Guterres warns of worsening situation of Syrian refugees

BRUSSELS, July 9 (KUNA) -- UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres Thursday said the living condition and the protection level of Syrian refugees in the neighboring countries are quickly deteriorating and warned that their condition will worsen in the months to come.
"Most of the Syrians are not allowed to work and the level of humanitarian assistance for Syrian refuges is clearly insufficient," he told a press conference in Luxembourg where he is participating in an informal meeting of EU interior ministers.
He said that the humanitarian appeal that was launched in relation to the refugee response plan for Syria's neighbours which included 97 partners "have only received less than one fourth of what was asked for." The UN chief for refugees explained that because of their worsening situation of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries they are trying to go to Europe is through eastern Mediterranean He said that 78,000 refugees entered Greece this year and 65 percent of them are Syrians.
Guterres called for a robust and effective European response to the growing problem of Syrian refugees and urged the EU member states to assume their responsibilities and extend their solidarity.
He stressed the importance of increasing number of legal avenues in Europe for access to the refugees including more flexible visa policies. He described the proposed EU relocation and resettlement programme of refugees in Europe as a step in the right direction.
He stated that those countries that have an influence in Syria and provide weapons and money to the different factions now understand that this is a war that nobody is winning.
"Everybody is losing. It became a global threat for everybody in the world. They should come together to put an end to the conflict," he said.
Gueterres noted that 86 percent of the refugees worldwide are hosted by the developing world. "This idea that the majority of the refugees want to come to Europe is completely false. The majority of the refugees want to go back home," he said.
He noted that Turkey is hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees with 1.8 million and has spent USD 6 billion on Syrian refugees inside Turkey. (end) nk.hs