>>>ANSA/CoE slams rights abuses on eve of World Refugee Day

(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 19 - Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic on Monday denounced the tolerance that has developed in Europe towards rights' violations against migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.
    In a statement issued during a visit to Lampedusa - the tiny southern Sicilian island that is a stepping stone for many refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean in search of safety and a better life in Europe - Mijatovic said she was "struck by the alarming level of tolerance towards serious violations of the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants that has developed across Europe".
    "Reports of violations of the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are now so frequent that they hardly register in the public consciousness," she added.
    The Council of Europe commissioner was speaking on the eve of World Refugee Day on June 20, an international day designated by the United Nations to honour people who have been forced to flee and champion their rights.
    "For their part, the governments of Council of Europe member states, instead of holding each other accountable on the basis of shared standards, have too often tolerated or openly supported the adoption of laws and policies that have progressively removed human rights protections from people on the move," continued Mijatovic.
    "Their collective focus on deterrence and the transfer of responsibility to third countries has created fertile ground for practices that routinely violate the rights of refugees and migrants," she concluded. By the end of 2022, the number of people forcibly displaced inside or outside their country by war, persecution, violence and human rights abuses stood at a record 108.4 million, up 19.1 million on the previous year, according to the annual Global Trends report published by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in June.
    Nor did the upward trajectory in global forced displacement show any sign of slowing in 2023 as the outbreak of conflict in Sudan triggered new forced migration movements, pushing the global total to an estimated 110 million by May, according to the report.
    In Italy, 16 cities were set to light up a symbolic monument for World Refugee Day, according to a press release from UNHCR.
    On the nights of June 19 and 20, the Calamo Fountain in Ancona, the Monumental Fountain in Piazza Aldo Moro in Bari, Porta San Giacomo in Bergamo, Nardo Dunchi's sculpture "Armonie di Luce" in Carrara, the Statue of Il Cavatore in Catanzaro, the historic gates (Torre San Niccolò, Porta alla Croce in Piazza Beccaria, Porta San Gallo in Piazza della Libertà, Porta al Prato, Porta Romana, Porta San Frediano) in Florence, the Fountain in Piazza de Ferrari in Genoa, the Gateway to Europe in Lampedusa, the Fountain of Neptune in Naples, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Palazzo Senatorio in Rome, the cultural centre "Spazio Meno Assenza" in Pozzallo, the Palazzo di Città in Taranto, the Mole Antonelliana in Turin, the Neptune Fountain in Trieste and the Gran Guardia in Verona will be lit up in blue in an expression of solidarity with all those who have been forced to flee their home country due to war, violence, persecution or human rights abuses and to support UNHCR's World Refugee Day campaign Hope Away from Home.
    "We all benefit from human connections and a sense of belonging," said UNHCR Representative for Italy, the Holy See and San Marino Chiara Cardoletti.
    "For refugees far from home, being able to contribute to the life of the community means feeling part of it.
    "This is why the participation of so many Italian cities in this initiative, demonstrating the commitment that municipalities in Italy are making to ensure the full inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers, is even more important," added Cardoletti.
    To mark World Refugee Day UNHCR has also organised a public event on Tuesday titled Hope Away From Home - Un mondo dove tutti i rifugiati sono inclusi (A world where all refugees are included) at the Auditorium Antonianum in Rome. For details see https://withrefugees.unhcr.it/eventi/hope-away-from-home-un-mond o-dove-tutti-i-rifugiati-siano-inclusi/ (ANSA).