Greece passes controversial asylum law to curb number of asylum seekers

The Greek Parliament passed a new Asylum law on 1 November, the day after the Council of Europe condemned the living conditions of asylum seekers in Greece.

کد خبر: ۹۳۴۳۹۲

تاریخ: ۱۲ آبان ۱۳۹۸ - ۰۹:۵۸

The new asylum law, 'international protection and other provisions', is meant to curb the number of asylum seekers in the country after this summer's increase. It was criticized by several international organisations that feared that it would limit the rights of refugees in the country.

The Greek Government claimed that it would allow them to quickly separate economic migrants from refugees upon arriving in Greece. The law was supported by New Democracy, a center-right party, and the Socialists.

Eva Cossé, Greece researcher at Human Rights Watch, called the bill:“A naked attempt to block access to protection and increase deportations in the face of the recent increase in arrivals.”

Overcrowding in the Camps

The conditions in Greece's camps have been deteriorating since this summer, when the number of people crossing the Mediterranean to Europe jumped. Since August, over 25,000 people have landed in Greece, which makes up half of all arrivals to the country since the start of 2019.

Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, recently spent five days visiting the camps on the Aegean islands, specifically camps on Lesvos, Samos, and Corinth.

On this trip, Mijatović said that she saw people waiting in line for more than three hours for food, that children with skin diseases were not getting medical attention and that she heard that some people were not getting any medications.

"Greece must urgently transfer asylum seekers from the Aegean islands and improve living conditions in reception facilities," she said on Twitter after the Council's statement was released.

Most of the criticism is about the camps on the Aegean islands, where there are currently 34,000 asylum seekers awaiting transfer. A camp in Lesbos currently houses around 14,4000 people.

When this camp was originally built, it was meant for 3,000 people. In September, a fire there killed a woman from Afghanistan seeking asylum .

International criticism of the new law

The UNHCR said that while they are happy Greece is attempting to "overhaul its strained asylum system," they were concerned that the new legislation would "weaken refugee protection in the country.”

In a statement published on 24 October, The UNHCR said that some of their concerns were that the new law would make it difficult for asylum seekers to appeal decisions about their status; redefine 'family members' to families formed before seekers left their country of origin; and increase the length of time a person can spend in a detention centre from three months to 18 months.

The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights also commented on the law when speaking about the camps. "The law and its implementation must not lead to more and longer detention and must ensure that all asylum seekers have their claims assessed in an individual way, with effective remedies available to challenge rejections," she said.

Manos Logothetis, a former doctor at the refugee camp on the island of Samos, told CGTN Europe that he supported the new law.

He said: "We strive during this time to decongest the islands to the degree that it's possible because arrivals continue daily so we can reach point zero, which is 1 January of 2020, with the implementation of the new legislation, new procedures and new rules so we can create a new situation, which will be more manageable.”