• NGOs join ‘Queremos Acoger Ya’ platform to demand gov’t accept refugees
• Madrid protest march called Sat 17th June from Plaza Cibeles to Plaza España
More than 100 non-governmental organisations working with refugees and in defense of human rights have been joined by political parties and labour unions in calling on the Spanish government to step up and honor its international treaty commitments to protect refugees, including Spain’s agreement to take in some 17,000 refugees from war-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa as part of an EU accord signed in 2015.
Under the banner of “No More Excuses, No More Barriers” the organisations proving support to the refugee-welcome platform Queremos Acoger Ya have convened a protest march for this Saturday 17th June in Madrid to pressure the government to guarantee legal and safe routes for refugees trying to reach Europe countries.
► ► CLICK ABOVE TO WATCH #QUEREMOSACOGERYA VIDEO ► ►
With the United Nations’ sponsored World Refugee Day set for 20th June, the organisations say they want to focus on the dire situation faced by refugees stranded in camps in Italy, Greece and the Balkan countries and demand that Spain do its share to guarantee safe migration routes for the refugees and accept more refugees from the camps to Spanish cities and regions that have already agreed to assist in refugee relocation. In 2015, the Spanish government agreed to take in 17,337 refugees as part of its commitment to an EU-wide accord for the resettlement of refugees, but to date has resettled fewer than 7 percent of that number in Spanish territory.
The Queremos Acoger Ya demonstration in support of refugees is set to begin a 7pm on Saturday and marchers will walk from Madrid’s Plaza Cibeles to Plaza España.
► For more info and to sign the refugee-welcome petition, visit QueremosAcogerYa.org …
► Read More in Spanish at Europa Press, El Periódico and MadriDiario …
