Egypt rejects EU's migrants platforms, camps concept

CAIRO – 30 June 2018: Egypt has announced rejection to the concept reached by European leaders of establishing “controlled centers” and “disembarkation platforms” for migrants, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid announced Friday.

In a statement to the AFP, Abu Zeid clarified that Egypt’s rejection is based on an utter rejection towards isolating or rejecting migrants.

European leaders on Friday reached a deal on migration that foresees EU countries voluntarily establishing "controlled centers" on their soil to process migrants.

The deal also called the European Council to “swiftly explore the concept of regional disembarkation platforms, in close cooperation with relevant third countries as well as UNHCR and IOM.”

Abu Zeid pointed out that Egypt deals with migrants by integrating them into the society while providing them with their basic needs.

On June 20, Egypt called on the international community to share the collective responsibilities of hosting refugees in a bid to renew Egypt’s moral and legal commitment towards refugees in the territory.

On #WorldRefugeeDay Egypt stresses need to share the collective repsonbilities of hosting refugees. We renew our legal & moral commitment towards refugees on our own territory and keenness to integrate them into society, despite high burdens &economic difficulties @UNHCREgypt

— Egypt MFA Spokesman (@MfaEgypt) June 20, 2018

Abu Zeid’s tweet coincided with the World Refugee Day, an international observance that marks June 20 and is dedicated to raising awareness of the situation of refugees throughout the world.

According to The Guardian, campaigners have said “secure migrant processing camps that may be set up in Europe under a deal reached by EU leaders risk becoming de facto detention centers breaching basic human rights.”

Last August, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Egypt reported that the number of refugees and asylum seekers in the country was about 209,000 refugees. Unofficial estimates however indicate that there are more than 300,000 refugees in the country, including those who are registered in the UNHCR.

The UNHCR's annual "Global Trends" study found that a staggering 68.5 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by the end of 2017.

According to UNHCR, around 68.5 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by the end of 2017 –http://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends2017

“Nearly a quarter of them were uprooted just last year, either for the first time or repeatedly. That's an average of one person displaced every two seconds of the day,” the study says.