Italy still isolated in shouldering migration crisis after G7 | Reuters

By Steve Scherer and Giselda Vagnoni | TAORMINA, Italy TAORMINA, Italy Italy chose to host a Group of Seven summit of wealthy nations on a hilltop overlooking the Mediterranean, looking to draw attention to the migrant crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands of people set sail from Africa in search of a better life in Europe.But world leaders on Saturday said little that will help Italy manage the steady flow of migrants to its shores or enable it to cope with the growing number of new arrivals."Even though this summit took place in Sicily, a stone's throw from where so many migrants have died, it produced no concrete steps to protect vulnerable migrants or to address the root causes of displacement and migration," said Roberto Barbieri, the local director of humanitarian group Oxfam.Rome had hoped to persuade other major industrialised nations to open more legal channels for migration and to focus attention on food security -- policies which were meant to lower the number of people who set off for Europe.But the plan was scrapped before the two-day summit even started, with the United States, Britain and Japan unwilling to commit to major new immigration initiatives.The final communique outlined medium-term commitments to bolster African economies and promote sustainable agriculture, but it focused more on the need for each country to guarantee national security than on how to limit migration. Countries "reaffirm the sovereign rights of states to control their own borders and set clear limits on net migration levels," said the communique."DESPERATE MEASURES" Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said the language was decided "weeks ago" by diplomats from G7 nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and the United States.

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