficking networks feed on the human tragedies in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea and elsewhere. The money they squeeze out of the people fleeing destruction pours into the hands of arms traffickers, organized crime, and terrorists, thus contributing to ever new cycles of violence and death. We must stop the evolving human smuggling industry.

The resolution that we have just adopted sends a strong message to all those who seek to profit unscrupulously and cynically from human suffering. It enables tackling the networks of human smuggling more expeditiously and effectively. It also enables taking life saving actions that safeguard respect for the dignity and the human rights of the smuggling victims.

The EU naval operation is just one step of the many that comprise EU’s comprehensive and continuous efforts to respond to the human smuggling crisis in the Mediterranean.  Ongoing co-operation between African, Middle Eastern and European countries is essential; as is co-operation with countries of origin and transit as well as countries of destination. We welcome Libya’s cooperation on the matter as it works to redefine its own future.

We are looking forward to the forthcoming EU and AU summit meeting in Malta that will build on existing cooperation processes between Europe and Africa in order to improve assistance, strengthen cooperation on return and readmission policies, and address exploitation and trafficking of migrants.

Mr. President,

While the smuggling crisis is often referred to as the “European migrant crisis”, let us not forget the root causes that drive people out of their homes.

Protracted conflicts; the breakdown of governance and the rule of law; oppressive regimes and rampant corruption; exclusion and abuse of minorities; extreme inequalities and systematic gross violations of human rights all contribute to displacement and refugee flows.

Therefore tackling the root causes is fundamental. Without addressing these driving factors, we will be left to continue picking up the pieces, dealing with the heavy consequences of migrant flows and the cynical abuse of human tragedy by unscrupulous profiteers, criminal gangs and terrorists.