Highlights
Turkey: Procurement of 2,000 NFIs kits containing 1,000 polar fleece clothes and 1,000 underclothes was finalized and handed over to the Turkish Coast Guards Aegean Reginal Command for rescued migrants, during the reporting period. IOM also provided insulation materials for the 12 tarpaulin tents in reception areas in Turkish Coast Guards’ premises in preparation for the summer.
Greece: IOM continues to provide Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) services and extensive information campaigns at the Greek islands and open facilities where the majority of the stranded migrants are accommodated. In June 2016, IOM provided 558 migrants the majority of them being from Afghanistan and Iraq with AVR services, while in July 2016, 75 beneficiaries from Pakistan, Iraq, and Iran, have been able to return to their country of origin.
Croatia: During the reporting period, IOM purchased 130 bathroom refurbishment sets (toilet seats, bowls and flushers), and 130 door locks to improve the living conditions of the migrants and asylum seekers currently accommodated at the Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers in Zagreb.
The installation of the items is currently underway.Libya: On 11 and 12 July, IOM’s DTM team organized a training session in Tunis for 13 participants from cities that experience high migrant presence and flows all around Libya. The trained enumerators will be collecting data for IOM as part of a DTM flow monitoring module, which will report on the movements of migrants in, out of, and through the country through direct observation and survey methods.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
As of 13 July 2016, a total of 248,418 migrants and refugees have arrived in Europe by land and sea routes since the start of 2016, the majority of whom have entered by sea through Greece (158,977) and Italy (78,487).
On 1 July 2016, Croatia received the first group of migrants -four Eritreans arriving from Italy- in line with the European Union relocation scheme. The migrants were greeted by the Minister of the Interior Mr. Vlaho Orepić, Head of EU Representation in Croatia Mr. Branko Baričević, Head of IOM Office in Croatia, Ms. Tatjana Radošević, as well as the volunteers of UNICEF and the Red Cross. The migrants were escorted to their final destination in Croatia by IOM staff from the Italy Country Office, providing valuable language and cultural support. Croatia has agreed to accept 1,583 migrants by the end of 2017. The migrants will be arriving gradually with several dozen expected in the coming months and will be temporarily accommodated at the Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers (RCAS) in Zagreb.
According to the Hellenic Coast Guard, during the reporting period there were six incidents off the coast of Lesvos Island that required search and rescue operation. The Hellenic Coast Guard managed to rescue 175 migrants and transferred them to the island of Lesvos. IOM staff are present in Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Leros and Crete Islands and are working closely with authorities (Frontex, the Hellenic Coastguards and the First Reception Service) to identify vulnerable migrants including unaccompanied minors, elderly migrants, migrants with medical needs, and families with children.
A new legislative measure of the Hungarian authorities that took effect on 5 July 2016 allowed for push-backs of migrants and refugees within an 8km strip along the Hungarian border into the Serbian territory. As a result, the situation in the north began to deteriorate, resulting in a doubled number of refugees and migrants on the Serbian side of the border over the last days. This number rose to above 1,300, with majority of them being women and children. The situation remains challenging although IOM, UNHCR and other partners provided necessary assistance to the refugees and migrants that reported having been pushed-back from Hungarian into Serbian territory.
In Serbia, the number of stranded migrants as of 12 July is 1,137. During the reporting period, approximately 141 persons expressed their interest in seeking asylum in the country, bringing the total number of asylum seekers to 5,038 since the start of the year.
As of 13 July, the Turkish Coast Guard (TCG) has rescued 26,331 migrants and refugees since the start of this year.