On the occasion of today’s World Refugee Day, the UN Refugee Agency in Greece held yesterday a Press Conference in Athens, to present recent developments relating to the asylum procedure and refugee protection in Greece, as well as the relevant UNHCR recommendations. 

Ms. Ketty Kehayioylou, UNHCR’s Comm/PI Officer opened the event, introducing this year’s global World Refugee Day Campaign, whose aim is to shed light on the human story behind statistics. Members of the public can read, view and share refugee stories at www.unhcr.gr/refugeestories (in Greek) and http://stories.unhcr.org (in English) and also upload their own stories.

The floor was then given to the Head of the UNHCR Office in Greece, Mr. Giorgos Tsarbopoulos, who described the current refugee and asylum situation in Greece, highlighting the positive steps so far but also the problems that remain. Specifically, Mr. Tsarbopoulos said that one year after the start of operations of the new Asylum Service, substantial progress has been made in the quality of the procedure which is inter alia reflected on recognition rates referring to the granting of international protection. On the other hand, he stressed the need for continued political support to deal with a series of challenges, as well as the need for immediate action to remedy persistent deficiencies in the implementation of the old asylum procedure.

Regarding arrivals at the borders, Mr. Tsarbopoulos referred to the operation of the First Reception Service, which has signalled the introduction of a change towards the right direction in comparison with the past. “What awaits new arrivals is not a system of repression but a treatment that respects human dignity”, he stressed. However, in this case too, greater State support is necessary in order for this venture to become sustainable, effective and extended to all main entry points in Greece. 

Mr. Tsarbopoulos also highlighted the continuous increase in the number of arrivals on the islands of Eastern Aegean (as a consequence of strengthened border control in the Evros region) and the risks for the life and safety of new arrivals, mostly refugees nowadays, as a result of the dangerous sea crossings. He stressed the need to address this issue at European level, focusing on the protection of human life and refugees, inter alia through creating legal migration alternatives with a view to avoid dangerous irregular routes. In addition, he referred to continued reports from refugees and migrants regarding informal forced returns (push-backs) at the borders and called for a thorough investigation into the reported incidents, which, according to testimonies, represent a similar pattern in the way they are carried out by border authorities. 

The Head of UNHCR Office in Greece also referred to the policies and practices of generalized administrative detention of foreigners (including persons under UNHCR’s mandate), which raise serious concerns in terms of human rights protection, and asked for the revocation of the Ministerial Decision, which effectively prolongs administrative detention beyond the 18 months provided by national and European law.  

Finally, Mr. Tsarbopoulos highlighted the systemic deficiencies in the field of reception of asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors, the absence of integration measures which limit the possibility of beneficiaries of international protection to enjoy their rights, as well as the upsurge in racist violence during most of 2013. Regarding the latter, Mr. Tsarbopoulos said that the recent adoption of measures for the protection of victims of crimes, even in the form of a Ministerial Decision, is a positive step. 

The President of the Greek Refugee Forum, Yonous Mohammadi, described the daily reality and challenges faced by refugees in Greece. “These people, the refugees, come here to save their lives. It is their last hope to find safety for themselves and for their children. They are not scared by fences or detention conditions when what they have to face back in their country is death”, said Mr. Mohammadi.

The Director of the Asylum Service, Ms. Maria Stavropoulou, the Director of First Reception Service, Mr. Panagiotis Nikas, and representatives from refugee communities also made short interventions.  

During the Press Conference, a new UNHCR video on dangerous sea crossings was shown. The video is available (in Greek) at: http://bit.ly/1jCxcVD

The Press Conference was livestreamed at the following link: http://www.unhcr.gr/index.php?id=222

The full UNHCR paper on Current Issues of Refugee Protection is available at: http://bit.ly/1iPbduz