联合国呼吁解决渡海难民问题

The United Nations refugee agency says the world needs to better focus on responding to the hundreds of thousands of people making "risky" sea journeys in search of asylum or migration.

UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres is hosting a conference Wednesday and Thursday in Geneva to discuss rescues at sea, ways to encourage safer forms of migration and addressing the underlying causes of why people are fleeing their countries to begin with.

The agency says at least 348,000 people have tried to make sea crossings so far this year, a likely record, with 4,272 reported deaths.

The most dangerous routes have been across the Mediterranean Sea where more than 3,400 people have died in 2014.  The area has seen a surge of activity with 207,000 people trying to make the trip, which the U.N. says is more than triple the previous high from 2011.