Key figures (October 2015 – 26 July 2017)
- 7,873 persons relocated
- 14,383 places pledged
- 39,600 target
As of 26 Jul 2017
In the first three months of 2017, over 24,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Italy by sea. More than 900 of them are potential relocation candidates. Since the adoption of the September 2015 EU Council decisions on relocation, over 26,000 potential relocation candidates reached Italian shores. Furthermore, more people are staying in Italy than in previous years.
According to the latest Eurostat data on decisions, candidates eligible for relocation include citizens of Syria, Eritrea, Yemen, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, British overseas countries and territories, Grenada, and Guatemala. Nationals of Burundi, Maldives, Oman and Qatar do not longer meet the 75% eligibility threshold while Iraq and the Central African Republic (CAR) remain among the non-eligible nationalities. Nationals of Burundi were eligible for relocation between March 2016 and 8 July 2016; they were again eligible candidates from September 2016 to March 2017.
Since September 2015, 5,001 asylum-seekers (14% of the 34,953 target) were relocated from Italy to 18 European countries. While some participating States have showed greater commitment towards relocation, the number of pledges made available continues to be inadequate and implementation remains slow and challenging. UNHCR calls on States to increase pledges, including for unaccompanied and separated children and to speed up the registration and transfers of candidates. In addition, the eligibility threshold should be lowered to include other nationalities. Effective relocation is crucial to increasing solidarity and responsibility sharing in Europe, and ensuring the better management of movements, including helping to address irregular secondary movement and reliance on smuggler networks.