Acceptance of refugees in the eastern Mediterranean
| Subject: International Cooperation
A debate seminar on host strategy
On November 7th the Seminar on the Acceptance of Refugees in the Eastern Mediterranean was held at CIDOB, organized by the Area for International Relations and Cooperation of AMB with the support of CIDOB.
The Seminar started with an internal workshop for analysis and reflection, in which the participating entities discussed the different refugee acceptance strategies adopted in each of the countries. This helped to identify the seven-year learning work, and share the current challenges. Subsequently, a round table was held, open to all citizens, which presented the main conclusions drawn from the internal workshop and opened the debate among the audience.
The event was attended by several NGOs, social movements, local public institutions, researchers and international organizations based in Catalonia which are working directly or indirectly in the reception of refugees in the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically in Lebanon, Jordan, Greece and Turkey.
Singularity of countries and new challenges
The participants agreed that the current refuge situation in the Mediterranean is unprecedented, which makes it necessary to rethink humanitarian interventions as they have been conceived so far. In this sense, institutions and entities need to make an important effort to share strategies and challenges, and consolidate their coordination in the current context.
During the debate the singularities of each of the countries included in the debate were highlighted. Contexts, difficulties and strategies were shared and it was appointed the importance of the role played by each of the organizations, institutions and social movements (each of them within its fields of expertise) to face the challenges of the acceptance of refugees in the Mediterranean.
The debate and conclusions of the Seminar will be systematized in a document that will be distributed among all the participating entities. It will also be useful as a basis for the future actions of the AMB Area for International Relations and Cooperation in Lebanon, Jordan, Greece and Turkey in support to the acceptance of refugees.
This Seminar is framed within the actions that the AMB Area for International Relations and Cooperation carries out in order to support the acceptance of refugees victim of armed conflicts in the Mediterranean, which is one of the priority lines of this Area, as estableished in its 2017-2019 International Cooperation Master Plan.
