Iceland agrees to take in second group of Syria refugees

Some of the refugees who arrived in Iceland in January.

Some of the refugees who arrived in Iceland in January. Photo: Iceland Monitor/Eggert

The Icelandic government has agreed to welcome to Iceland a second group of Syrian refugees currently stuck in Lebanon.

The proposal came from Eygló Harðardóttir, Minister for Social Affairs and Housing, on the basis of recommendations from the Ministry’s Refugee Committee. The government agreed to the proposal this morning, paving the way for a second group of Syrian refugees to move to Iceland.

A total of 55 Syrian refugees were taken in by Iceland earlier this year. There is no information as yet as to the numbers involved in this second wave, but the cost of receiving the new arrivals is estimated at ISK 200 million (€1.44 million).

The Refugee Committee has recommended these new Syrian refugees be taken in in the capital Reykjavik and in the towns of Hveragerði and Árborg. These towns were at the forefront of talks last year on taking in ‘quota refugees’ and all have active and strong Red Cross branches.

Of the three, only Reykjavik has taken in refugees before.

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