Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni
said Tuesday the government puts "the human factor" first in its
migrant and refugee policy.
"I told the United Nations we uphold the human factor, that
is the fact that reception and rescue at sea must come first,"
the minister told a Slow Food event on sustainable farming at
the Expo world's fair.
"I think we must claim with pride the fact that we saved
over 100,000 human lives in the Mediterranean," Gentiloni said.
His remarks came as the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) said Tuesday almost 3,000 people fleeing war and
destitution in Africa and the Middle East have perished in the
Mediterranean so far this year.
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