France needs to draw up a "civil emergency" plan to give dignified accommodation to the estimated 3,000 migrants who are camping out in the northern city of Calais in the hope of crossing the Channel to Britain, the UN said Friday, reports FRANCE 24.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said for the past year it had been calling for an "urgent, comprehensive and sustainable response" by Europe as a whole but especially by French authorities to the worsening asylum crisis and reception conditions in Calais.
"Let's treat that as a civil emergency," Vincent Cochetel, head of UNHCR's Europe division, told AFP.
He stressed though that the emergency was a small one that could easily be addressed if Paris was willing to do so.
"This is a manageable situation," he said.
Some 3,000 migrants and refugees, including many fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria, Libya and Eritrea are camped out in a makeshift tent village in Calais waiting for a chance to cross to Britain in what Cochetel described as "appalling conditions".
UNHCR also voiced "alarm" at the rising death toll among people risking their lives to attempt to cross the Channel Tunnel to Britain. At least 10 people have lost their lives attempting the crossing since the beginning of June.
Cochetel pointed out that both French and British governments had been opposed to setting up a large-scale reception centre in Calais for fear it would become a "magnet" and attract more people.