In light of the refugee crisis of 2015, established non-governmental organisations and groups and many civil society actors, from Greece and abroad, stepped in to provide humanitarian assistance and other needed support, including rescue at sea.
However, especially on the islands the climate towards NGOs and volunteers helping refugees has started turning progressively from welcoming to hostile due to the chronic extreme pressure imposed on the local societies after the EU-Turkey “deal” and the establishment of the hotspots.
In March 2020, the Greek Government proceeded with adopting new rules on the registration and certification of Greek and foreign NGOs active in the area of asylum, migration and social inclusion as well as their members staff and volunteers. These regulations include stringent, disproportionate and arbitrary requirements for registration and certification, which create risks of violations of the rights of civil society. The changes come against the backdrop of policy efforts appearing to create an increasingly hostile environment for civil society in Greece.
Even asylum interviews are no longer being conducted
Inadequate reception conditions in sites isolated from urban centres and with difficult access thereto
Beneficiaries of international protection in Greece. Access to documents and socio-economic rights
The HELIOS programme, the only programme for refugee integration in Greece, has been suspended since January 1, 2024, due to lack of funding.
Refugee single mothers face aggravated challenges and protection risks in Greece.
Systemic deficiencies in the access of beneficiaries of international protection to documents and socio-economic rights
RSA’s Comments on the draft Immigration Code
Refugees receiving protection in Greece and those returned thereto from other European countries continue to face prolonged delays in the renewal of their residence permits.
Nearly 100 recognised refugees have been deported to Greece in the first half of 2022
Refugee women remain undocumented four months after return from Sweden to Greece
Mini documentary, briefing, stories of four families of recognised refugees in Greece and photos about The Cartoneros of Athens
The updated report on the situation of beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, published today by RSA and Stiftung PRO ASYL, highlights chronic legal and practical barriers excluding them from the basic documents and socio-economic rights needed to rebuild their lives.
Farhad*, a 31-year-old recognised refugee, was returned from Germany to Greece at the beginning of July 2021 after spending more than five years in Germany waiting for his asylum claim to be processed.
Despite constant appeals from humanitarian organisations and dozens of media reports regarding the economic impasse faced by thousands of refugees and asylum seekers in Greece in recent months, the problem has not been solved.
We are collecting old laptops, of the past 8 years, and to distribute them to refugee children, thus enabling them to attend educational classes remotely
Excluded and Segregated The vanishing education of refugee children in Greece Excluded and Segregated The vanishing education of refugee children…
In a report titled “Excluded and Segregated. The vanishing education of refugee children in Greece”, Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) tracks…
The Ministry failed to pay due regard to vulnerable categories of children that will be affected by the provisions such as asylum seekers and refugees
This Legal Note provides up-to-date information on the situation of beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, including readmitted status holders from other European countries, drawing on a third party intervention submitted on 24 February 2021 by Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and Stiftung PRO ASYL in the case of Alaa Asaad v. the Netherlands before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
Athens, 21 January 2020 Dear Minister, With this letter, the below signatory humanitarian, human rights and protection organizations would like…
PROTECTION FOR RECOGNIZED REFUGEES IN GREECE REMAINS IN PAPER In June 2017, Refugee Support Aegean (RSA)/ PRO ASYL published a…
Photo: RSA/giorgos moutafis The current living conditions of beneficiaries of international protection in Greece are alarming, as beneficiaries do not only…