Of the 89 Syrian refugees affected by the earthquake that shook Turkey on February 6 arrived in Spain, five will be welcomed in the next few hours by the resources of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration in Asturias. Specifically, they will be housed in ACCEM centers belonging to the State Reception System in this province.
This arrival is part of the National Refugee Resettlement Program 2023 approved by the Council of Ministers on February 21, and responds to the call of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to react quickly to the emergency caused by the earthquake by resettling refugees in the areas most affected by it. With this action, Spain becomes the first country in Europe to give this protection to refugees victims of the disaster, in an operation carried out in collaboration with the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The 89 refugees (47 men and 42 women) who will be resettled form 16 family units, five of which are single parents made up of a single mother with dependent children. 43 of those resettled are minors (18 of them under 10 years of age).
The arrival at Torrejón airport took place at 2 p.m. and a dozen institutions, agencies and entities participated in the arrival device, in addition to the Ministry of Inclusion, which has coordinated the entire process from the arrival to the subsequent referral to the centers of the reception system. The minister, who visited the reception operation installed in the hangar, thanked the work of all the agents involved and stressed that “in a very short period of time, taking into account the difficulties of the situation caused by the earthquake, we have been able to receive these people who have suffered so much and offer them a new life among us”.
Refugees will be transferred in the next few hours to system resources in 11 provinces: Álava, Asturias, Guadalajara, Málaga, Pontevedra, Sevilla, Soria, Tarragona, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza.
National Resettlement Programme
The Council of Ministers annually approves the National Resettlement Programmes, which provide protection to refugees from countries affected by conflict and serious humanitarian crises. The commitment of the Government of Spain to this programme is included in the global resettlement priorities identified by the UNHCR and the European Union, and the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration is responsible for offering reception within the framework of the International Protection Reception System.
Since 2016, Spain has resettled 3,408 people, more than 80% of Syrian nationality. In 2022, 1,112 people, 1,045 Syrians, have been resettled. To date, 1,294 Syrians are being cared for in the reception system, 1,187 of whom have arrived as part of the National Resettlement Programmes.