28/07/23 (Agence Europe) – The UN Refugee Agency’s Assistant High Commissioner, Gillian Triggs, called on Greece on Friday 28 July to step up protection for refugees and asylum seekers, after a 4-day visit to the country, according to a press release. This visit comes more than a month “after one of the worst shipwrecks in the Mediterranean in recent years. The Pylos tragedy and other devastating tragedies in the Mediterranean highlight the need to save lives and protect the rights of people forced to flee. That’s the message I’ve sent to the authorities”, said Ms Triggs. She also raised the issue of forced returns of migrants and “the need for effective investigations and preventive and corrective measures”. The efforts made to improve the integration of the 68,000 refugees in the country were nevertheless highlighted. (SP)