[JURIST] Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] acknowledged some positive signs from the European Commission’s announcement on the migration crisis in the Mediterranean on Thursday but encouraged [press release] the Commission to develop concrete solutions that protect and save lives. AI explained the European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship’s pledge to extend Operation Triton, a pan-EU border management operation, to the end of 2015 is beneficial but it does not go far enough. This year, Triton will provide €13 million in new emergency funding to help Italy with the reception of rescued migrants. AI argues the migration crisis demands increased commitments to expand search and rescue operations. John Dalhuisen, the Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at AI, referenced the recent death of more than 300 migrants earlier this month off the Italian island of Lampedusa to demonstrate that search and rescue capabilities are inadequate. Dalhuisen commented:

The latest Lampedusa tragedy laid bare yet again the woeful inadequacy of the European Union’s current border control approach to the spiralling humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean. Today’s announcement has failed to change the simple fact that without more resources from member states for search and rescue, more people will die on the high seas.

Immigration reform has been an area of major political concern in a number of countries across the globe. Earlier this month, AI criticized [press release] the EU’s failure to prevent migrant casualties at sea and a UN rights expert advised the EU to bank on the continued mobility of migrants [JURIST reports]. In November UK Prime Minister David Cameron raised the possibility of the UK leaving the EU [JURIST report] if other member state leaders block plans to restrict access to welfare payments for migrants. Cameron outlined proposed welfare reform that would block European migrants to the UK from receiving welfare payments or state housing until they have been UK residents for four years. Also in November US President Barrack Obama announced executive action [JURIST report] on immigration that would allow 4.7 million undocumented immigrants to stay in the US. In October a UN expert urged [JURIST report] British authorities to reconsider their decision not to support search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. In September the Israeli High Court of Justice shut down [JURIST report] a detention center used to detain African migrants who had crossed illegally and were captured in the Negev Desert.