As refugee crisis deepens, OSCE PA’s humanitarian Chair to visit Lampedusa, Catania, Mineo

COPENHAGEN, 17 June 2015 – The Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), will visit Rome, Lampedusa, Catania and Mineo this week to address Europe’s migrant and refugee crisis from one of its primary frontlines. 

On 18-22 June, Santos will meet with migrants, refugees and employees at several reception facilities and will hold meetings with Italian government and parliamentary officials, civil society leaders and representatives of international organizations. 

She will observe the humanitarian situation on the ground, discuss Italy’s efforts to handle the record influx of individuals, and consider with her interlocutors short- and long-term strategies for responding to the situation within the country and within Europe as a whole. 

Italian OSCE parliamentarians Marietta Tidei, the Rapporteur of the Assembly’s Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment, and Cristina De Pietro will join Santos during her trip.

“This crisis is deepening every day, and it has exposed a crisis of solidarity and a crisis of policy within Europe. With desperate individuals continuing to stream into Italy and others queuing on the French border, the situation is clearly unsustainable. I look forward to hearing directly from migrants, refugees, officials and civil society and to discussing ideas for new policy directions and initiatives that are urgently needed,” Santos said.

The OSCE PA humanitarian Chair will begin her trip in Rome, where she is scheduled to meet with Mario Morcone, Head of the Civil Liberties and Immigration Department in the Interior Ministry; Gennaro Migliore, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on reception centers for immigrants; Flavio Ronzi, the President of the Rome Chapter of the Italian Red Cross (Croce Rossa); and representatives of the UN Refugees Agency (UNHCR).

Santos will mark World Refugee Day, 20 June, at reception facilities in Lampedusa and Catania, before traveling to Mineo.

Journalists interested in interviewing the OSCE PA humanitarian Chair should write to [email protected] or call +4560108030.