Pressure growing on Greek island of Lesvos, as 2015 refugee and migrant crossings of the Mediterranean top 100,000
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
In Greece, record numbers of refugees are continuing to arrive in rubber dinghies and wooden boats on Lesvos, straining the island's capacity, services and resources.
Around 600 refugees, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, arrive every day in the Greek islands. Half of these are coming ashore in Lesvos. Arrivals there have grown from 737 in January and 1,002 in February, to 3,348 in March. Almost 5,000 arrived in April and over 7,200 in May. Hundreds of refugees leave the island for the Greek mainland every day after being identified, screened and registered. At present, however, there are around 2,200 to 2,500 on the island waiting for registration by the authorities.
A screening centre in the village of Moria, a former detention centre for migrants waiting to be deported, is currently housing over a thousand refugees, more than twice its official capacity of 410 people. In addition, an education park in Kara Tepe is being used as temporary accommodation for around 1000 refugees.
Two NGOs, Metaction and Medecins du Monde, are providing urgently needed services in Moria. Metaction is responsible for the identification, follow up and referral of unaccompanied children, while Medecins du Monde provides medical attention and psychosocial support. The Ministry of Interior's First Reception Service is responsible for the registration of the new arrivals.
UNHCR has a permanent presence in the island's main town, Mytilini, and is working with people at the Moria centre. UNHCR has been present on Lesvos and other Greek islands since 2011, supporting the authorities' efforts to improve reception conditions and procedures, providing legal advice to newcomers about the asylum procedure in Greece, as well as their right and responsibilities, and identifying and referring people with specific needs such as unaccompanied children, people with disabilities, the elderly and victims of torture or trauma. In recent weeks, UNHCR has been distributing sleeping bags and hygiene kits to refugees in greatest need in Lesvos and other Greek islands.
To deal effectively with the challenges posed by the large number of arrivals in Lesvos and other Greek islands, UNHCR is calling for urgent reinforcement of personnel and resources of all the state services and civil society organisations dealing with the reception of refugees. We are also seeking increased support to the affected island communities.
UNHCR, for its part, is stepping up its presence and activities in Greece and southern Italy in response to the dramatic increase in the number of refugee and migrants arriving by sea in southern Europe this year.
As of information received today, there have been 103,000 refugee and migrant arrivals in Europe via the Mediterranean in 2015: 54,000 in Italy, 48,000 in Greece, 91 on Malta and 920 in Spain. This total includes around 6,000 migrants and refugees who were disembarked in southern Italy this past weekend following a major rescue operation coordinated by the Italian Coast Guard and joined by navy ships deployed by Frontex and from Italy, Germany, Britain, Ireland, Spain and MOAS. The migrants and refugees rescued are mostly sub-Saharan Africans and include children and pregnant women. They are now being taken care of at reception centres in Italy.
For more information on this topic, please contact:
- In Greece, Ketty Kehayioylou on mobile +30 694 0277 485
- In Greece, Stella Nanou on mobile +30 693 79 34 515
- In Greece, Carlotta Sami on mobile +39 335 679 4746
- In Greece, William Spindler on mobile +79 217 3011
- In Rome, Federico Fossi on mobile +39 349 084 3461
- In Geneva, Adrian Edwards on mobile +41 79 557 9120
Related news and stories
UNHCR regrets loss of life in the Aegean Sea, with at least 31 dead and more missing
Lone refugee children go from homelessness in Greece to new lives across Europe
UNHCR and Council of Europe discuss statelessness, urge States to uphold the right to a nationality in Europe
Six athletes to make up Refugee Paralympic Team at Tokyo Games
'All I want is a doctor for my brother and a school for me'
A month after Moria fires, UNHCR warns of worsening conditions ahead of winter
Your search for « malta » matched 1273 results. Only the first 1,000 results are displayed. Displaying page 5 of 112 pages.
-
Nansen award winner announced
18 Sep 2007 ... UNHCR has named as this year's Nansen Refugee Award an advocate for boat people in Malta. Dr. ... has provided legal advice to hundreds of persons kept in administrative detention centres in Malta. ...... -
2004 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook Country Data Sheet - Malta
21 Aug 2006 ... 2004 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook MALTA 1951 Convention: State party Region (MDGs): Developed regions ... New applications 1951 Convention status 396 2004 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook MALTA 1. Refugee ...... -
2002 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook Country Data Sheet - Malta
1 Sep 2004 ... 2002 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook MALTA 1951 Convention: State party Region (MDGs): Developed regions ... Resettlement Refugees* 384 2002 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook MALTA C. REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS IN ...... -
2005 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook Country Data Sheet - Malta
30 Apr 2007 ... 2005 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook MALTA 1951 Convention: State party Region (MDGs): Developed regions ... New applications 1951 Convention status 418 2005 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook MALTA 1. Refugee ...... -
France gives red carpet welcome to refugees relocated from Malta
10 Jul 2009 ... journey via Malta from their homes in Africa and Asia. French Immigration Minister Eric Besson greeted the newcomers after they flew into a cloudy Paris on Thursday afternoon from sunny Malta. ...... -
Refugee Protection and Mixed-Migration: The 10-Point Plan in Action: Chapter 4 Reception arrangements. Annex 5 - UNHCR Report on the Malta-The Netherlands Responsibility-sharing exercise, 10 April 2007
1 Jun 2009 ... 1 UNHCR Report on the Malta-The Netherlands Responsibility-sharing exercise Background In 2005 the governments of Malta and The Netherlands initiated a responsibility-sharing exercise which was funded ...... -
Somali refugee survivors land on Malta beach, 7 reported dead
8 May 2012 ... Exhausted survivors from a boat carrying Somali refugees that landed on one of Malta's most popular ... This is the fourth-such boat to have arrived in Malta this year, bringing a total of some 210 ...... -
Survivors of sea voyage to Malta say seven Somali refugees died
8 May 2012 ... VALETTA, Malta, May 8 (UNHCR) - Somali asylum-seekers who landed their boat on one of Malta's most popular beaches at the weekend have told UNHCR that seven fellow passengers died during their ...... -
Some 8,400 migrants, asylum-seekers reach Italy and Malta by sea in first half of 2013
5 Jul 2013 ... asylum-seekers landed on the coasts of Italy and Malta in the first six months of this year. The majority arrived in Italy (7,800), while Malta received around 600 migrants and asylum-seekers. ......