Germany urges Europe to accept Syrian refugees

Governments should follow the example of Germany and other European countries and should take in Syrian refugees, German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said Monday in Geneva. Germany was the first country outside the Middle East to set up a programme for hosting vulnerable Syrians and is in the process of bringing in 5,000 people who have fled from the war-torn country. Friedrich took part in a high-level UN conference aimed at sharing the burden of the Syrian refugee flow more evenly. The minister acknowledged that 5,000 was a small number compared to the 2.1 million who have been taken by Syria's neighbours, straining the infrastructure and budgets of several countries in the region, German Press Agency dpa reported. "That is why I call today on the countries outside the crisis region, and especially to my European partners, to follow our example," Friedrich said. Norway recently announced it would accept 1,000 Syrians, while Austria and Switzerland each have promised to take in 500. These are special quotas for vulnerable groups like women and children, separate from the few Syrians who reach Western countries by other means to claim asylum there. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva wants countries to accept up to 10,000 people this year under these programmes.