Only 615 out of 66,400 migrants had been relocated from Greece to other EU member states in 2015, according to a European Commission report released last week.
Amnesty International has used these figures in a report entitled “Trapped in Greece: an avoidable refugee crisis.”
Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia Director, John Dalhuisen warned: “The decision to close the Western Balkans route has left more than 46,000 refugees and migrants in appalling conditions and in a state of constant fear and uncertainty.”
Dalhuisen calls on the European Union to act decisively and relocate refugees. At the same time, he calls on Greece to provide more humane conditions for the migrants trapped on its soil.
“If EU leaders do not act urgently to live up to their relocation promises and improve conditions for stranded refugees and migrants, they will face a humanitarian calamity of their own making,” Dalhuisen said.
According to the Amnesty International report, tens of thousands of migrants are left to cope in squalid conditions in 31 accommodation across Greece. The report says the camps are overcrowded with no heating, almost no privacy for the inhabitants, as well as insufficient sanitary facilities.
The human rights watchdog says that migrant women do not feel safe in the camps and they are at risk of being exploited by men. The report also speaks of many unaccompanied children who need to be transferred to special camps for them.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
