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14 THE United Kingdom has been in the international spotlight quite a lot recently: what with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II this week break- ing Queen Victoria's record as the longest-ever reigning monarch, as well as a Labour Party leadership election that has evidently captivat- ed attention outside the confines of Great Britain. For all this, it is the UK's stance on migration – in particular, its refusal to participate in the EU's plan for the 'relocation' of Syrian refugees among different EU member states – that has attracted the most criti- cism. When I met Britain's High Com- missioner to Malta, HE Rob Luke, for this interview last Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron had not yet formally announced his country's withdrawal from this plan. Even so, the UK's position on this issue had already been pains- takingly foreshadowed. Slightly less clear, however, was the same country's position regard- ing the crisis that has unfolded clos- er to our own shores. Cameron had also declared that the UK would not participate in the EU's earlier life- saving operations in the Mediter- ranean: arguing that this would cre- ate a 'pull-factor' for more irregular migration. And yet, Britain currently is con- ducting search and rescue opera- tions in the central Mediterranean: having deployed two naval warships for this very purpose. All things told, there is evidently some confusion surrounding the UK's actual position on the com- plex migration issue. High Com- missioner Rob Luke however rebuts the criticism that his country has in any way abdicated its responsibility to respond to the ongoing humani- tarian crisis arising from the Syrian civil war. "One way or another, it is true that this crisis is one of the biggest challenges – if not the biggest chal- lenge – facing Europe as we speak," he tells me in the British consular offices in Ta' Xbiex. "And of course, one of our first priorities should be to ensure the right humanitarian response to this situation. The UK has been very prominent in this re- sponse: the first element is search and rescue at sea, and initially that contribution was through the pres- ence of HMS Bulwark, and subse- quently through HMS Enterprise supported by an RAF Merlin heli- copter. So those significant British military assets have been involved in search and rescue, and the cur- rent estimate is that they have been directly involved in saving the lives of around 6,500 people…" This, he adds, must also be seen in the context of a much broader hu- manitarian response. "The UK has been prominent in the question of resettlement, too – we have given sanctuary this year to over 5,000 Syrian refugees, and the Prime Minister announced on Monday that there would be an addition 20,000 places made available in re- settlement programmes during the rest of the present government's parliamentary term." But all along, the High Commis- sioner argues that such initiatives, though necessary, do not add up to a comprehensive approach to the phenomenon. "Having said this, we believe it is just as important, if not more im- portant, to tackle this humanitarian crisis at source: which ultimately means by working in the region, and in the countries to which Syr- ian refugees – if, for the moment, we are talking about the Syrian cri- sis – have fled. To that end, the UK has contributed its largest ever hu- manitarian crisis response in finan- cial terms: spending over £1 billion on humanitarian aid specifically on Syria, and focusing on support ac- tivities for refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey." Even this, he adds, falls short of addressing the issue in its entirety. "The UK believes that the sustain- able long-term solution lies 'up- stream': that is to say, we have to work to improve the conditions in the country of origin of these indi- viduals, so that they no longer feel persecuted and have to flee as refu- gees; or indeed that they no longer feel motivated to move as economic migrants. "Here, too, I believe the UK has a good story to tell in that regard. It is the only major country in the world which lives up to its commitment to spend 0.7% of its GDP on devel- opment aid; and the Prime Minis- ter has made it clear that increas- ingly, our development aid will be focused on those countries where the migratory challenge is greatest. Ultimately, our aid target is to im- prove the situation in countries of origin, so that people are no longer motivated to set off on treacherous and in many cases tragic voyages." In practical terms, however, such goals are difficult to pursue. Cer- tainly there is no magic wand solu- tion to the ongoing conflict in Syria; and other countries of origin (and transit) are comparable in terms of chaos and turmoil. Even Libya – country of departure for untold thousands from all parts of Africa – is now rife with internal turbulence. How does one 'improve the situa- tion' in such places, if not through direct military intervention? "Syria is an extremely complex and multi-faceted crisis in itself: the UK is a strong supporter of taking steps to ultimately resolve the con- flict; but the reality is – let's also be honest about this – that there is no consensus among the interna- tional community on how this can or should be done. And the people who pay the price for this lack of consensus are the Syrian people…" Libya, he adds, is a slightly dif- ferent case: "But nonetheless, also a very challenging context at the moment. To address the migratory challenge, the reality is that we do need political stability: which ulti- mately means a government of na- tional unity. The UK, along with its international partners – including the government of Malta – is work- ing very hard to bring the Libyan parties together to deliver a nation- al unity government…" Naturally, not everyone necessar- ily shares this particular ambition. "There are various actors working antithetically to that interest – not least, the Islamic State – and that is why the international community's response, in itself, has to be multi- faceted: addressing the security and economic prosperity dimensions, but also factoring in the migratory and humanitarian aspects of the situation as well." The international community's actual response, however, has not been terribly effective so far. In June the EU launched a plan to respond to the crisis in the central Mediter- ranean: which involved in part a strategy to counter human traffick- ing by targeting boats leaving from the Libyan coast. And yet, the 'upstream' approach favoured by the UK would surely have to look further inland than the coast of Libya. Human trafficking networks operate all over Africa, and – as we all saw last week, with the discovery of 70 dead bodies in a truck in Austria – now even within Europe. What, therefore, is the UK's re- sponse to an EU plan which seems to focus only on the tail end of the Interview By Raphael Vassallo maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2015 Solidarity takes many