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UK House of Lords: EU Anti-Human Trafficking Mission Cannot Stop Smugglers

© Flickr / Greg KnappUK Parliament building
UK Parliament building - Sputnik International
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The EU mission seeking to put an end to human traffickers’ operations in the Mediterranean Sea is unable to deliver its mandate, the upper house of the UK parliament said in a report released Friday.

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MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Operation Sophia, stipulating inspection, seizure and diversion of suspicious ships in international waters, was launched in June 2015 in response to the vast migration crisis to Europe from the Middle East and Northern Africa.

"However valuable as a search and rescue mission, Operation Sophia does not, and we argue, cannot, deliver its mandate. It responds to symptoms, not causes," the House of Lords’ report said.

The lawmakers commended the operation’s success a search and rescue, calling it a "vital humanitarian obligation."

"The mission does not, however, in any meaningful way deter the flow of migrants, disrupt the smugglers’ networks, or impede the business of people smuggling on the central Mediterranean route," the report said.

Operation Sophia encompasses Italian, French, German, British and Spanish warships, including Italy’s Cavour C 550 aircraft carrier and France’s Courbet F 712 stealth frigate.

Europe has faced an enormous influx of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. EU border agency Frontex recorded over 1.83 million illegal border crossings into the European Union in 2015.

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