Joint Statement from the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights and UNHCR Cyprus in relation to the operation of the Kofinou Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers

Ελληνικά
Open Letter from the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights and the UNHCR Representative in Cyprus in relation to the operation of the Reception Centre for Asylum-Seekers at Kofinou
Globally, 2016 has been a particulary challenging year on so many fronts, including the unprecedented mass movements of refugees and asylum-seekers into Europe. Governments were caught unprepared and the responses to the crisis were overall unsatisfactory. Cyprus was not affected as much as most EU countries, and yet the conditions at the Kofinou Reception Centre largely remained below the desired standards.
The Centre operates since 2004 under the supervision of the Asylum Office and further to an expansion in 2014, the capacity was increased from 120 to 400 people, albeit without the corresponding increase in the staff. During this year the Centre hosts on average more than 300 people, a large number of which are children.
Within the context of complaints investigation and regular monitoring activities we conduct with regards to what is happening at the Centre, we have found that, due to the multiplying of the population at the center, the reception and living conditions have gradually deteriorated, creating the risk for serious health and safety problems for residents.
As a result, on December 12, 2016 members of our organizations have jointly visited the site and found / confirmed the existence of many operational problems which must be urgently addressed by the relevant authorities.
One of our concerns is that the long-standing problems with the sewage system of the Centre still remains despite the efforts made by the Asylum Service (leading to frequent overflow of cesspit, causing a strong stench in the surroundings and contamination risks). There are also, damages in bath rooms (resulting in lack of hot water), damages in kitchens (ovens and broken faucets, exposed wires), as well as generally poor cleanliness (flown garbage and stench of garbage rubbish).
The Centre is not suitable for particularly vulnerable individuals (such as single women with children), due to its remoteness and lack of adequate and trained personnel to respond to the special needs of such cases. The remoteness of the center also impacts on the residents’ access to services and ability to find jobs. There’s very little done to ensure that all residents are provided with language, orientation and recreational programmes. There’s a great need for gender and age appropriate activities, on a daily basis, to alleviate boredom and diffuse frustrations. It is also absolutely essential that all school-age children living in the reception center attend schools and get the support they need for their learning.
We note the best efforts made by the Asylum Service staff with regards to the coordination and supervision of the management and operation of the Centre, which goes beyond service duty. At the same time, however, it is necessary that the State takes immediate and effective measures to address the Center’s functionality problems and to ensure decent living conditions and social inclusion. This would constitute compliance with the obligations of the Republic for international protection and will respond to the specific needs of the Centre's population, especially the most vulnerable groups.
We therefore jointly call on the competent authorities to promptly address the following in particular:

• Address the overcrowding problem which in itself stretches the safety and hygiene conditions at the center at all levels. The provision of the material reception conditions outside the Centre to vulnerable groups and to persons who have completed a certain residence period at the Centre (eg six months) could be the first step towards the alleviating the general problems observed. In this regard, it is essential that the social welfare services support is extended so as to cover the needs of the entire population of the center.
• Promote more permanent procedures and appoint appropriate personnel for the management of the operation of the Centre. Prolonged delay in the allocation of the overall management of the Centre to a private entity, which is not expected to end soon, does not help in addressing the urgent, serious and complex problems faced at the center.
• The state to allocate a fixed and permanent budget in order to ensure, at all times, proper and
  continuous functioning of the Centre and to cover any emergencies that may arise, bypassing
  lengthy procedures. (Eg maintenance and repair of existing reception infrastructures or the
  acquisition of additional cleaning services).
• Considering that the population of the Centre consists of people from a diverse ethnic, cultural
  and social backgrounds, mechanisms should be put in place to ensure conditions for a smooth
  operation and difusing the tensions between residents.
• The vulnerable groups of the population in the center (such as minors, persons with disabilities,
  the elderly, pregnant women, single parents with minor children, victims of trafficking, persons
  with serious diseases or disorders, and people who have suffered torture, rape or other serious
  forms of violence) should be timely identified by the responsible officials and treated - as
  provided by the Law – in a more specific, direct and effective manner required. The involvement
  of the social welfare services and the presence on the ground of a psychological support group
  is essential in this regard.
• To ensure free and frequent access of residents in the urban areas. The fact that the center is
  located in an isolated area, complicates their daily life and difficult access to jobs and basic
  public services; thus aggravating the sense of isolation and impedes the ability of residents to
  become independent and integrate in the society. The distribution of free or subsidized tickets
  for the use of city buses could partly address the problem.
• Establishing a framework of regulations providing for the center's operation, which would guide
  the actions of the staff of both the Asylum Service and the Centre. This framework should
  involve residents and provide for consultations with them, especially on issues concerning
  health and safety at the Centre .
• The Ministry of Education should ensure the timely access of all children staying at the center
  in public education and their registration in nearby schools as well as their adaptation in the
  school environment.

Similar recommendations for the improvement of the reception conditions at the Kofinou

Reception center are made in the recent report of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and

Cultural Rights.

We are at the disposal of the authorities concerned to discuss the problems and assist in any

way we can in the context of our respective mandates.

Ms Eliza Savvidou

Commissioner of Administration

and Human Rights

Damtew Dessalegne

Representative, UNHCR Cyprus