1951 – The UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is first adopted. The convention “provides the most comprehensive codification of the rights of refugees at the international level” (UNHCR). Later revised in 1967, the agreement sets a guideline for the treatment of refugees by individual states”.
1980 – Various groups in Somalia compete against each other for influence during a power vacuum. The nation is, to this day, in an ongoing state of turmoil as the government struggles to fight Al Shabaab and other militant groups.
1998 – Ethiopia and Eritrea become involved in a major border conflict that continues to spark violence today.
2001 – NATO deploys forces into Afghanistan to dismantle al-Qaeda. The ongoing conflict …show more content…
The 18 rescue ships from Malta and Italy only managed to save 28 survivors. This marks the highest death toll by shipwreck in the Mediterranean.
2015 (November) – Operation Mare Nostrum ends because it is too expensive for one nation (Italy) to fund. It is replaced by Operation Triton,
2015 (May) – The European Commission proposes a quota plan that would require EU member states to accept a certain number of refugees based on economic growth, population, unemployment rate, and previous involvement with asylum seekers. EU nations offer differing responses to the plan.
2015 (June) – The EU starts surveillance-based naval operations to monitor Libyan human smugglers. Aircrafts, drones, and ships from over ten EU member states will determine whether it is feasible to mount combat-operations against smugglers in the future.
2015 (August) – The UNHCR calls for a “comprehensive response” (UN News Centre) to the conditions of migrants in Calais, France, who are attempting to enter the UK via the Channel Tunnel. The British government and public, however, do not welcome “swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean” (Cameron, Prime Minister of …show more content…
The other issue and the bigger one was that most of these refugees were stopped in the peripheral countries of Europe as they are along the Mediterranean and also the hardest hit by the crisis. The primary example being Greece. The Dublin regulations in small measure also asked for this wherein the refugees were held to be the responsibility of the first country they set in leading to a greater burden on certain countries than the others. This has led to questions being raised on Europe’s capability to absorb more refugees and other viable alternatives