Council of Europe criticises Greek facilities for refugees

PARIS, May 30 (KUNA) -- The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Monday criticised new facilities that have been set up for mainly Middle East refugees stranded in Greece, a report said.
The report was issued after a PACE visit to the Sindos, Oresokastro and Softex sites in Thessaloniki, which are converted industrial sites designated to house thousands of people being moved from the infamous Idomeni area where they refugees have been gathering for months in an attempt to cross the Balkans into European countries.
The report said the facilities were a missed chance to built decent accommodation for the refugee populations, who come largely from Syria and Iraq.
The report noted that the Greek authorities have done a lot in a short space of time to create these new facilities for the people from Idomeni, but enough has not been done in many areas to make conditions liveable in the camps.
The project to re-house the refugees "has been a missed opportunity to create decent facilities that meet international standards," it was noted.
In the sites visited by PACE "there was no privacy, nor fire safety, no light, no ventilation and people have no information on their situation or their prospects," the report observed.
Many of the refugees are trying to be reunited with family members already established in European countries and they need reassurance on the progress of this process and other registration operations for their psychological well-being, PACE stressed.
The Council of Europe has 47 member-countries and monitors democracy and human rights developments. (end) jk.gta