HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH
11,803 Persons that benefited from the Accommodation for Relocation project since November 2015
10,571 Accommodation places with services for relocation candidates/other asylum seekers established since January in line with UNHCR policy on alternatives to camps. Cash/voucher assistance granted to 3,000 relocation candidates.
343 Accommodation places for unaccompanied children established by UNHCR in Greece until August 2016
2,054 Asylum seekers transported by UNHCR to the Regional Asylum Offices for full registration of their asylum claim
67,907 Core Relief Items distributed during August such as mosquito nets, hygiene kits, etc. (50,597 on the mainland and 17,310 on the islands)
224 Water and Sanitation facilities (prefab shower and toilets) provided to partners and cleaned on monthly basis.
176 Shelter upgrading solutions (family tents, Refugee Housing Units, metal/ folding beds) provided in mainland in August
42 Inter-agency coordination sectoral working groups established and chaired/cochaired by UNHCR at country and field levels
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT
On the mainland, the design of the government’s plan to progressively close some accommodation facilities and reduce the number of refugees in others is ongoing, also thanks to the gradually expanding accommodation of asylum seekers in rented apartments and hotels through UNHCR’s Accommodation for Relocation project. At the same time, new sites are being established in the mainland. As Alternate Minister of Interior for Migration Policy Ioannis Mouzalas announced on 23 August, new camps with more dignified conditions for refugees and migrants throughout the country should be completed by end December, also to decongest the overcrowded existing sites on the islands by progressively transferring asylum seekers to the mainland. A new site in Serres (former agricultural school) opened on 5 August in Northern Greece, to host 420 Yazidis transferred from Nea Kavala site. Authorities continue to report an increase in smugglers activities at the borders.
On the Aegean Islands, a slight increase in new arrivals was noted towards the end of August. A total of 3,437 people arrived in August compared to 1,920 arrivals in July. However, since April, only 12,282 refugees and migrants have crossed the sea to Greece, in comparison to 225,505 in the same period in 2015. In August, arrivals were recorded also in Karpathos (Southern Dodecanese) and Mykonos (Cyclades) islands, which have very rarely received arrivals in the past years.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, visited Greece from 23 to 25 August, accompanied by Mr. Vincent Cochetel, the Director of the Europe Bureau/Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Refugee Crisis in Europe and Ms. Melissa Fleming, the UNHCR Spokesperson and Head of Communications. The purpose of the mission was to assess the needs of persons of concern to UNHCR, as well as the current humanitarian response and how UNHCR could further contribute to these efforts in support of the Greek authorities. The High Commissioner met with the Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, as well as with the inter-ministerial Coordination Centre for the Management of the Refugee Crisis including Alternate Minister of Migration Migration Policy, Mr. Ioannis Mouzalas, and other high level government representatives. In Athens, the High Commissioner visited a centre for unaccompanied children run by UNHCR’s partner Praksis, a relocation candidate family living in an apartment provided by UNHCR through the Municipality of Athens, and met with local and international humanitarian agencies. He also visited Lagkadikia and Vasilika/Redestos sites in Northern Greece. During a press conference at the closure of his visit on 25 August, the High Commissioner praised “the people of Greece for staying on course during a refugee crisis that has impacted this country more than any other country in the EU.” Additionally, he raised concerns on issues of security and protection in some of the sites, the situation of unaccompanied children, the urgent need for the acceleration of the EU relocation programme, and need for timely preparation for the upcoming winter and the need for robust integration plans.