Senior United Nations officials today stressed the mutual benefits to countries of international migration, emphasized the importance of the high-level dialogue to take place in September examining the links between migration and development, and strongly backed the findings of the Secretary-General’s report issued earlier this week focusing on the global phenomenon.

Faced with a rising death toll at sea among migrants seeking to reach Spain from Africa, the United Nations refugee agency today sponsored a conference in Madrid to promote practical and effective cooperation between Mediterranean States to tackle the humanitarian and protection aspects of irregular migration.