Daily Report
Arrivals and Departures
Following the EU-Turkey agreement, the number of arrivals through the Aegean Sea has dropped significantly. Greece received 3,462 people in April. Last year in April, 13,556 people arrived in Greece.
This year, 8,490 people arrived to the Italian shores in April.
As compared to the same month in 2015 (16,063), the total number of arrivals to Italy has dropped by more than half.
Those making their way through the Mediterranean continue to be primarily from Nigeria, Gambia, Somalia and other Sub-Saharan African nationalities.
Condition of People
Yesterday, according to the Italian Cost Guard, some 1,000 refugees and migrants were rescued off the coast of Italy, including refugee families and unaccompanied children. In one operation, some 500 people travelling in two fishing boats that had departed several days earlier from Egypt were rescued off Sicily, south east of Cape Passero. Apart from the two fishing boats that sailed from Egypt, it is believed that there were other smaller boats that came from Libya. Disembarkation of the 1,000 people rescued yesterday is taking place today at four different locations in southern Italy: Catania, Palermo,
Augusta and Crotone, and will probably last the whole day.
UNHCR staff will be present and will be giving information and assistance to the persons rescued.
UNHCR continues to advocate for legal pathways for refugees to reach Europe through resettlement and humanitarian admission programmes, family reunification, private sponsorship, humanitarian and refugee student or work visas, etc, as a way to help put an end to the smuggling of human beings.
Key Developments
A proposal was made in the German Parliament to determine the status of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria as safe countries of origin. Federal Minister of the Interior, Thomas de Maizière, stated that there are “good reasons” for declaring these states as safe countries of origin. The government hopes that the proposal will lead to accelerated asylum procedures, faster returns for rejected asylum seekers originating from these countries and a “deterrent effect” for people from “safe counters” intending to come travel to Germany. A final decision will be made on the 10 June by the Bundesrat. Many federal states have not yet taken a final position.
On 12 May, the Steering Committee of the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (composed of representatives of EU Member States and Turkey, under the chairmanship of the European Commission) met to fast-track and agree on the practicalities of the disbursement of the first EUR 1 billion under the Facility. The Committee notably agreed on the main priorities for the allocation of funds, which will be humanitarian assistance, migration management, education, health, municipal infrastructure, and socio-economic support.
In addition, through the so-called “Emergency Social Safety Net”, to be rolled out in the second half of 2016, direct financial assistance will be improved for as many as 1 million vulnerable refugees, and will be coupled with protective and humanitarian services. The Facility for Refugees in Turkey was created to answer the European Council’s call for significant additional funding to support refugees in Turkey. It is funded through EU budget and contributions of EU Member States, and represents so far a total of EUR 3 billion over 2016 and 2017. It aims at improving conditions for refugees in Turkey, notably by ensuring that the needs of refugees and host communities are addressed in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.