This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 16 November 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR has sent comments to the Portuguese EU Presidency ahead of the first Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Meeting on Migration on 18-19 November, in Portugal. The meeting is taking place at a time when migration is high on the political agenda in the entire Mediterranean region, and when the situation of people trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean is in the news almost daily. While the meeting does not focus on refugee issues, UNHCR felt it was important to recall that refugees and asylum-seekers are invariably part of today's mixed migratory flows. Migration policy, and in particular measures to tackle irregular migration, needs to take account of the specific rights and needs of refugees, and of States refugee protection obligations.

Story date: 16 November 2007
UNHCR Briefing Notes