{"id":11599,"date":"2021-07-12T09:27:13","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T06:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/?p=11599"},"modified":"2021-12-14T18:33:02","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T15:33:02","slug":"designation-of-turkey-as-a-safe-third-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/designation-of-turkey-as-a-safe-third-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Refugees excluded in Greece: Designation of Turkey as a \u201csafe third country\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Refugees excluded in Greece: Designation of Turkey as a \u201csafe third country\u201d<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Refugees excluded in Greece: Designation of Turkey as a \u201csafe third country\u201d<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The undersigned organisations are organising an online press conference on Wednesday, 14 July, at 12:00 EEST, on the tightening policy of exclusion of refugees fleeing to Greece, following the latest decision of the Greek government to designate Turkey as a \u201csafe third country\u201d.<\/p>

On June 7, 2021, the Minister of Migration and Asylum and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs designated Turkey as a \u201csafe third country\u201d for all asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Asylum seekers from these nationalities represent more than 67% of asylum seekers in the country.<\/p>

The implementation of this decision leaves no room for misinterpretation. It has already resulted in asylum seekers being denied protection within barely a few days of their arrival, following asylum interviews of just a few minutes, without any assessment of their vulnerabilities and with no access to information and legal representation. It is the culmination of a policy that began in Greece in 2016, through the implementation of the EU-Turkey Joint Statement. It is a measure aimed at deterring refugees from reaching Greece and Europe, and at returning those that manage to arrive through any means \u2013 legal and illegal.<\/p>

This measure will also lead to the emergence of a new population of undocumented and unprotected foreign nationals, intensifying the phenomena that led to Greece\u2019s condemnation by the European Court of Human Rights in 2011 in the case of MSS vs Belgium and Greece. We also recall that Greece remains to this day under the supervision of the Council of Europe with regards to the execution of the Court\u2019s 2011 Judgement.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The decision to designate Turkey as a \u201csafe third country\u201d also comes against the backdrop of:<\/p>