Amnesty International says 60,000 refugees are stranded in Greece

Nearly 60,000 refugees remain stranded in "appalling and unsafe" conditions in Greece, according to Amnesty International.

The human rights group said that despite an agreement among EU leaders for the continent to take in 120,000 refugees last year, many countries had taken less than 5% of the people they pledged to help, and in some instances nations had not taken in any.

Amnesty said that at the current rate it will take European countries 18 years to fulfil their commitments - and is calling on them to take in more migrants and speed up the relocation process.

The revelation comes as world leaders gather in New York for a UN summit on the global refugee crisis, and after Sky News revealed the plight of some of those stuck in Greece.

Steve Symonds, refugee and migrant rights programme director for Amnesty International UK, said the country had become a "warehouse of souls".

He said: "The appalling conditions facing women, men and children trapped there in limbo is a result of the shameful collective failure on the part of European leaders.

"All should be pulling together to deal with a level of refugee migration that is embarrassingly small compared to that experienced by many far poorer countries in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa - firstly by implementing their promises to relocate asylum seekers from Greece.

"Theresa May spoke at the UN summit about the importance of a truly global response to the refugee crisis but not agreeing to support the relocation of the tens of thousands stranded in Greece, including those desperate to be reunited in safety with family in this country, flies in the face of this empty rhetoric."

According to an Amnesty report entitled "Our hope is broken", Austria, Hungary and Poland have not taken in any refugees so far.

Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Slovakia and Spain have relocated less than 5% of those they promised to help, Amnesty said.

There are 1,480 unaccompanied minors in detention centres or camps across Greece, the organisation said.

The report added that many of those stranded are suffering from severe health problems, acute stress and depression, and have been separated from loved ones.

Britain chose not to take part in the EU relocation scheme, with former prime minister David Cameron instead pledging to take 20,000 Syrian refugees from camps neighbouring the war-torn country.

Earlier this month, Sky News spoke to several councils who said the refugees were not being processed quickly enough.