[JURIST] UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] on Friday urged [press release] the global community to develop comprehensive solutions to allow for safe and legal migration after 70 bodies, believed to be Syrian asylum seekers, were discovered in a truck near the Austria-Hungary border. Also on Friday Ban issued a statement [official document] on the recent increase in refugee and migrant tragedies in the Mediterranean and Europe. Ban addressed the need to combat smugglers and those who engage in human trafficking. Ban’s statement cites that 40,000 people flee their homes on a daily basis and there is a need for a political response to ensure that international law protects the rights of these individuals.

Migrant rights have generated a tremendous humanitarian issue around the world with hundreds of deaths in recent months. Earlier this week, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants urged [JURIST report] the European Union to create a new human-rights-minded migration policy to empower migrants and solve the issue of human smuggling in the Eurozone. Also last week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [official website] encouraged [JURIST report] Macedonia to put an end to the police violence occurring against migrants at the country’s border with Greece. In early August, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) [official website] reported that over 2,000 migrants have died this year [JURIST report] in an attempt to enter Europe through the Mediterranean Sea. The British and French governments warned in a joint article [JURIST report] that the world is facing a “global migration crisis.” The two government officials stressed that countries must make dealing with the increasing number of migrants a top priority.