Mr. Kyriakos Hatzigiannis, in his capacity as Vice-Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), participated yesterday in an online session on the report of the on-site visit by members of the Committee to migrant reception centres in Lesvos and Samos last week.
During the session, issues concerning the new legislation governing the framework for the operation of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the living conditions in migrant reception centres were discussed.
Mr. Hatzigiannis noted the substantial improvements observed with regard to the reception and accommodation conditions of migrants. The Cypriot MP made a special reference to the remarkable improvement that has taken place in terms of the living conditions of children and their access to education, compared to previous observations made by the Commission during its visit to Greece in 2015. The war in Ukraine, Mr.Hatzigiannis pointed out, has created new circumstances, bringing us face to face with the biggest refugee crisis since the second world war.
The war in Ukraine, Mr.Hatzigiannis pointed out, has created new circumstances, bringing us face to face with the biggest refugee crisis since the second world war. Therefore, the Cypriot MP stressed, the need to categorise refugees and groups of migrants, based on the need for their protection and not on their nationality, is now urgent. The very difficult situation created in many European countries due to the reception of the huge wave of refugees from Ukraine makes it imperative to address the needs of these people.
Regarding the accusations that Greece is receiving from NGOs about the refoulement of people arriving in Europe to apply for asylum, Hatzigianni dismissed them as unfounded, noting that during discussions with members of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), which, as he pointed out, is the predominant organization for the surveillance and protection of external borders, there were no such reports. Therefore, Mr Hatzigiannis stressed, false impressions should not be created based only on individual reports from members of some organisations. Finally, Mr Hatzigianni stressed the urgent need to dismantle the networks of illegal trafficking and human trafficking, which systematically promote refugees and migrants from the coast of Turkey to the Greek islands.
(IS)
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