PYTHIO VILLAGE, Greece – As dawn breaks over Greece’s north-eastern Evros region, a group of three families with adults and children tramp through Pythio and Thourio, small villages on a country backroad. “We’ve been travelling for three days directly from Kobani,” [on the Syrian border with Turk...

GENEVA, Aug 18 (UNHCR) – More refugees and migrants arrived in Greece last month than during the whole of 2014, the UN refugee agency announced on Tuesday, and called for a European-wide response to deal with the escalating crisis. UNHCR said that in July 50,242 people, mostly fleeing the conflic...

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 10 July 2015, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The number of refugees arriving in the Greek islands continues to rise, averaging 1,000 people daily. S...

The large majority of the 137,000 people who crossed the Mediterranean Sea into Europe during the first six months of 2015 were fleeing from war, conflict or persecution, making the Mediterranean crisis primarily a refugee crisis, a UNHCR report released today concludes. One third of the men, wo...

Turmoil and tragedy in Lesvos as sea arrivals surge, urgent support needed to rapidly improve reception Briefing Notes, 16 October 2015 This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 16 October 2015, at ...

GENEVA, Oct 20 (UNHCR) – Sea arrivals so far this year to Greece have now passed the half-million mark with the arrival yesterday on the Aegean Islands of nearly 8,000 people, the UN refugee agency said today. It added that the latest arrivals had taken the overall total to some 502,500 for this ...

BERKASOVO, Serbia, Oct 21, (UNHCR) – It is 6 pm, and night is falling fast. Amr and his family huddle under a makeshift shelter, partially lit by a nearby fire, on a small hill near the Serbian-Croatian border. It is windy and cold -- the temperature having fallen to around 7 degrees. Amr and ...

Joint press conference: Opening remarks by António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?sitelang=en&ref=I111028

GENEVA, Nov 6 (UNHCR) – UN refugee agency staff have worked throughout the week to provide emergency shelter and support to thousands of refugees, migrants and the local host communities on the Greek Islands. An estimated 20,000 refugees and migrants are currently on the Islands of Chios, Kalymno...

BERLIN, Germany, Nov 17 (UNHCR) – Their journeys now over, thousands of asylum-seekers are awaiting the results of their applications in a cavernous, historic airport in the German capital, Berlin. With freezing temperatures approaching fast, German authorities are scrambling to ensure no one is lef...