28/05/2021 Standing Committee
The humanitarian situation of refugees and migrants is extremely serious in many countries in North Africa and the Middle East, which is a transit region towards Europe for these people, many of whom risk their lives on the Mediterranean Sea, the PACE Standing Committee said, meeting by videoconference.
In this context, the parliamentarians regret that humanitarian assistance by member States sometimes lacks coordination among European donor countries and receiving countries, thus leading to regional inequalities in humanitarian aid and reduced effectiveness.
As national parliaments debate and approve national budgets – including financial aid to foreign countries – PACE is in a key position to raise awareness among its members and their parliaments, and promote concerted European action, according to a resolution adopted today by the Standing Committee, based on the report by Lord Alexander Dundee (United Kingdom, EC/DA).
Through its relations with parliaments having the Partner for Democracy status, and with other parliaments in North Africa and the Middle East, PACE has the opportunity – at the parliamentary level – to promote a constructive dialogue on the humanitarian situation and the needs in this region, the parliamentarians concluded.