Press Releases
UN refugee agency encourages EU to reinforce refugees’ rights
The UN refugee agency UNHCR welcomes the adoption of the Stockholm programme defining the priorities of the European Union (EU) on asylum and other Justice and Home Affairs issues from 2010 to 2014. At the same time, UNHCR calls on the EU to ensure that migration management objectives do not overshadow refugee protection principles.
UNHCR concerned over involuntary returns to Central Iraq
UNHCR is concerned that some European states have begun forcibly returning Iraqi originating from the regions of Central Iraq over the last few months. In the UNHCR guidelines issued in April this year, it was noted that in view of the serious human rights violations and continuing security incidents throughout Iraq, most predominantly in the [...]
Joint EU resettlement programme proposal expected this week
Tomorrow (2 September) the European Commission (EC) is expected to put forward a proposal which promotes EU financial support for resettlement to the EU.
UNHCR alarmed by detention of unaccompanied children in Lesvos, Greece
Earlier this week UNHCR staff visited the detention centre at Pagani on the Greek Island of Lesvos. They were shocked at the conditions in the facility, where more than 850 people are held, including 200 unaccompanied children, mostly from Afghanistan.
UNHCR interviews asylum seekers pushed back to Libya
UNHCR staff in Libya have been carrying out interviews with 82 people who were intercepted by the Italian Navy on the high seas on July 1 about 30 nautical miles from the Italian island of Lampedusa. They were transferred to a Libyan ship and later transported to Libya. Based on subsequent interviews, [...]
Swedish EU-Presidency 2009
This website is no longer updated. It was a UNHCR Stockholm initiative meant to facilitate the monitoring of refugee and asylum issues during Sweden's European Union Presidency 1 July – 31 December 2009.
