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Group of 16 refugees arrive in Lisbon

Xinhua, May 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

A group of 16 refugees arrived here on Wednesday under the EU relocation program, the Ministry of Internal Administration said Wednesday.

They are of Eritrean origin and were awaiting relocation in refugee camps in Italy, according to Portuguese Lusa News Agency.

According to the ministry, the asylum-seekers will be staying in the north of Portugal.

The Portuguese government has said it is willing to accept up to 10,000 people, but so far Portugal has only received 211 refugees under the relocation program.

Recently, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa admitted that "unfortunately, not because of the Portuguese state or civil society's will, the number of refugees received has been inferior."

While some European countries are rejecting refugees and Slovakia and Hungary have brought court cases to challenge EU decisions to redistribute migrants based on quotas, Portugal is being set as an example as a country which others should imitate, with Human Rights Watch pointing out that Portugal's move is the "kind of leadership needed to make relocation work." Endit