The Parliamentary Assembly has launched an inquiry into who is responsible for the more than 1,000 “boat people” thought to have perished in the Mediterranean since January 2011 while trying to reach European soil from North Africa. Following a request for an inquiry signed by 34 members of the Assembly, PACE’s Migration Committee today appointed Tineke Strik (Netherlands, SOC) to prepare a report on “Lives lost in the Mediterranean sea: who is responsible?”. “There have been allegations that migrants and refugees are dying after their appeals for rescue have been ignored,” said Mrs Strik. “Such a grave allegation must be urgently investigated.”