"What we would say … to all states who say migration is a problem, or who are interested in migration, is to look within the spectrum of the IHL. They have to integrate the IHL in the reflection to address both the needs of migrants and the root causes [of migration]," Cotter said, in answer to a question on how EU member states can address the migration crisis asked on Wednesday on the sidelines of the "Migration and International Law" conference.
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The fourth international conference dubbed "Migration and International Law," during which participants address the issue of migration from a legal, political and moral perspective is held from Wednesday through Friday in Moscow.
The event is organized amid an ongoing migrant crisis in Europe that has unfurled in 2015 with scores of refugees arriving from countries rife with conflict. Many of them are attempting to reach the continent via the Mediterranean Sea.