UN agencies call for enhancing safety for refugees and migrants

UN agencies call for enhancing safety for refugees and migrants

19/02/2016 ENstaff IOM, migrants, refugeecrisis, UNHCR, UNICEF

UNHCR, IOM and UNICEF say that more than 340 children, many of them babies and toddlers, have drowned in the eastern Mediterranean since September 2015.

european union

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders: there is no simple way of resolving European refugee crisis

19/02/201618/02/2016 ENstaff Dutch Presidency, EU, European Union, Juncker, Koenders, migrants, refugee crisis, Tusk

According to Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, there is no simple way of resolving the current European refugee crisis. ‘One thing is clear: we need a joint European solution, and countries need to refrain as much as possible from taking unilateral measures…’

foreign affairs

Kotzias: ‘Europe needs more Europe’; Gentiloni: ‘Europe should make a commitment’

18/02/2016 ENstaff EU, Europe, European Union, Greece, Italy, migrants, refugee crisis

Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, in statements after a meeting yesterday with his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni said: “Today, Europe needs more Europe… more unification”. Gentiloni stressed: “what we want to see from the European Union on the refugee issue in the coming weeks and months [is] a strong commitment…”

european union

President Tusk: EU Summit a crucial moment for the unity of the Union

17/02/2016 ENstaff EU, EU Summit, European Council, European Union, migrants, refugee crisis, Tusk, UK

Tusk: EU Summit will be a crucial moment for the unity of our Union and for the future of the United Kingdom’s relations within Europe.

society

Greece/FYROM: Asylum seekers trapped at border – HRW reports

16/02/201615/02/2016 ENstaff borders, FYROM, Greece, HRW, Human Rights Watch, migrants, refugees

Nationality-based restrictions at the border between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are preventing asylum seekers from reaching countries where they want to lodge protection claims – Human Rights Watch.

On 26 January 2016, a young boy is carrying a large bundle of warm blankets on his shoulders. He is in the Miratovac Refugee Aid Point where, along with his family members, he can access support services and have an opportunity to rest before continuing his journey.

In 2015, more than one million refugees and migrants crossed the Mediterranean, arriving on Europeís shores, of which an estimated 253,700 ñ or one in four ñ were children. Latest trends show that children now make up 36 percent of the migration flow coming through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Woman and children now make up 57 percent of the refugee and migrants with the majority from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Children arriving into a harsh winter in southeastern Europe are physically exhausted, scared, distressed and often in need of medical assistance, UNICEF warned.The recent sub-zero temperatures and sometimes snowy conditions is exacerbating the childrenís poor physical condition as many children on the move do not have adequate clothing, or access to age-appropriate nutrition. This has been worsened by the lack of shelter and inadequate heating in some reception centres as well as buses and trains. UNICEF said the issue was pressing as the proportion of children amongst refugees and migrants ñ now more than one in three ñ has continued to increase. According to national sources, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the ratio was 37 per cent in December, compared to 23 per cent in September, while in Serbia, 36 per cent were children in December compared to 27 per cent in September. In December most children transiting through UNICEF child-friendly spaces in Serbia were young children, including babies and infants and those between 5 to 9 years old.

european union society

More children and women seek safety in Europe: UNICEF

03/02/2016 ENstaff children, Europe, FYROM, migrants, refugees, UNICEF, women

For the first time since the start of the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe, there are more children and women on the move than adult males, says UNICEF.

society

IOM: Migrant arrivals in Greece reached 62,000 in January

02/02/2016 ENstaff IOM, migrants, refugeecrisis, Syrianrefugees

Fatalities of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean in January topped 360 due to a particularly deadly final weekend of the month.

people society

The Waypoint Documentary: Washington Post follows refugees on their journey through Lesbos to Europe

29/01/2016 ENstaff documentary, Greece, Lesbos, migrants, newspaper, refugee crisis, Turkey, Washington Post

Washington Post: “In the most common landing areas, along the island’s north shore, the Turkish coast is just five miles away. The crossing takes as little as an hour, but the trip can be deadly in bad weather…”

society

Commissioner Avramopoulos: “We need to protect the Schengen agreement”

26/01/201626/01/2016 ENstaff Avramopoulos, EU, European Union, migrants, Shengen. refugee crisis

“In order for us to maintain free movement within our internal borders, we need to better manage our external borders”, he said at apress conference after the Informal Meeting of Ministers of Home Affairs, that took place in Amsteram.

society

Refugee women on the move in Europe are at risk, says UN

25/01/2016 ENstaff FYROM, girls, Greece, migrants, refugee crisis, refugees, UNFPA, UNHCR, women, WRC

Refugee and migrant women and girls on the move in Europe face grave risks of sexual and gender-based violence, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) highlighted in a joint report issued last week.

interviews people

Ambassador of Norway:”The challenge for the Greek economy is its competitive edge and its business climate” [interview]

07/06/2016 ENstaff

The Ambassador of Norway in Athens, His Excellency Jørn Eugene Gjelstad, spoke to EmbassyNews.net and commented on the current developments in Greek and European politics, the economy and the refugee crisis.