On the eve of World Refugee Day (20 June), the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Jean-Claude Mignon, has made the following statement:
"The drastic situation of the Syrian refugees is constantly worsening and has reached an unprecedented level of suffering. A million and a half Syrians have fled their country; it is an outright humanitarian disaster!
Failing a political agreement to resolve a situation which has lasted far too long, the humanitarian crisis is stalemated and will only make the trauma more severe and profound for the refugees.
Certain groups of refugees are naturally more vulnerable than others. Over half a million children, uprooted, disoriented, their schooling broken off, sometimes separated from their families, are paying the heaviest price for the conflict. Very often they flee with only their mothers, aunts or grandmothers who are themselves a vulnerable group, especially in the event of pregnancy. (more...)
