ROME, MAY 27, 2017—In response to the G7 summit in Italy, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) issued the followed statement today from Gabriele Eminente, general director of MSF Italy:
"The G7 leaders missed an important opportunity to redress the failure of governments and provide a humane response to the global displacement crisis. Instead they decided to address it only through the lens of national security, punishing and criminalizing people who are on the move.
"We see firsthand the consequences of these policies on people we assist across the world—from the Mediterranean Sea that has turned into a giant cemetery to the awful detention conditions in Libya, the humanitarian needs of Syrian refugees, and the extreme level of violence on the Central American migration and refugee route.
"The failure of the G7 Summit in Sicily can only cause more suffering, increase deaths at sea, perpetuate appalling reception conditions for migrants and refugees, and justify inhumane deals that outsource migration management to unsafe countries. This is happening before the eyes of the entire world and in total disrespect of human rights and basic humanitarian principles."
