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.
The implementation of the toxic EU-Turkey deal in the past four years has resulted in endless misery for thousands of asylum-seekers and migrants trapped in the overcrowded and unsafe hotspots of the Eastern Aegean islands. It has also boosted xenophobic and racist reactions in local societies that were initially welcoming to the plight of refugees.
These reactions have ranged from a large scale racist pogrom against Afghan asylum-seekers protesting for their prolonged stay on Lesvos in 2018 to a spate of attacks against asylum-seekers, human rights workers and journalists and the arson of a building belonging to an NGO in March 2020. Hate and xenophobic speech used by public officials fuels these incidents.
The plans of authorities to establish new facilities in the form of closed controlled centres for new arrivals were faced with strong protests by the local population on the islands of Lesvos and Chios in February 2020 and were marred by police violence.
Refugee Support Aegean monitors and documents such incidents and is a member of the Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN).
- All
- Deportations-Returns
- Human Rights Defenders
- Other topics
- Push backs-collective expulsions
- Quality of the asylum procedure
- Racist violence
Ρατσισμός και στοχοποίηση των υπερασπιστών: Ρωγμές στην ασφάλεια των θυμάτων και το αίσθημα δικαίου
RSA’s Comments on the draft Immigration Code
Joint Civil Society Submission to the European Commission on the 2023 Rule of Law Report January 2023
What remains to be decided are its accompanying measures
Campaign for Access to Asylum
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
Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) completes registration on the NGO Registry The Special Secretariat for Stakeholder Coordination at the Ministry of…
In its submission to the 2022 Rule of Law Report of the European Commission, RSA highlights developments and persisting concerns relating to the rule of law through the lens of the Greek asylum system.
The European Commission tabled legislative proposals to amend the Schengen Borders Code and to address so-called “instrumentalisation” in migration and asylum, two months after 12 Member States, including Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, requested the “adaptation of EU law to new realities” and after the European Council called on the Commission to take legislative measures.
An expert opinion by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) released today finds the Greek legal framework on the registration of NGOs working with refugees and migrants (Joint Ministerial Decision 10616/2020) “in clear violation” of standards of international law, EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The Ombudsman calls the administration to re-examine the rejection of registration on the ground that it contravenes the “acquis of international, EU and national law”.
The undersigned non-governmental organisations were surprised to be informed that the Ministry of Migration and Asylum denied the registration of non-profit civil society organisation “Refugee Support Aegean” (RSA) on its NGO Registry, despite a positive opinion from competent services. We are particularly concerned by the substantive ground for such rejection, citing that the “development of activity” “in support of persons under deportation” is contrary to Greek legislation.
13 Oct: No room for complacency towards racist violence one year after the conviction of Golden Dawn
One year after the historic conviction of Golden Dawn, the Racist Violence Recording Network calls to mind the importance of the judicial decision that sent a clear message against the criminal organization and organized racist violence. In parallel, the Network warns that there is no room for complacency, as the modus operandi of organized violence continues to severely affect social cohesion.
The Deportations and Returns Bill tabled by the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum to Parliament on 25 August 2021 fully disregards the positions and concerns put forward by civil society and the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) regarding compliance with international and EU law on asylum and migration. Without any justification, the drafters of the bill omit over 60 comments tabled by experts in the public consultation, thereby circumventing a necessary institution to safeguard the rule of law and better law-making.
While the Greek government is sending contradictory messages about dealing with the humanitarian crisis caused by the return of the Taliban to power, thousands of Afghan refugees living in Greece are anxious for the fate of their relatives and themselves, as based on the Joint Ministerial Decision (JMD) issued in June they may be returned to Turkey as a safe third country with a risk of onward deportation to Afghanistan.
Risks of repression of civil society organisations supporting refugees and migrants in Greece have been heavily exacerbated by successive legislative reforms in 2020, introducing disproportionate and ambiguous requirements for registration on two Registries managed by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.
RSA Submission in the M.S.S. / Sakir cases: coe.int
RSA & Stiftung PRO ASYL Submission in the M.S.S. / Rahimi cases: https://bit.ly/3llZefv
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