The U.N. refugee agency said for the past year it had been calling for an "urgent, comprehensive and sustainable response" by Europe as a whole, but especially by French authorities to the worsening asylum crisis and reception conditions in Calais.
"Let's treat that as a civil emergency," Vincent Cochetel, head of UNHCR's Europe division.
He stressed though that the emergency was a small one that could easily be addressed if Paris was willing to do so.
"This is a manageable situation," he said.
Some 3,000 migrants and refugees, including many fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria, Libya and Eritrea, are camped out in a makeshift tent village in Calais waiting for a chance to cross to Britain in what Cochetel described as "appalling conditions."
UNHCR also voiced "alarm" at the rising death toll among people risking their lives to attempt to cross the Channel Tunnel to Britain, with at least 10 having perished since the beginning of June.
Cochetel pointed out that both French and British governments had been opposed to setting up a large-scale reception center in Calais for fear it would become a "magnet" and attract more people.
But he stressed that this fear did not remove their responsibility to find an acceptable solution, pointing out that France could easily transform some of its many army barracks around the country into proper reception centers.
UNHCR also demanded that France address the "current significant delays" for anyone applying for asylum, with it taking seven weeks for an asylum request to even be registered in the Calais region and months before accommodation is provided.
He also criticized the lack of Britain cooperation in dealing with the situation, saying that London had refused to even consider applications for legal transfer from France of asylum seekers with close ties to the country.
While the security measures being put in place on both sides of the tunnel are understandable, Cochetel insisted they were only a small part of the solution.
"It is not just with more dogs and more fences that we are going to solve Calais.
"We need a comprehensive package and we need a sustainable response," he said, pointing out that "we have had that problem for 14 years ... You don't change geography. This will continue."
AFP
dailystar.com.lb
7/8/15
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Migrant 'chaos' on Greek islands - UN refugee agency...
ReplyDeleteThe refugee crisis on three Greek islands near Turkey is "total chaos", the UN refugee agency UNHCR says.
Accommodation, water and sanitation are all inadequate for the many asylum seekers on Kos, Chios and Lesbos, the UNHCR says, calling it "shameful".
Greek PM Alexis Tsipras said the problem "surpasses" Greece's abilities and asked for EU help.
The UNHCR says nearly all new arrivals in Greece are refugees from the wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The organisation's European Director, Vincent Cochetel, said facilities for the refugees on the Greek islands were "totally inadequate", after a 750% increase in migrants arriving this year, compared with the same period last year.
He said 124,000 had arrived in Greece so far in 2015, including 50,000 in July alone..........http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33818193
7/8/15
Près de 50 000 migrants ont débarqué sur les côtes grecques en juillet ...
ReplyDeletePrès de 50 000 migrants ont débarqué sur les côtes grecques en juillet après avoir traversé la Méditerranée annonce vendredi Frontex, l'Agence de surveillance des frontières extérieures de l'UE, qui parle d'un record d'arrivées. Le nombre de clandestins gagnant la Grèce en un mois, dépasse le total de réfugiés enregistrés dans le pays l'an passé.
Durant le mois de juillet uniquement, 49 550 migrants ont traversé les frontières grecques extérieures à l'UE, rapporte Frontex, contre 41 700 sur les douze mois de 2014. Le nombre d'arrivées de clandestins en Grèce a quintuplé pour la première partie de l'année par rapport à la même période précédente, indique l'agence européenne dans un communiqué.
Neufs migrants sur dix sont d'origine syrienne ou pakistanaise. Les réfugiés accèdent à la Grèce principalement en traversant la Méditerranée depuis la Turquie sur des embarcations de fortune et débarquent en majeure partie sur les îles de Lebos, Chios, Kos et Samos.
Une situation "absolument honteuse"
Le Haut-Comissariat de l'ONU pour les réfugiés (HCR) a appelé vendredi Athènes à mettre fin au "chaos total" qui règne sur ces îles où aboutissent les migrants. Il parle même de situation "absolument honteuse".
"En trente ans d'expérience humanitaire je n'ai jamais vu une situation pareille (...) C'est l'Union Européenne et c'est absolument honteux", a déclaré aux journalistes à Genève Vincent Cochetel, responsable de la division Europe du Haut Commissariat aux Réfugiés des Nations Unies (HCR)................http://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/detail_pres-de-50-000-migrants-ont-debarque-sur-les-cotes-grecques-en-juillet?id=9049218
7/8/15