The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, has expressed deep sadness at the death of some 62 migrants, mostly Gambians, on 4 December when their makeshift vessel capsized off the coast of Mauritania.
In a statement received on Tuesday, he expressed his solidarity with the government and the people of The Gambia following the incident, when the migrants were attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands.
Describing the incident as “the worst migrant tragedy” to hit West Africa this year, Dr Chambas encouraged all national stockholders to redouble their efforts in addressing this complex challenge of migration.
The Special Representative also commended the support extended by the Mauritanian authorities to the survivors, and called on regional and international leaders to uphold their engagement to stop death and despair along migration trails.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been providing humanitarian assistance, including medical and psycho-social care, to the 78 Gambian and nine Senegalese migrants in the Mauritanian city of Nouadhibou.
The Special Representative called on all governments to play a vital role in implementing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration which reaffirms the foundational principles of the global community, including national sovereignty and universal human rights, while pointing the way toward humane and sensible action to benefit countries of origin, transit and destination as well as migrants themselves.
