- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Norway Suspends Activities in Greece Amid Poor Access to Refugees

© AP Photo / Boris GrdanoskiHumanitarian workers prepare new beds for the migrants in the camp at the northern Greek border post of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, March 18, 2016.
Humanitarian workers prepare new beds for the migrants in the camp at the northern Greek border post of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, March 18, 2016. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) aid group has decided to suspend its activities on the Greek island of Chios due to the lack of access to migrants and refugees in need, claiming the detention facilities are "police-run," a press release obtained by Sputnik on Wednesday reads.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Monday, an advocacy officer with the NRC on the Greek island of Chios told Sputnik that the pace of the enactment of the EU-Turkey migrant agreement was too fast for the Greek authorities to react adequately.

"We cannot work independently and safely in a police-run detention facility. Now that it is a detention centre we no longer have adequate access to provide assistance to vulnerable refugees," the release quoted Alain Homsy, the head of NRC operations in Greece, as saying.

According to the NRC, the decision to suspend its activities comes after observing "the practical implications" of the March agreement on migrants between Turkey and the European Union.

"In order to ensure that refugees are able to exercise their right to seek fair asylum procedures, NRC has decided to continue maintaining an interim protection presence at the Vial ’Hotspot.’ All other activities will be handed over to the remaining actors, including the responsible authorities," the release reads.

Refugees stand in front of residential containers at the arrival centre for refugees near the town on Kirkenes - Sputnik International
Cold Shoulder: Norway's Rejected Refugees Dumped Off in Arctic Russia
Under the EU-Turkey agreement, the European Union is expected to accelerate Ankara's bid to join the bloc and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and Europe, as well as granting a total of 3 billion euros (over $3.3 billion) to Turkey to help it provide for refugees on its soil. An additional 3 billion euro in assistance to Ankara may be given by 2018.

Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their home countries in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty. Many of them take the West Balkan route, which crosses Greece, using the county as an entry point into the bloc from which they travel onward to wealthier EU states where they intend to apply for asylum.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала