Policy trajectories – Paths of solidarity in Greece, Türkiye and Germany
Event by RSA and the PRO ASYL Foundation in Mytilene
On the occasion of the honouring of three pivotal human rights defenders by PRO ASYL last September in Germany, RSA and PRO ASYL are organising an event in Mytilene with their participation, attempting to highlight trajectories of policies and paths of solidarity from the past to the present.
Today's developments in the field of refugee rights, increasing repression, the externalisation of asylum procedures and institutional tightening in Europe do not come out of the blue. They constitute the continuation of a long path of political choices, but also of a parallel, continuous history of social solidarity and legal struggles in Greece, Türkiye, Germany, and the European Union as a whole.
Traversing the key milestones of recent decades - from the first attempts to construct asylum systems and the 2015 arrivals, to the 2016 EU-Turkey Deal, and from there to the new Pact on Migration and Asylum (revised CEAS), pushbacks, and return policies - the discussion will map out today's reality. At the same time, current trends in Greece, Germany and Türkiye will be highlighted: the criminalisation of the work of NGOs and human rights defenders, the deconstruction of the right to asylum, deterrence policies, as well as the strength of defence and solidarity networks, their forms and dynamics. At every hub there are two sides: the policies that restricted rights, and the people, organisations, and solidarity networks that stood against them.
Solidarity and the defence of human rights have deep roots and count successful examples: from landmark instances of redress before the courts, such as Greece's conviction by the ECtHR for the Farmakonisi shipwreck, to the creation of independent asylum structures and international networking. Everything that has been achieved was won through joint struggles, both at the European and international levels. Highlighting these successful paths provides us with the basis, the tools and the hope: no struggle is in vain. We are ready to fight the upcoming battles.
As Giorgos Tsarbopoulos noted in his interview with PRO ASYL:
"What I sometimes observe today is a fear of taking a public and vocal stand. But we must try again and again. Even under adverse conditions, we must never let our voices be silenced."
Background: Last September, PRO ASYL honoured Giorgos Tsarbopoulos from Greece, as well as Pırıl Erçoban and Taner Kılıç from Türkiye, with its Human Rights Award for 2026 in Frankfurt. Giorgos Tsarbopoulos served as Head of the UNHCR Office in Greece from end 2006 to end 2015, with many years of work defending refugee rights and highlighting violations in Greece and at Europe's borders. Pırıl Erçoban is a founding member of the organisation Mülteci-Der in Izmir, supporting and advising people seeking protection and documenting violations in detention centres and deportation procedures for over 20 years. Taner Kılıç is a lawyer and human rights defender in Izmir, as well as a founding member of Amnesty International Türkiye and Mülteci-Der. He was arrested in 2017 and sentenced to imprisonment in 2020. The ECtHR ruled his detention unlawful and arbitrary; the proceedings were conclusively closed in 2025, with the rejection of the prosecution's appeal on points of law against his acquittal.
(in the coming days, the interview with Pırıl Erçoban will be added)
