Migrant crisis: UN chief ‘heartbroken’ by deaths

Ban Ki-moon is planning special meeting next month to talk about global concerns

The Italian coast guard vessel "Diciotti", carrying 620 migrants rescued from boats in the Mediterranean and the bodies of two victims has arrived in Messina, Sicily. Video: REUTERS

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has said he is "horrified and heartbroken" by the latest migrant deaths in Austria and at sea.

In a rare statement issued under his name and not a spokesman, he stressed that a “large majority” of people undertaking such dangerous journeys are refugees who have the right to protection and asylum.

He called on all governments to act with compassion and humanity.

Austrian police have said 71 refugees including 59 men, 8 women and 4 children lost their lives inside a refrigeration truck abandoned on a motorway near Vienna. Video: REUTERS

Mr Ban also said the conflicts and repression that force people to flee must be resolved.

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"The Syrian war, for example, has just been manifested on a roadside in the heart of Europe, " he said.

He plans a “special meeting devoted to these global concerns” on September 30th, during the annual General Assembly of world leaders at UN headquarters.

On Thursday 71 people, including four children, were found dead in a lorry in Austria. It is believed they suffocated in the back of the truck and may have been from Syria.

Some 200 people are feared to have drowned after two boats capsized on Thursday as they tried to cross from Zuwara, west of Tripoli in Libya, to Italy.

About 100 bodies have already been found and Libyan workers are continuing to search for 100 other people who are still unaccounted for.

"A large majority of people undertaking these arduous and dangerous journeys are refugees fleeing from places such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, " he said.

“The international community must also show greater determination in resolving conflicts and other problems that leave people little choice but to flee,” he added.

Mr Ban called on nations to observe international law on asylum requests, and not to “force people to return to places from which they have fled if there is a well-founded fear of persecution... This is not only a matter of international law; it is also our duty as human beings.”

He said: “This is a human tragedy that requires a determined collective political response. It is a crisis of solidarity, not a crisis of numbers.”

Mr Ban also urged more action against people smugglers, a call echoed by White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

"The violence and instability in North Africa and the Middle East isn't just destabilising the immediate region but is starting to have a destabilising impact on other regions of the world too, including in Europe," Mr Earnest said.

According to the UNHCR, more than 2,500 people have died trying to reach Europe so far in 2015, not including Thursday’s deaths.

Reuters