A new report thinks yes. An Italian rights group recently published a report in which it details several infringements of migrant rights during the lockdown and restrictions designed to fight the coronavirus pandemic. It says that deprivations of personal liberty became more numerous during the lockdown and allowed the authorities to "extend the maximum duration of […] restrictive measure[s]."
A lot has been written about the situation in overcrowded camps on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos and Chios but not so much focus has been placed on migrants living in closed camps in Kos and Leros. Refugee Rights Europe has lifted the lid on conditions there in an in-depth report entitled “Invisible Islands.” They document conditions that some of InfoMigrants’ facebook users have confirmed.
UNHCR’s Representative to Italy Chiara Cardoletti made a first visit to Sicily. During it, she praised the island's management of migrant arrivals and said it had shown an "unwavering commitment" to migrant integration.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases among migrants in a center for asylum seekers in Sankt Augustin near Bonn has risen to 165. Residents told us about a lack of separation and delayed relocations. According to a new study, asylum facilities are prone to become hotspots for infections due to the high density of people.
The local municipalities on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos, and Chios, which have been hard hit by the migrant crisis, have received special funding from the Greek government and are also set to receive grants to help alleviate emergencies and compensate for damages.
A UNHCR team has traveled to the Greek border to advise migrants and authorities on the prevention of the new coronavirus. No cases have been reported among migrants in Greece, but there are concerns it could spread fast in centers and camps.
Mayors in seven German cities pled with the government for the right to welcome underage refugees from Greece. The move comes after the federal parliament rejected a motion to accept minors from Greek refugee camps.
Three European Catholic cardinals have written a letter to the Episcopal Conferences of the European Union calling for refugees and asylum seekers in Greece, in particular on the island of Lesbos, to be relocated to other EU countries.
Aid agencies in Greece are warning that unaccompanied migrant children are at grave risk at overcrowded migrant camps. Many of them are seeking voluntary detention at police cells to escape the camps. Aid agencies want the Greek government to beef up efforts to reunite unaccompanied minors with their families. But most European nations are not willing to help. Anthee Carassava has more.
The body charged with improving the way the EU spends its money says efforts to improve the situation for asylum seekers in Greece and Italy have largely failed. Migrants in the so-called hotspots continue to face years in limbo because of legal bottlenecks and poorly performing EU schemes.
An Italian parliamentary committee that monitors the Schengen system visited the island of Lampedusa. It found that the migrant hotspot on the island is on the verge of collapse.
Twelve humanitarian organizations have urged Europe and Greece to “break the vicious circle” which is blocking thousands of migrants on the Greek islands. The appeal was launched on September 18.