Humanitarian admission programmes at federal level
Article Migration
Germany meets its humanitarian responsibilities with several humanitarian admission programmes at federal level, including the German resettlement programme and three admission programmes for especially vulnerable Syrian refugees.
Resettlement
Since 2012, under its resettlement programme Germany has admitted especially vulnerable refugees who have fled their home countries, have little likelihood of returning and few prospects for a better future in the first country that admitted them.
During its first three years as a pilot project, the resettlement programme admitted 300 persons each year: African refugees from Tunisia and Iraqis from Turkey in 2012; Iraqis, Iranians and Syrians from Turkey in 2013; and various nationalities (including Iraqis, Somalians, Sri Lankans, Chinese and Afghans) as well as stateless persons from Syria and Indonesia in 2014. The pilot project was brought to a successful close in late 2014, and the German resettlement programme will now become permanent. Starting in 2015, the programme will admit 500 persons each year.
Humanitarian admission programmes for 20,000 Syrian refugees
The humanitarian situation in and around Syria, in Egypt and in Libya remains extremely difficult. Most German aid for refugees focuses on providing help in the region. Since 2012, Germany has provided about €800 million in total aid related to the Syrian crisis: €396.65 million in humanitarian aid, €317.67 million in structural transitional aid/bilateral assistance (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) and €83.5 million for crisis resolution. The Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) is helping in the region, particularly in the refugee camps in Jordan and northern Iraq, for example by building systems to store and deliver drinking water and dispose of wastewater.
In addition, three federal admission programmes have been set up to take in a total of 20,000 Syrian refugees needing special protection: the first in May 2013 for 5,000 refugees, the second in December 2013 for another 5,000, and the third in July 2014 for 10,000 refugees. So Germany has committed to take in about three-quarters of all Syrian refugees given protection outside the crisis region.
Given the scale of the refugee crisis and the precarious situation of many refugees, especially children, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community is pushing the EU to establish a joint admission programme.