The United Nations has urged Libya and the European Union to overhaul their search and rescue operations in Mediterranean Sea, saying that current practices robbed migrants of their lives, rights and dignity.   

A UN Human Rights Office report released today on Search and Rescue operations and the protection of migrants in the central Mediterranean found that policies and practices fail to prioritize the lives of people attempting to cross from Africa to Europe.

The report said that lack of human rights protections is not a tragic anomaly, but rather a consequence of concrete policy decisions and practices by the Libyan authorities, the European Union member states and institutions.