UNHCR concerned about the refugees in dismantled Calais camp, Sarkozy defends decision
UNHCR is worried about France’s decision to dismantle the makeshift “jungle camp” in the northern French city of Calais.
The UN Refugee Agency urges France to provide decent asylum processing for all the persons who wish to apply for protection, such as refugees coming from war zones, and warns that dismantling the camp does not solve the problems of the migrants. The Agency is especially worried about the huge number of children who have been living in the camp.
Dismantling of the camp started on Tuesday, and 278 persons were taken in custody by the French authorities. According to UNHCR, most persons living in the camp had already left it when the police arrived.
On Wednesday, Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France, defended the police action, and announced that France will organize the return of the persons who are lacking documents to their countries.
Hundreds of migrants, mainly from Afghanistan have been living in the camp.
Refugees Daily 24 September 2009 (in French)
Refugees Daily 23 September 2009 (in French)
Refugees Daily 23 September 2009 (in English)
Politiken 22 September 2009 (in Danish)
YLE 18 September 2009 (in Finnish)
Dagbladet 22 September 2009 (in Norwegian)
Svenska Dagbladet 22 September 2009 (in Swedish)
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This website is no longer updated.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.
