{"id":23532,"date":"2020-03-27T15:41:05","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T13:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arsis.gr\/?p=23532"},"modified":"2020-03-27T15:41:05","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T13:41:05","slug":"protect-the-most-vulnerable-to-ensure-protection-for-everyone-restore-legality-toprotect-refugees-and-the-society-at-large-amidst-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arsis.gr\/en\/protect-the-most-vulnerable-to-ensure-protection-for-everyone-restore-legality-toprotect-refugees-and-the-society-at-large-amidst-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Protect the most vulnerable to ensure protection for everyone! ‘Restore legality toprotect refugees and the society at large amidst the pandemic’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open letter signed by <\/em><\/strong>121 Organizations<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President of Greece,Katerina Sakellaropoulou<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President of the Hellenic\nParliament, Constantine An. Tassoulas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President of the European Parliament,David Sassoli<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President of the European Council,Charles Michel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, FilippoGrandi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, DunjaMijatovi\u0107<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Director General of the World Health Organization, TedrosAdhanom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athens, 25 March 2020 \u2013 Recallingtheletterissuedon 6 March 2020<\/strong>, signed by more than 250 organizations throughout Europe, the undersigned organizations reiterate the dangers stemming from persisting in current arrangements on the <\/strong>management of the reception of asylum seekers and the respect for their right to seek asylum in Greece. Apart from violating national, EU and international laws, amid the pandemic, thesea rrangements also pose a major public health danger, arising from overcrowding in Greece\u2019s Reception and Identification Centers (RICs) and in the country\u2019s detention centers. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Asylum seekers, amongst them many children, who entered Greece with the aim of seeking protection are being detained for the purposes of return<\/strong>,as a result of the Emergency Legislative Decree (E.L.D) issued on 1 March 2020. <\/strong>The E.L.D.has suspended the registration of asylum applications allowing for the immediate deportation of those entering the Greek territory to their countries of origin or Turkey. A large number of refugees and migrants are now being held in prisons and in formal and informal detention centers that keep springing up throughout Greece. This is happening without ensuring minimum standards of hygiene or protection, even during this public health emergency.<\/strong> They are deprived of the right to apply for asylum and are detained under the threat of deportation. In a breach of all international conventions that protect the right to seek asylum, Greek Courts have imposed severe penalties on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stress that the suspension of the right to seek asylum and the violation of the principle of non-refoulement<\/em>is an unprecedented abrogation of international obligations in post-war Europe<\/strong>. At the same time, following the Greek Asylum Service\u2019s suspension of operations, in the context of social distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the backlog of asylum applications and the uncertainty of asylum seekers who arrived in Greece before the 1st<\/sup> of March are growing daily, as no interim procedures have been defined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More importantly, the coronavirus\npandemic is threateningto affectrefugee\naccommodation sites and camps. The camps,especially on theAegean islands,suffer fromsevere overcrowding and lack of adequate sanitary\nfacilities, making it impossible to ensure social distancing and hygiene conditions\nfor both residents andemployees. This poses a major threat to public health for\nboth asylum seekers and for society as large.<\/strong>Similarly, the significant increase\nin the number of third-country nationals placed in administrative detention, in\nthe weekspreceding and especiallythose following the E.L.D.,notwithstanding\nissues of legality, puts the health of detainees and employeesalike at grave\nrisk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We addressall competent Greek authorities,requesting<\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n