Brussels, March 02, 2017 (SPS) - The European Union (EU) should fulfil its commitments regarding humanitarian aid to Sahrawi refugees, said the Euro-MP Enrique Guerrero Salom.
In a written question to the European Commission, the Euro-MP said that the "unprecedented withdrawal" of EU aid to Sahrawi refugees in 2016 has resulted in "a significant gap in basic humanitarian needs in the five camps that host thousands of Sahrawis."
He added that the current situation was due mainly to the "lack of analysis and specific response to humanitarian needs (...) as well as to the drastic cuts in funding and in the number of refugees receiving aid."
According to the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), the European Commission gave €9 million to improve the living conditions of Sahrawi refugees in 2016, against €10 million in the past years.
In this regard, the Euro-MP urged the European Commission to explain this change, especially as it defined the situation of Sahrawi refugees as a "forgotten crisis" because "it receives little funding and attention from the international community."
"Will the Commission explain why, when many of the elements of the Sahrawi crisis remain unchanged, it has gone from being considered a severe forgotten in 2011, the only one of its kind in 2014, down to seventh in the list of forgotten crises in 2016?," he wondered.
The EU considers itself as one of the leading donors to Sahrawi refugees, "from 1993 to 1916, the European Commission provided €222 million in humanitarian aid," said the ECHO. SPS
125/090/700