Brussels (Brussels Morning) Several NGOs, charities, pro-immigration activist groups and human rights organisations are saying Germany should take in more people from the migrant camps in Greece.
Amnesty International, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, Diakonie Deutschland and Caritas, among others, released a joint statement on Tuesday ahead of the meeting of EU interior and justice ministers, DW reports.
“Germany means the prospect of security and a future for all the people it takes in, especially for children”, the statement declared, while noting “there are still many more, particularly vulnerable people seeking protection in the refugee camps on the Greek islands, that Germany can — and must — help”.
Germany took in roughly 2,700 people from Greek camps in 2020 as part of its relocation programme which was discontinued in April this year. The group of NGOs and organisations insists the programme must be revived, citing the abysmal quality of life in the camps.
Difficult conditions in camps
“Despite substantial cash payments and aid deliveries, living conditions for refugees in hot spots on the Greek islands remain dire — both in terms of conditions for having their applications accepted and access to the asylum system”, the statement said.
The group warned that conditions along the EU’s external borders are worsening, which they maintain serves as an obstacle to fair asylum applications. The statement argued that Germany needs to do more to take in people from the camps and to push the bloc in this direction.
In a report released on Monday, the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) stated that it received 67,646 asylum applications this year, roughly 12,000 of which were recognised as refugees.
BAMF rejected approximately 15,000 applications, pointing out that the lion’s share of applicants are Syrian. The second-largest source of applicants is Afghanistan with some 6,600 applications, of which 15 were accepted.
