Rachel de Blas |
Madrid, (EFE).- The representative in Spain of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Acnur), Sophie Muller, warns of the gradual deterioration that access to the international protection system in Spain has suffered in the last three years and warns that “the situation is very critical.”
On the occasion of World Refugee Day, which is celebrated on June 20, Muller analyzes asylum in Spain, the arrival of displaced Ukrainians or the future European Pact on Migration and Asylum, in an interview with EFE marked by the shipwreck occurred this week off the coast of southern Greece in which hundreds of migrants are believed to have died.
From the United Nations they demand urgent measures to prevent the death of more people in the waters of the Mediterranean, where more than 1,100 have lost their lives so far this year, recalls Muller, who calls for safe and legal routes for those who are forced to flee of their countries due to conflicts and persecutions.
This tragedy has occurred in the midst of negotiating the new European migration policy, one of the issues that Spain hopes to close during its Presidency and in which the Member States have committed to the relocation of 30,000 migrants each year depending on their capacities, although the most reluctant are given the option of contributing 20,000 euros for each person they refuse to include in their quota.
European Pact on Migration and Asylum: UNHCR does not expect much more
For Acnur, it is a “positive advance” because it confirms that a solidarity mechanism among the 27 is mandatory, although the modalities to implement it are “diverse”. All countries, except Hungary and Poland, have confirmed “their desire to work together for a better protection space” within the EU.
“It is difficult to expect much more as the European panorama is so diverse,” acknowledges Muller, who also admits that the border procedure will have a “limited implementation” because the figure of 30,000 arrivals will be reached “very quickly.”
In 2022, the European Border and Coast Agency (Frontex) recorded nearly 330,000 irregular entries on European soil, the vast majority crossing the Mediterranean, which is eleven times the agreed figure.
“We ask for political will and demonstrate it through the facts with concrete tools that allow the corresponding political decisions to be made,” Muller stresses, recalling that as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe acted quickly to welcome six million Ukrainian refugees. .
Conflicts such as those in Ukraine or Sudan and the impact of climate change have meant that in 2022 the number of people who have been forced to leave their countries will reach 110 million refugees, “unprecedented figures that hurt a lot.”
An asylum procedure adapted to Ceuta and Melilla
On the verge of the first anniversary of the tragedy on the fence in Melilla, Muller laments “so dramatic” situations in which people die seeking protection. “It shouldn’t happen,” she maintains while calling for an asylum procedure adapted to Ceuta and Melilla.
“The border procedure, as established by law, does not allow an adequate response to be given in the times established in the legislation due to the volume of people. They are exceptional sites that require exceptional care and an adapted asylum procedure”, she assures.
Spain is the third European country that received the most asylum requests last year (118,842); however, it is also the third, behind Malta and Cyprus, that recognized the fewest applications (14,235).
Very critical situation to access the asylum procedure
Muller warns that the situation that the system is going through “is very critical” and of the difficulties that people who request international protection in Spain encounter. “The main obstacle is not being able to request asylum,” she asserts.
To request it, in Spain there has been an online appointment system since the pandemic, where for months there has been no possibility of ever obtaining an appointment. To achieve it, many people connect hours and hours for days, weeks and even months, without achieving it.
“We have had a very hard winter because the digital platform has performed very poorly and has been the subject of a lot of fraud attempts. This has been a one-off circumstance, but in the last three years we have seen a gradual deterioration, an increasingly critical situation of access to the procedure, ”he indicates.
After the pandemic, as he explains, asylum applications have once again registered very high figures and “the number of appointments is not adequate for the needs that are increasing.” To do this, he advocates promoting a system in which decisions are made “very quickly” since access to the procedure “generates many rights” for migrants.
He is aware, however, that to expedite the situation, resources must be increased “at all levels” and “it is not easy.” He trusts that the “single roof” model implemented with the Reception, Care and Referral Centers (Creade) to accommodate Ukrainian refugees, which already serves other nationalities, will lighten the system.
First Forum Spain with refugees
Muller values the solidarity shown by Spanish society and with the aim of making visible initiatives developed from different areas for the inclusion of refugees, UNHCR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrate this Tuesday the first Spain Forum with Refugees.
“We want to organize this powerful solidarity so that at the World Forum that is held at the end of the year, Spain can share a stronger commitment,” Muller remarks before underlining the importance of the team of refugee advisers in this process.
“It is the most valuable asset we have because they have lived in exile first and also support many others,” he concludes.