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 9 of 112 pages.
-
Statement of the Sovereign Order of Malta to thematic discussion five panel two
15 Nov 2017 ... In reply to this question, the Sovereign Order of Malta, in its capacity as a signatory and ... The Order of Malta therefore encourages States to recognize FBOs as a crucial actor in the ...... -
UNHCR Global Strategy Beyond Detention: Progress Report 2018
Feb 2019 ... ... Malta ......Indonesia, Israel, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the ...... -
UNHCR Global Report 2012 - Northern, Western, Central and Southern Europe subregional overview
1 Jun 2013 ... Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Monaco Netherlands (the) Norway Poland ... and similar research was underway in Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Nordic and Baltic countries. ...... -
Detention
... Czech Republic, FYR of Macedonia, Japan, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Republic of South Africa, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Zambia and Zimbabwe. ...... -
Donate to UNHCR
... Macau Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of ...... -
General debate - Statements as made available
... Honduras 123. Eritrea 124. Mauritania 125. Tunisia 126. Oman 127. African Union 128. Sovereign Order of Malta 129. International Organization for Migration 130. International Labour Organization 131. ...... -
General debate - Statements as made available
... Organisation of Islamic Cooperation 132. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 133. Sovereign Order of Malta 134. United Nations Development Programme 135. Mercy Corps, ...... -
High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges, 2014
... ... Century. Opening Panel on "Boat People in the twenty-first Century" UNHCR: Looking for Safe Shores Malta: Dying at Europe's Doorstep Italy: Desperate Rescue at Sea Italy: Haunted by a Sinking Ship... -
General debate - Statements as made available
... Cooperation 128. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 129. Sovereign Order of Malta 130. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS 131. United Nations Children's Fund 132. ......