On
behalf of Human Rights Watch, I would like to extend my congratulations on
your
swearing in as Prime
Minister, following Greece’s national elections.
Human Rights Watch is an independent non-governmental
organization that monitors human rights in over 90
countries around the world. We have worked on human rights in Greece for more than
a decade, on issues ranging from the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants,
including unaccompanied migrant children, to protection of children and adults with
disabilities and women’s rights.
As you assume leadership in Greece, we are writing to draw your attention to some key
human rights challenges facing the country that we hope your government will address as
a priority.
Detention of Unaccompanied Migrant
Children
In recent months the European Court of
Human Rights has twice ruled that Greece is in violation of its international
human rights obligations,
by detaining unaccompanied migrant children in so-called “protective custody”
in police station cells and pre-removal detention centers across the country. A
growing number of detained unaccompanied migrant children are forced to live in
unsanitary conditions, often alongside adults they do not know. Children are often unable to receive medical
treatment, psychological counseling, education, or legal aid. Few even know why
they’re detained or how long they will be behind bars and have little chance of
challenging their detention.
Our understanding is that the many
police leaders recognize that this situation is untenable. We urge you to end
this practice immediately and find space for those unaccompanied children
currently in custody in open facilities with decent living conditions, where
they can receive care and counseling, and have
Institutionalization of Children with
Disabilitiesaccess to legal aid
and other basic services.
Children with disabilities in Greece are
not receiving the care they need to protect their rights and wellbeing. Many
are often forced to live in
institutions, sometimes kept in cage-beds and/or tied to their beds,
showing little respect for their rights, dignity, and overall wellbeing. A lack of support to ensure children with
disabilities can live independently in the community means that children with
disabilities remain in institutions when they become adults and in most cases
all their lives.
We urge you to focus your efforts to a
systematic shift from institutionalization to family-based care and independent
living, through the development of support services to children with
disabilities and their families, a fully functioning and well-resourced foster
care and adoption system, a strong independent mechanism to monitor and assess
the effectiveness of community-based support services, and a
deinstitutionalization strategy.
Unlawful Pushbacks of Asylum Seekers to
Turkey
Greek authorities in Evros continue to unlawfully and
summarily force back asylum seekers to Turkey, without first considering their international
protection needs. In some cases, these pushbacks involve ill-treatment.
Accounts gathered by Human Rights Watch are consistent with the findings of
other nongovernmental groups, intergovernmental agencies,
and media reports. UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, has
raised similar concerns.
We urge you to order an immediate halt
to pushbacks and other summary returns to Turkey from the Evros region and to
launch a formal investigation into the practice.
Asylum Seekers Trapped on the Aegean Islands
Asylum Seekers Trapped on the Aegean Islands
Since 2015, Human Rights Watch has
conducted numerous research missions on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos,
Kos and Leros, the locations where most asylum seekers enter Greece. We have
consistently found that thousands of asylum
seekers trapped on the Aegean islands, most of them living in the so-called
refugee “hotspots,” face appalling conditions that expose them to inhuman and
degrading treatment, and
prevent them from accessing education, healthcare, and other basic services.
We urge you to put an end to the ongoing
“containment policy” of asylum seekers on the islands, in accordance with the
2018 ruling of the Greek Council of State, and to immediately transfer asylum
seekers to the mainland and meet their protection needs by providing access to
fair and efficient asylum procedures and social services while their claims are
pending.
During your campaign, you said you wish
to turn processing centers on the islands into detention centers and speed up
asylum procedures and returns to Turkey. The only way to increase the number or
speed of returns to Turkey would be by weakening the safeguards in the process
and thereby create a real risk that asylum seekers would be returned to abuse
in violation of Greece’s obligations under European Union (EU) refugee and
human rights law. Establishing a detention regime on the islands, along the
lines mooted in the election campaign, would also be a violation of Greece’s
international legal obligations.
We recognize that Greece faces a
significant and disproportionate responsibility among EU member states due to
the Dublin Regulation, and have repeatedly called on EU institutions and member
states to set up and implement a meaningful responsibility-sharing mechanism.
Nevertheless, this situation does not relieve Greece of its obligation to
protect the human rights and dignity of everyone in Greece, irrespective of
their migrant status.
Throughout the years, we have closely
worked with Greek authorities to advance human rights in the country. We look
forward to working with your government on these important issues.
Sincerely,
Hugh Williamson
Director, Europe and Central Asia
Division
Human Rights Watch
10/7/2019
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/10/human-rights-watch-letter-greek-prime-minister-kyriakos-mitsotakis
10/7/2019
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/10/human-rights-watch-letter-greek-prime-minister-kyriakos-mitsotakis
