Revised Emergency Plan of Action (Epoa) Greece: Population Movement

Revised Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) Greece: Population Movement Emergency appeal MDRGR001, GLIDE n° OT-2015-000050-GRC Revision no 3 Date of issue: 22 March 2017 Date of emergency: ongoing since January 2015 Operation manager (responsible for this EPoA): Point of contact (name and title): Tiina Saarikoski, Operations Manager Zefi Thanasoula, Head of Operations, Hellenic Red Cross Operation start date: 2 September 2015 Operation end date: 30 June 2018 Revised total budget: CHF 50,550, 46 Revised operational budget: CHF 46,925,475 Funding gap: CHF 15,560,410 Bilateral response: CHF 3,624,972 Number of people affected: Number of people to be assisted under this plan: 62,3851 34,673 people2 Host National Society: The Hellenic Red Cross currently plans to support the operation with some 1,204 volunteers and 109 HRC staff in areas hosting migrant communities Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners actively involved in the operation: Austrian Red Cross, British Red Cross, Danish Red Cross, Finnish Red Cross, German Red Cross, Spanish Red Cross, Luxembourg Red Cross. Other Movement contributors: American Red Cross, Belgian Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross, Croatian Red Cross, French Red Cross, Hungarian Red Cross, Icelandic Red Cross, Irish Red Cross, Japanese Red Cross Society, the Netherlands Red Cross, Norwegian Red Cross, Red Cross of Monaco, Swedish Red Cross, and Swiss Red Cross. Other donors to this appeal include the British, Icelandic, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norwegian and Swiss Governments as well as several private and corporate donors. Other partner organizations actively involved in the operation: European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Migration Policy, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Defence and other Greek authorities, ICRC, IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Médecins du Monde (MDM), International Rescue Committee (IRC),Samaritans Purse (SP), Save the Children, International Medical Corps, Mercy Corps, NRC, DRC, Oxfam, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), ASB, WAHA, Praksis, IsraAid as well as local associations and groups of volunteers. This revised plan of action continues to provide an emergency response in the Population Movement operation while at the same time moving towards sustaining long-term benefits through supporting integration of the migrant population into the Greek community and building on existing skills within the Hellenic Red Cross (HRC). From May 2017, interventions under this plan will be conducted through six building blocks: Accommodation/Reception Centres; Urban Approach; Building Bridges; Cash Transfer Programming; National Society Development; and other HRC programme areas - Disaster Management and Restoring Family Links. Each of these building blocks brings together different aspects addressing the needs of migrant and host communities in Greece. Further details on each of these building blocks can be found in the Detailed Operational Plan section of this document. The budget for this operation currently stands at CHF 50,550,446. This figure includes: 1) the budget from the beginning of the operation (May 2015) until December 2016 of CHF 18.4 million; 2) new budget of CHF 28.5 million developed for May 2017 onwards (refer to breakdown provided in Summary Budget Allocation); and 3) bilateral component of CHF3.6 million. The operational timeframe is anticipated to end by June 2018. 1 Source: UNHCR 2 The estimated number of people to be assisted is based on the number of target population (migrant and host population) under the different approaches in this revised plan. For the Reception Centre approach, the figures are based on Red Cross site mapping (as of January 2017) at the respective accommodation sites where Red Cross is and will continue to be active. It is impossible to provide accurate numbers due to the fluidity of migrant movements as well as the absence of a proper tracking system. P a g e | 2 A. Situation analysis Description of the situation Current situation As of 25 January 2017, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that more than 62,0003 migrants are currently stranded in Greece. Of these, more than 14,000 people are located on the Greek Islands, predominantly in reception and identification centres (RICs) and more than 47,000 on the mainland. Most of these people arrived after the EU- Turkey statement which came into effect on 20 March 2016, and are awaiting decisions on whether, according to the agreement, they will be repatriated. In the meantime, living conditions in some sites continue to be sub-standard and the need for humanitarian assistance is ongoing.4 The table below shows the number of arrivals to Greece by sea Reception and identification centre in Samos and Softex Kordelio sites pictured above. In January 2017, Northern in 2015 and 2016, as well as the latest daily averages. Greece has seen temperatures drop to -15 C with heavy snow. Migrants living in the country’s reception centres are especially vulnerable as it compounds already poor conditions. Photo: IFRC Arrivals to Greece by the Arrivals to Greece by the Average daily arrivals Average daily arrivals sea in 2015 sea in 2016 in Q4 2016 in January 2017 173,4505 856,700 806 36 Current arrival numbers are consistent with the number of people arriving pre-2015’s peak flows in Greece. The difference now though is that new arrivals are stranded in Greece and waiting on outcomes of applications for asylum and relocation. Others who are not granted asylum face return to Turkey or repatriation. The following table depicts the number of asylum applications, relocations and readmissions from Greece. Number of asylum applications in Number of migrants relocated to Number of migrants readmitted Greece as of 31 December 2016 other EU countries from Greece to Turkey 51,0917 7,286 more than 8008 As of December 2016, the breakdown of migrants arriving in Greece is as follows9: Countries Percentage (%) (1) Syrian Arab Republic 47 Top 3 countries of origin (2) Afghanistan 25 (3) Iraq 15 Women 21 Gender (age group) Men 42 Children (below 18 years) 37 Despite the reduction in arrivals in 2016, the closure of borders has forced migrants to seek alternative routes to entering into other parts of Europe. Challenges faced in doing so, including the lack of safe and legal transportation, the lack of 3 UNHCR. This a government figure and includes migrants on official and informal sites, other state run facilities, self-settled or by NGOs on islands and the mainland. However, it is recognised among humanitarian agencies that the number of migrants stranded in Greece is much lower. 4 UNHCR http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/country.php?id=83 5 UNHCR 6 UNHCR - 18 December 2016 7 http://asylo.gov.gr/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Greek-Asylum-Service-statistical-data_December2016_en.pdf 8 http://migration.iom.int/docs/2016_Flows_to_Europe_Overview.pdf 9 UNHCR 31 December 2016 P a g e | 3 essential items for survival, the evasion of border authorities, together with exposure to extreme weather and being victimized by criminal activity have increased the vulnerability of people migrating. Accommodation and Reception Centres in Greece Mainland The majority of migrants and refugees in Greece are located in over 40 accommodation centres10 in northern Greece and central parts of the mainland. Currently more than 32,000 people are living on official and informal sites, and other state or NGO run facilities in mainland Greece.11 This includes self-settled migrants and refugees but does not account for those undocumented. Originally set up in March 2016 to address the immediate needs of migrants stranded due to the closure of the western Balkans route, some of these sites continue to house migrants in sub-standard living conditions. Although development of the sites to accommodate migrants longer term has been slow for various reasons, continuous structural improvements and upgrades are taking place in many of the sites by the Greek government and different humanitarian agencies, including Red Cross, to improve the living conditions of the migrants. These upgrades are still ongoing and humanitarian assistance is still necessary as the Government of Greece has not been able to fully assume the responsibility of providing services to the migrants. Islands After the entry into force of the EU-Turkey statement, all migrants who arrived on the islands before 20 March 2016 were moved to the mainland. These asylum seekers are subject to the regular asylum process and may also apply for relocation to another EU country. A person is eligible for relocation only if he or she is in clear need of international protection and he or she is coming from a country eligible for relocation. Relocation candidates do not have their asylum claim examined in Greece but must go through the identification, registration and fingerprinting procedure carried out by the Greek authorities with the support of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). The EU-Turkey statement provides for the return of all new irregular migrants and asylum seekers, whose applications have been declared inadmissible or unfounded, crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands after 20 March 2016. This means that for those migrants who entered Greece after 20 March, the Greek authorities will first examine the possibility of a return to Turkey. Until now family cases and vulnerable persons have been exempted from this admissibility assessment. If Greek

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