11 Jan. () –
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged Spain and Sweden to take advantage of their respective EU presidencies to prolong “the humanitarian spirit and solidarity” shown in 2022 by the bloc after the war in Ukraine and to protect people who are forced to leave their homes.
“UNHCR urges this year’s EU Presidencies to build on these good practices, and stand in solidarity with all refugees and asylum seekers, wherever they come from,” said the agency’s representative to the UN, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, who has advocated “a new vision of Europe’s commitment”.
The organization has drawn up a roadmap that outlines the implementation of the draft EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which also involves guaranteeing access to fair and efficient asylum procedures and creating mechanisms of solidarity and sharing of responsibilities. .
Likewise, it has warned that “violent expulsions” continue to take place at the EU borders and “serious violations” of Human Rights that even endanger the lives of migrants. Combating both scourges is, in UNHCR’s opinion, a “key” aspect to have a “fair and sustainable” asylum system.
The organization also focuses on rescue operations at sea, so that there is a predictable mechanism for both search and landing, at a time when the Italian government, controlled by the extreme right, has hardened its policies against NGOs working in the central Mediterranean.
On the other hand, he has urged the Spanish and Swedish presidencies to favor aid to the countries and regions that host the majority of the forcibly displaced, taking into account that almost three quarters of the world’s refugees and other people in need of protection internationally live in low- and middle-income countries
