European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) has hailed German’s decision to resettle 10,000 more refugees from Syria and asked other EU Member States to play their part.
Other EU Member States together have offered to resettle around 5,000 refugees from Syria.
“The 20,000 people who will be resettled to Germany will not have to risk their lives at sea or be abused by smugglers in order to reach safety in Europe,” said Michael Diedring, ECRE Secretary General. “This is an important gesture of solidarity towards the refugees and Syria’s neighbouring countries hosting almost three million persons fleeing the conflict.”
Mr Diedring urged other EU countries to follow Germany’s example and “play their part to give more refugees a way to reach Europe in a safe and legal manner.”
ECRE said they strongly support the call from the German Parliament for a European conference to encourage Member States to come together and make greater commitments to accept more refugees, in addition to those coming through the asylum system.
Around 94,000 people fleeing Syria have sought protection in the EU, Switzerland and Norway since the beginning of the conflict. This is just 3% of the people who have fled the war in Syria.
For the years 2015-2016, UNHCR considers that 100,000 refugees will need to find a safe haven through resettlement or other forms of admission.
Some 100 NGOs and over 10,000 people across Europe are calling on Europe to Act Now to #HelpSyriasRefugees by giving refugees a safe way into Europe, reuniting families torn apart by the crisis and protecting the refugees arriving at Europe’s borders.
Click here to sign the campaign petition urging EU governments to increase their commitment to help Syria’s refugees.
