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UN / MIGRANT DEATHS
STORY: UN / MIGRANT DEATHS
TRT: 02:28
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 27 OCTOBER 2017, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
27 OCTOBER 2017, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, presser
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions:
“The human rights and humanitarian crisis is unfolding in front of our very eyes, characterized by mass casualties globally, a regime of impunity for perpetrators and high tolerance for its fatalities. Its direct victims are refugees and migrants.”
4. Med shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions:
“The lack of data collected in places where they died, the lack of data recorded nationally, regionally, internationally, add to the tragedy. It completely, in my view, it is a second tragedy, because if we don’t have information, if that information is not made public, if there is a gap in our knowledge, all of that are contributing to making us far more ignorant about the tragedy and far less able to respond to it.”
6. Wide shot, dais
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions:
“All of those governments are spending a lot of money investigating smuggling, none of them are investigating smuggling with homicide, which is, you know, mind boggling. This is a far worse crime. It’s a crime recognized by the Palermo Convention, aggravated smuggling. And I can count on one hand the number of investigations into smuggling accompanied by homicide.”
8. Med shot, journalist
9 SOUNDBITE (English) Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions:
“States are playing an important role because a, they fail to respond to those deaths, as I have highlighted, no investigation, but most importantly because the policies that they put in place, the policies of deterrence in particular put in place globally, are actually grounded on the likelihood that refugees or migrants might die.”
10. Wide shot, dais
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions:
“There could be a case made that the European Union or Italy are aiding and assisting in massive human rights violations.”
12. Wide shot, end of presser
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Agnes Callamard, today (27 Oct) said a “human rights and humanitarian crisis is unfolding in front of our very eyes” and “its direct victims are refugees and migrants.”
Speaking to reporters after presenting her report to the General Assembly, Callamard said this crisis is “characterized by mass casualties globally, a regime of impunity for perpetrators and high tolerance for its fatalities.”
The lack of data collected in places where they died, she said, “add to the tragedy,” and added that “if we don’t have information, if that information is not made public, if there is a gap in our knowledge, all of that are contributing to making us far more ignorant about the tragedy and far less able to respond to it.”
The Special Rapporteur said it was “mind boggling” that governments “are spending a lot of money investigating smuggling,” but “none of them are investigating smuggling with homicide,” a crime recognized by the Palermo Convention as aggravated smuggling.
She said governments bear responsibility as “they fail to respond to those deaths,” and “most importantly because the policies that they put in place, the policies of deterrence in particular put in place globally, are actually grounded on the likelihood that refugees or migrants might die.”
Callamard said “there could be a case made that the European Union or Italy are aiding and assisting in massive human rights violations.”
Callamard has a distinguished career in human rights and humanitarian work globally, in civil society organizations, the United Nations and in academia. She is currently the Director of Columbia University Global Freedom of Expression.
A Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. This position is honorary and the expert is not United Nations staff nor paid for his/her work.
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