On Lampedusa ensure assistance for the vulnerable - UNHCR

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 15 - UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on Friday said the situation on the island of Lampedusa is "critical" following the arrival by sea of unprecedented numbers of migrants and refugees in recent days and insisted that ensuring "adequate assistance" for the most vulnerable must be "a priority".
    "The situation in Lampedusa is critical and we appreciate that urgent action is underway to return the island to normalcy," said UNHCR Representative for Italy, the Holy See and San Marino Chiara Cardoletti in a statement.
    "We fully recognize the difficulties caused by a very large number of people arriving simultaneously on a small island where reception capacities are limited. In order to ensure that people get the assistance they need, decongesting the island remains a top priority," she continued, expressing appreciation for the efforts of the Italian authorities "who have already transferred almost 5.000 people in the past 28 hours".
    "In this situation of severe overcrowding, it is a priority to identify and ensure adequate assistance for vulnerable people such as, for example, survivors of violence and those with other fragile conditions," said Cardoletti.
    The UNHCR representative added that the current situation can be addressed "by reverting to a landings mechanism that involves the use of ships with greater capacity that can relieve pressure on Lampedusa by bringing rescued people to other landing areas as well".
    This solution, she said, "requires the early support of the European Union in a spirit of shared responsibility and solidarity with the countries of first landing", reiterating UNHCR's call for the establishment of an agreed regional mechanism for landing and redistribution procedures for people arriving in the bloc by sea. (ANSA).