Reception of refugees is high on the agenda of many governments in Europe today. On the occasion of World Refugee Day, the Special Representative of the Secretary General on migration and refugees expresses his views on the biggest challenges faced by refugees.
“The biggest challenge is the capacity and the willingness of states to deal with mixed migration flows, which are composed of refugees and irregular migrants. And as a result, we can see that refugees are now waiting for years, very often in miserable conditions, to have their status granted”.
The Special Representative’s activities focus in particular on the protection of refugee children. In this context, the Council of Europe is currently working on the implementation of the Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe (2017-2019) adopted a year ago by the Committee of Ministers. Today, the Special Representative is launching a dedicated web page, where it is possible to follow the status of implementation of the initiatives in the Action Plan by the different sectors of the Council of Europe.
“My priority is the refugees themselves. I want their rights to be protected, and rule of law to be respected. And I am concerned, particularly, about the situation of refugee children. That is why we have now the Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe. We are currently implementing it, and today, on the occasion of World Refugee Day, we are launching a special web page, where everyone can follow how we progress with its implementation, which is aimed to improve the situation of these children”.
