GENEVA
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Friday has warned against discrimination of migrants, after Slovakia announced it would only accept Christian migrants.
"We oppose all discrimination: gender-sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity," against migrants, IOM spokesman Joel Millman said in Geneva.
Noting that they had received some reports from Slovakia and Hungary indicating religious discrimination against migrants, Millman said: "We do not like to single out Europe. It is a worldwide problem and we oppose it. We oppose any discrimination."
30,846 migrants rescued by Turkish coast guard
With sea borders about 6,530 kilometers in length, Turkey plays a key role as a transit and destination country for migrants heading towards EU countries, Millman said. He added that 30,846 migrants had been rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard this year until Aug. 6, a number that rose dramatically compared with 14,961 for the whole of 2014, 8,047 in 2013 and 2,531 in 2012.
"Approximately 82 percent of those rescues in 2015 took place in the Mediterranean. The top four nationalities include Syrians (75 percent), Afghans (15 percent), Burmese (5 percent) and Eritreans (5 percent)," Millman added.
- Nearly 100,000 migrants arrived in Europe by sea in 2015
Some 255,152 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in Europe by sea so far in 2015, the IOM said in a statement on Friday. Nearly 100,000 came from Syria, more than 25,000 from Eritrea and about 32,000 migrants from Afghanistan.
According to the IOM, 149,028 migrants arrived in Greece by sea so far in 2015 while 103,864 migrants arrived in Italy, 2,166 in Spain and 94 in Malta.
The IOM estimated that there have been 3,271 migrant deaths in 2015 to date, of which 2,365 occurred in the Mediterranean.
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