UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — Last week, a columnist of The Sun newspaper, Katie Hopkins, wrote an article in which she called the refugees in the Mediterranean "a plague of feral humans" and "a novovirus." Recalling a recent increase of migrant deaths at sea, the author added that gunboats should be used against migrant vessels in the Mediterranean.
Hopkin's screed was released just hours before a boat carrying an estimated 800-900 people capsized on Sunday while heading from Libya to Italy, leaving only 28 people alive.
The Sun's recent publication was one of thousands of xenophobic articles appearing in UK tabloids over the past two decades, Zeid added.
Freedom of expression is advocated by the UN, but it must not be seen as an incitement to to human rights violations, Zeid said.
The High Commissioner urged UK authorities to take the concern seriously, and take action to curb provocations to hatred against foreigners by the press.
Thousands of refugees are risking the sea journey to Europe to escape ongoing military conflicts and dire economic situations in Libya, Syria, Iraq, and other areas across North Africa and the Middle East.
Over 218,000 people crossed the Mediterranean in 2014 and at least 3,500 have died during the attempts, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
