President meets NGOs on the occasion of World Refugee Day

President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca today met migrant-led organisations to mark World Refugee Day. During the meeting, organised by the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society, NGOs spoke about what contributed towards the wellbeing of the migrant population. They spoke about the aims of their respective organisations and shared experiences about the work and projects they have carried out so far. Expressing their concerns, the NGOs mentioned the negative effect of the press when reporting incidents related to migrants as “illegal migrants”. Other issues raised included the lack of access to visiting people in detention, the rights of children whose parents have had their refugee status rejected, access to healthcare, the absence of a long-term plan for asylum seekers and support for all migrant associations. The NGOs spoke of the situation of migrants and their families. According to the UNHCR the number of people forcibly displaced at the end of 2014 had risen to a staggering 59.5 million when compared to 51.2 million a year earlier and 37.5 million a decade ago.