HLHR.org
Sunday, June 4, 2023
  • HOME
  • WHO WE ARE
  • TAKE ACTION
  • NEWS
  • RESEARCH
  • IMPACT
  • RESOURCES
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • WHO WE ARE
  • TAKE ACTION
  • NEWS
  • RESEARCH
  • IMPACT
  • RESOURCES
No Result
View All Result
hlhrorg
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS

EU rights body worried about Greece’s rejection of immigrants

May 16, 2021
0

Europe’s highest human rights organization has expressed “deep concern” over reports that Greece is illegally forcing migrants arriving from Turkey to go back.

Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, blasted Athens for “simply dismissing the allegations and ignoring “the overwhelming body of evidence that has been presented in recent years.”

READ ALSO

UN warns over half a million Yemeni children face acute malnutrition in 2023

IOM: Some 843,000 citizens internally displaced during Sudan conflict

Mijatović in her letter called on the Greek government “to put an end to these practices and to ensure that independent and effective investigations are carried out.”

Human rights groups have over the past years accused Greece of engaging in so-called pushbacks, meaning that Greek officials have been actively preventing asylum seekers from entering the country while also forcing people who have made it into Greece to secretly return to Turkey.

Greece has denied it carries out summary deportations

A senior European Union official, however, said the bloc is weighing an urgent response to the allegations.

“This is an area of great concern. And I can assure you that this is something that I discussed intensively with the Greek government and the Greek authorities,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said Wednesday by video link at a conference organized in Athens.

“We would like to put in place an independent monitoring mechanism to make sure that there is an independent monitoring of these aspects.”

Mijatović also said there had been an increase in “reported instances in which migrants who have reached the Eastern Aegean islands from Turkey by boat, and have sometimes even been registered as asylum-seekers, have been embarked on life-rafts by Greek officers and pushed back to Turkish waters.”

Greece has been at the forefront of Europe’s immigration crisis which began in 2015 and saw over a million refugees and migrants flee wars in the Middle East in the hopes of finding a better life in Western countries.

Even though the number of refugees going to Europe has dropped drastically, tensions with Turkey over various issues prompted Turkish authorities to open the land border to thousands of migrants who headed towards Greece.

In reaction, Athens closed down the northeastern land border with Turkey and tightened patrols at sea, with the help of the European Union’s Frontex border agency. Fronted also stands accused of having a hand in the alleged pushbacks.

Turkey reached an agreement with the EU in 2016 to stop migrants leaving its shores for the Greek islands in return for EU funding. The Council of Europe is not an EU institution.

Mijatović also urged Greece to improve living conditions at reception centers for asylum-seekers on the eastern Aegean Sea islands, which see most of the arrivals from Turkey.

Tags: asylum seekersEUgreecehuman rightsimmigrantsTurkey

Related Posts

UN warns over half a million Yemeni children face acute malnutrition in 2023
Important

UN warns over half a million Yemeni children face acute malnutrition in 2023

May 28, 2023
IOM: Some 843,000 citizens internally displaced during Sudan conflict
Important

IOM: Some 843,000 citizens internally displaced during Sudan conflict

May 18, 2023
The position of women in Afghanistan – Part V
Important

The position of women in Afghanistan – Part V

May 13, 2023
450,000 children forced to flee their homes in Sudan
Important

450,000 children forced to flee their homes in Sudan

May 13, 2023
Sudan conflict; Devastating pressure on civilians
Important

Sudan conflict; Devastating pressure on civilians

June 2, 2023
International Quds Day and its impacts
Important

International Quds Day and its impacts

April 19, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

22 − 13 =

POPULAR NEWS

Palestinian detainees cross 100 days of boycotting Israeli courts

Palestinian detainees cross 100 days of boycotting Israeli courts

April 15, 2022
Analysis of Taliban offensive and necessary action

Analysis of Taliban offensive and necessary action

April 11, 2022
Taliban rule accompanied by killings and abuses

Taliban rule accompanied by killings and abuses

April 17, 2022
What was behind the death of Qatar's migrant workers?

What was behind the death of Qatar’s migrant workers?

April 21, 2022
Rights groups demand whereabouts of detained Egyptian journalist

Rights groups demand whereabouts of detained Egyptian journalist

April 24, 2022

EDITOR'S PICK

Indonesia's gold mine project is violates land rights of Papuans

Indonesia’s gold mine project is violates land rights of Papuans

April 2, 2022
South Sudan needs more prevention measures to combat trafficking

South Sudan needs more prevention measures to combat trafficking

December 15, 2022
A Review of Humanitarian Crisis in Chad

A Review of Humanitarian Crisis in Chad

November 1, 2021

Venezuela arrests head of human rights group

July 3, 2021
HLHR.org

About HLHR

Ours is a familiar story. A group of friends from all over the world have come together to chase the dream many others have chased before and are religiously working to fulfill; a world where human lives and human rights are treasured.

Recent Posts

  • Abortion bans in the US put millions of women at risk
  • UN warns over half a million Yemeni children face acute malnutrition in 2023
  • Ukraine investigating Belarus’ involvement in forced transfer of minors
  • UN calls for urgent action to address impact of conflict on human rights in Yemen
  • IOM: Some 843,000 citizens internally displaced during Sudan conflict

Categories

No Result
View All Result

© 2021 HLHR.ORG All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • WHO WE ARE
  • TAKE ACTION
  • NEWS
  • RESEARCH
  • IMPACT
  • RESOURCES

© 2021 HLHR.ORG All rights reserved.