The Spanish government should urgently alleviate overcrowding and unsanitary conditions at a makeshift migrant holding facility on Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, as local authorities struggle to contain a recent surge in migrant arrivals, a prominent rights group said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2020) The Spanish government should urgently alleviate overcrowding and unsanitary conditions at a makeshift migrant holding facility on Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, as local authorities struggle to contain a recent surge in migrant arrivals, a prominent rights group said on Wednesday.
The number of migrants at the facility, which is located on the Arguineguin pier, has doubled to more than 2,000 since Saturday, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization said.
"I cannot imagine the situation now with over double the people. Even assuming the best intentions of those working there, these conditions do not respect people's dignity or basic rights, nor do they reflect well on Spain," Judith Sunderland, the acting Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, said in a press release.
During an inspection of the facility on November 7, HRW observers noted rows of crowded tents with 30 to 40 people sharing one portable toilet, Sunderland added.
Officials in the Canary Islands have called for urgent help to respond to the recent surge in migrants traveling across from the western coast of Africa.
According to the International Organization for Migration, an estimated 200 boats carrying at least 5,000 migrants have reached the Canary Islands since September, more than double the entire total in 2019.
