Council of Europe appalled by 300 migrant deaths in Mediterranean

The Council of Europe said on Wednesday that it was "appalled" at the report that over 300 migrants, who left from Libya, were lost and feared dead in the Mediterranean Sea and the Council urged a united response to the question of migration.
President of the Council's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Ann Brasseur said in a statement that these recurring tragedies can be prevented if efforts are made to address the problem.
"I am appalled by the news that over 300 migrants are feared dead in the Mediterranean... this is another tragedy that should have been avoided by all means," Brasseur indicated.
The latest accident comes only days after 29 migrants died from hypothermia on another vessel seeking to reach Europe from North Africa.
Brasseur questioned policies that decided to end full-scale search and rescue operations in 2014.
She noted that 170,000 "irregular migrants, asylum seekers and refugees" crossed the Mediterranean to Europe last year and more than 3,400 are known to have died while trying. The real total may be much higher because of failure to locate all missing vessels.
"Current trends show that the volume of irregular migration in 2015 is outpacing that of last year... (and) in January 2015 increased by 60 percent by contrast to the same month in 2014," the PACE President said.
"I invite European governments to reaffirm their solidarity by putting in place a more effective and well-resourced European search and rescue initiative, creating alternative migrations possibilities and increasing efforts to combat smuggling," she added.
The Council of Europe is made up of 47 countries and monitors democracy and human rights in member nations.