Britain Pledges Funds for Syrian Refugees
The U.K. government pledged $1.24 billion (£1 billion) on Tuesday to aid Syrian refugees and their host countries, at a two-day conference in Brussels, Reuters reported.
The Brussels gathering follows last year’s London donor conference and will assess “where the international community stands collectively in fulfilling commitments made in London in February 2016,” according to an E.U. Commission press release.
The funds will bolster education, skills and employment opportunities for refugees in host countries like Lebanon and Jordan “so they don’t feel forced to make the perilous and potentially life-threatening journey to Europe,” Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement.
The aid package includes £160 million in addition to £840 million that was pledged last year in London
Frontex Accused of Stirring ‘Controversy’ About NGOs Stoking Migrant Smuggling
The E.U. border agency Frontex has been criticized by government officials and aid workers for creating a “misleading controversy” about NGOs for political reasons.
Frontex recently said that humanitarian organizations like Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) are indirectly aiding smugglers to transport migrants across the Mediterranean.
The Italian deputy foreign minister, Mario Giro, told the Guardian that this accusation reveals a misunderstanding of the “push” and “pull” factors that have led to the current influxes.
“I don’t believe the NGOs are in contact with smugglers. This is a misleading controversy being used for internal purposes. I know the NGOs don’t enter Libyan waters,” Giro said, adding that the accusation was not corroborated with evidence.
Arjan Hehenkamp, the director general of MSF, added, “If we were not present, we have no doubt that the flow of migrants would continue. It would either mean that they would drown in greater numbers or that commercial vessels would be doing [the rescues] … leading to more accidents.”
Hehenkamp also accused Frontex of intimidating NGOs and decreasing their funding in order to restrict search-and-rescue efforts. The border patrol agency is more interested in creating agreements with North African governments like Libya to stop migrants from reaching Europe, according to MSF.
IOM Data Shows More Than 30,000 Migrants Have Attempted to Cross the Mediterranean in 2017
The International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s latest data on the number of migrants who have tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe reveals that 29,369 migrants entered Europe by sea and at least 663 died as of April 2.
Italy registered more than 80 percent of the total arrivals. This is a 25 percent increase in central Mediterranean crossings this year, compared to the same period last year, according to IOM’s spokesperson in Italy, Flavio Di Giacomo.
“If current trends persist, IOM estimates that total arrivals [to Italy] for 2017 would surpass 200,000 for the first time since the start of the current emergency,” the organization reported.
The remaining migrants reached Greece (3,856) and Spain (1,000), according to the same report.
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