KEY FIGURES
262,935
Refugees and migrants arriving by sea to Europe in 2016 (as of 8 August).
3,177
Refugees and migrants estimated to have died / gone missing at sea in 2016 (as of 8 August). Compared to 3,771 in 2015.
160,914
Estimated sea arrivals to Greece in 2016 (as of 8 August) compared to 856,723 total arrivals in 2015.
99,545
Estimated sea arrivals to Italy in 2016 (as of 8 August) compared to 153,842 total arrivals in 2015.
13,705
Estimated unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) arrived by sea to Italy in 2016 compared to 12,360 total UASC in 2015.
USD 669.9M
Total 2016 requirements for UNHCR’s activities in the context of the Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan for Europe.
USD 205.4M
Funding received for UNHCR’s activities thus far in Europe in 2016.
PRIORITIES
- Strengthen reception capacity and living conditions through support and advocacy with States and civil society actors.
- Empower community-based initiatives aimed at finding immediate and long-term solutions for asylum-seekers and refugees.
- Ensure concentrated support to persons with specific needs such as cases concerning SGBV and UASC.
HIGHLIGHTS
- As of 8 August 2016, some 262,935 people had crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. During the reporting period, the trend in sea arrivals through the Eastern Mediterranean slightly increased, with 1,920 people arriving to Greece, contributing to a total of 160,297 arrivals by the end of July 2016. As of 8 August, 99,545 persons had arrived by sea to Italy in 2016, compared to 93,540 at the end of July 2015.
- More than 13,000 unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) have arrived to Italy between January and July 2016, representing a 116 % increase in comparison to the same period last year. In response to the increasing protection needs of UASC in Italy, UNHCR is engaged in capacity-building activities promoting good practices for best-interest assessments, as well as qualified and informed access to the international protection procedure.
- During July, UNHCR and its partners distributed over 63,000 core relief items to refugees and migrants residing in sites on the Greek islands and mainland.
- UNHCR’s partner METAdrasi and the Greek Council for Refugees launched a legal aid programme on the Greek islands and mainland in support of asylum procedures in Greece. At the end of July, 26 lawyers were deployed to six islands and another six lawyers at four different sites on the mainland. The programme, funded by the European Commission, aims at bridging a gap in the provision of free legal aid during the asylum procedure in Greece.
- In collaboration with INTERSOS, UNHCR launched a micro-grants project in Northern Greece aimed at connecting refugees and host communities. The project will fund community-based organizations with ten grants of up to EUR 12,000 to implement social cohesion initiatives in refugee hosting areas.
- Following the new Hungarian border legislation introduced on 5 July, the situation in Serbia and at the Serbia-Hungary border remained challenging. The numbers of those awaiting entry into the two transit zones located in the North reached 1,000, including those camping in the open and accommodated in Serbian governmental facilities. Humanitarian agencies continue to provide assistance to address protection, security, and humanitarian concerns. UNHCR has provided counseling on asylum procedures and assisted individuals including those with special needs.
OPERATIONAL CONTEXTTrends on sea arrivals
In total, 93,774 people arrived to Italy by the end of July 2016, while recorded arrivals were 93,540 in 2015 and 87,915 in 2014 during the same period. Worth noting is the increase in the number of UASC among sea arrivals to Italy: 13,705 UASC arrived between January and July 2016, making up 15% of the population of arrivals in comparison to 7% in the same period in 2015. As of 31 July, main nationalities of UASC arriving to Italy by sea include Gambia (13.9% of all UASC arrived by sea), Eritrea (13.2%), Egypt (13.1%) and Nigeria (10.5%). During the reporting period, the trend in sea arrivals through the Eastern Mediterranean slightly increased towards the end of July. On the Aegean Islands, the arrivals are still much lower compared to 2015 and the first months of 2016. In July, 1,855 refugees and migrants arrived by sea to Greece, indicating a slight rise from the 1,554 who crossed in June 2016. By 8 August, 160,914 people had crossed the sea to Greece in 2016 compared to 130,103 in the same period in 2015. In the past four months, only 8,770 refugees and migrants have crossed the sea to Greece, in comparison to 117,662 in the same period in 2015. The main nationalities among those reaching Europe by sea continue to be from top refugee producing countries, including the Syrian Arab Republic (30%), Afghanistan (16%), and Iraq (10%). In Italy, there is an increase in the number of people coming from Nigeria, now at 20% when in 2015 it was 14.9%, while another small reduction in the percentage of Eritrean arrivals has been noted, with presently 12% this year compared to 23% in 2015. Further information can be found at UNHCR’s data portal.
By the end of July 2016, there have been 3,127 reported dead or missing at sea in 2016, which surpasses the number of those lost during the same period in 2015, which was 2,077.