by Simona Ion Bădulescu
The last report of Amnesty International is entitled “Greece: Irregular migrants and asylum-seekers routinely detained in substandard conditions”. In this, Amnesty strongly underlines the violation of the fundamental human rights within the borders of Greece. According to their report, asylum-seekers, refugees and irregular migrants, including unaccompanied children, are routinely detained at the country’s points of entry. “In order to go to the toilet at nights I had to step over dozens of persons, men and women, sleeping on the floor of the cell and corridor”, declared a detained woman from Afghanistan in Greek custody. Amnesty raised concerns about the failure of Greek authorities to respect international standards in the detention of all such immigrants. They also mention that prolonged detention compounds the risk of human rights violations of detainees.
In reply to the NGO’s critics, Greece points out several aspects, not always taken into consideration by human rights organizations complaining. “Greece is doing what it can, but I admit that the situation is very critical at the moment. Our country is being flooded with illegal immigrants and our asylum system is breaking down. On the one hand they criticize the fence we are building on the border between Greece and Turkey; on the other they criticize our perceived lack of respect for human rights. What they don’t understand, is that these two factors are interconnected. The reason we put up the fence is so fewer people will come. The less the inflow, the better the conditions for those who come”, says Greek Prime Minister, Lucas Papademos.
The final statement the PM wants to express is his concerns about whether new proposals will come with sufficient funding: “New initiatives without solid financial backing of the EU could result in disaster”, he says.
What should we understand from this? Is Greece only willing to receive supplementary funds from the EU and not from Germany (as it was mentioned yesterday, on the official meeting of the summit)? Why don’t they focus on how to strengthen their borders, on how to make better conditions for the human beings that arrive on their land, or simply e a clear statement of how they’re going to use the funds they might receive? Maybe this could be the way they to bring Germany on their side without trying to emphasize solidarity arguments. “The EU is all about solidarity and seeing problems as European instead of national. Germany should know that. They also have a responsibility. I also want to stress that Germany will also suffer if changes are not made to the current framework.”, continues Papademos.
Is the Commission going to listen to other voices?
Furthermore, Amnesty International wants to attract the attention on a huge human rights violation in the Commission’s preliminary: "...the Commission proposes to make special agreements with third countries by establishing common maritime patrolling teams consisting of both EU and partner experts in close cooperation with FRONTEX [...] Here, we will also have an opportunity to prevent illegal entry before vessels appear on the EU's waters". By this, the Commission is emphasizing the possibility for member states to send back persons to their point of departure without getting into form of investigation of their claims to asylum. Such a position has already been rejected by the European Court of Human Rights, when it ruled against Italy in the case of a group of 24 persons stopped by such a maritime patrol team and sent back to persecution in Libya.
Amnesty International calls on the Commission to monitor the situation in Greece closely and ensure that the Greek government improves the country’s respect for the human rights of migrants and asylum seekers significantly.
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