Germany to Increase Aid to Curb Migration
Germany promised $67.44 million (61 million euros) to U.N. humanitarian operations in Africa in an attempt to curb the number of migrants trying to reach Europe, announced Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a Monday meeting with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.
Germany has now pledged over $329 million to the UNHCR this year. This announcement brings the country’s total humanitarian budget for 2016 to $1.41 billion, compared to $116 million in 2012.
The money will target people in Burundi, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan and neighboring countries in addition to those living in areas impacted by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region.
“These countries urgently need our help,” Steinmeier said in a statement after the meeting with Grandi. “The money will allow people to be cared for near their homes so they don’t have to make the dangerous journey to Europe.”
Aegean ‘Hot Spots’ Host Over 15,000 Migrants
The five Greek islands of the eastern Aegean, so-called hot spots, now host over 15,000 migrants and refugees, according to government figures released over the weekend.
Some 6,147 migrants in Lesbos are waiting to hear if their applications for asylum have been accepted or rejected, facing deportation if denied. Chios is hosting 4,210 migrants in reception centers; Samos has 2,707; Kos and Leros are hosting 2,016 and 826, respectively.
Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration announced Monday that it had repatriated 2,026 migrants from Greece to their home countries in October. Almost 16,000 migrants have returned home this year.
Most of those repatriated were from Albania (1,153), but others were from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Georgia, Algeria, Iran and Morocco.
Hungary’s Parliament Rejects Amendment to Ban Migrants
Hungary’s parliament has vetoed a constitutional amendment proposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban that would prohibit migrants from resettling in the country.
Some 131 MPs voted in favor of the proposed amendment, falling short of the required two-thirds majority of 133 in the 199-seat parliament. Many opposition groups boycotted the vote, including the far-right Jobbik.
Orban said the amendment was in response to a national referendum in October that saw over 3 million Hungarians vote to reject E.U. migrant quotas. Low voter turn out invalidated the referendum, but Orban used the opportunity to propose his constitutional amendment.
“This vote today is a temporary fiasco [for Orban], similar to the referendum which was invalid,” Robert Laszlo, a political analyst at think tank Political Capital, told Reuters. He added that the outcome is not likely to weaken Orban’s chances of re-election in 2018.
Recommended Reads
- Human Rights Watch: Winter Is Coming for Refugees in Greece
- The Independent: What Really Happens When Hundreds of Refugees Reach European Soil
- The Atlantic: ‘They Were Just Like Us, and They Lost Everything’
- UNHCR: Mosul Residents Tell of Harsh Rule and Perilous Flight
- Huffington Post: Syrian Refugees in Canada Turn to Community Groups for Basic Needs