'No military solution' to migrant crisis - Peter Sutherland

The European Commission will this week present a migration policy for Europe, including proposals to set refugee quotas for all EU member states.

There was no military solution to the current migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, said Peter Sutherland, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for International Migration.

There had to be more solidarity in the EU to deal with the Mediterranean migrant crisis, he added.

"In the first 130 days of 2015, 1800 people have drowned," he said. "The first imperative is saving lives."

He praised countries like Italy, Germany and Sweden for taking the "lion’s share" of the burden regarding refugees. “Many other EU countries could do more.”