Refugee camp to be built in Paris

(Vatican Radio) Preparations are underway in the French capital Paris for a new refugee camp in the city with the mayor expressing concern about the mounting death toll among people fleeing war and poverty.

She made the  remarks after officials said at least 1,000 or more migrants perished in the Mediterranean, while the United Nations chief urged more international solidarity..

Listen to Stefan Bos’s report:

Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris unveiled plans to set up a refugee camp in the city's north, saying her country can no longer stand by as the Mediterranean in her words "becomes a graveyard" for migrants.

She detailed her plans as officials decried a deadly week in the Mediterranean in which an estimated 1,000 or more migrants perished making the journey from Africa to Europe.

Citing Germany as an example, Hidalgo stressed that France must step up its response given the "urgency" of the situation. 

She explained to reporters that the camp must become "a humanitarian refugee camp with support from different associations" and should offer "day care" and "accommodate destitute people who continue to arrive" in Paris. She added that the refugees would be treated "with dignity" and said she expected the camp to open in June "in accordance with United Nations standards". 

1,000 DROWNED

Her announcement came after the International Organization said at least 1,000 migrants drowned over the past week in the Mediterranean while making their way from Africa to Europe, hundreds more than initially thought.

The agency said it had seen a "hopeful trend" for the first three weeks of May but that it had "obviously changed" 
its assessment following a series of shipwrecks and capsizes in recent days. 

Amid the ongoing tragedies, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed frustration that all not all key world leaders attended last week's global humanitarian gathering in Istanbul, Turkey. "It is a bit disappointing that some world leaders could not be here, especially those from the G7 countries, except Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. I urge their greater engagement," he said.

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR has warned that refugees will continue to arrive in Europe, despite attempts to close off for instance the Balkan Route. Even Hungary, one of the first countries to close off borders with razor wire fences says thousands of migrants managed to enter the nation illegally, this year.