UNHCR Resettlement Conference: EU must be part of the solution to #HelpSyriasRefugees! http://t.co/pGRkagQw1F pic.twitter.com/bze9lJ8SlX
— ECRE (@ecre) November 20, 2014
20/11/2014
The European Union and its Member States have been invited to gather on 9 December 2014 with their international counterparts for a ministerial-level conference to discuss how many refugees currently struggling in Syria’s neighbouring countries European states will take in through resettlement programmes and other forms of admission.
A coalition of NGOs – Amnesty International, the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), International Rescue Committee, Jesuit Refugee Service Europe and the Norwegian Refugee Council –have written to the EU institutions to urge Member States to make meaningful pledges at this conference to resettle and admit more refugees who have fled Syria.
“The countries neighbouring Syria have received more than 3 million people fleeing the war and their capacity to continue to host so many refugees is being stretched. The EU and its Member States must seize the opportunity that the pledging conference offers to express greater international solidarity and significantly increase their role in providing protection for refugees, in particular for the most vulnerable among them. Germany has set the bar for other EU States in offering durable solutions for the people who have survived the Syrian war. Offering resettlement and other forms of admission to refugees can mean the difference between life and death. The EU needs to be part of the solution for Syria’s refugees”, said the coalition of NGOs.
In almost four years of the conflict in Syria, EU Member States have committed over 33,000 places for resettling or admitting refugees from Syria. Germany alone has pledged to take in 28,500 people, with twelve other Member States together contributing under 5,000 places. There are still many Member States that have not yet responded to the call to help refugees who have fled Syria.
Resettlement and other forms of admission save lives. Without these lifelines, more refugees will continue to live in constant fear, finding it more and more difficult to provide food, shelter and health care for themselves and their families.
Figures & further information
- Syria’s neighbouring countries host over 3 million refugees.
- Lebanon alone, a country of 4 million people, is hosting well over one million refugees from Syria.
- Since the beginning of the conflict, EU Member States have committed over 33,000 places for resettling or admitting refugees from Syria.
- While Germany has pledged to take in 28,500 people, 12 other EU Member States together have committed under 5,000 places.
Contact
Amnesty International European Institutions Office
Maeve Patterson – Tel. +32 2 548 27 73 – GSM. +32 483 680 812 @amnestyeurope
Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME)
Torsten Moritz – T: +32 486 575508
European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)
Ana Fontal – Tel. +32 2 212 08 12 – Mobile +32 (0)474 340 525 @ecre
International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC)
Nathalie Perroud
International Rescue Committee
Selena Victor
Jesuit Refugee Service Europe
Oscar Spooner – Tel: +32 2 250 3225 @JRSEurope
Norwegian Refugee Council
Tuva Raanes Bogsnes