François Crépeau, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, has said that the suffering of migrants in Greece is the result of a complete absence of long-term vision and the clear lack of political will of the European Union.
Crépeau was speaking after a 5-day visit to the country. His full statement is available to read here.
Greece has faced the biggest movement of migrants and refugees in Europe since 1945 and Crépeau says this is not only a humanitarian crisis, it is more importantly "a political crisis in which the EU and the overwhelming majority of EU member states have abandoned Greece – a country that is fighting to implement austerity measures – leaving it to deal with an issue that requires efforts from all."
The Special Rapporteur raised concerns over the length of process to identify vulnerable migrants, "blatant" over-crowding that is amplifying inter-communal friction, the mix of families and young single males, the absence of many Government services during the weekend, the contradictory information received regarding procedures and timelines, and insufficient procedural safeguards in detention facilities for migrants.
"I have met unaccompanied children locked in police station cells 24/7 without access to the outdoors for over two weeks and was informed that some may stay for a month. I also met with whole families detained in closed hotspots for weeks on end. In both cases, the children were manifestly traumatised and distressed by the experience, as compared to children met in open reception centres and informal camps," he said.
While Crépeau found that the Greek Asylum Service has considerably strengthened during the past three years, it remains clearly understaffed, with officials and caseworkers struggling to cope with the demand of asylum requests.
"The Asylum Service lacks the necessary funds to ensure effective and speedy access to the asylum system: migrants have had difficulties navigating the pre-registration and registration systems in the past few months. In order to guarantee a fair process, it is of utmost importance that it be empowered and funded to recruit interpreters and provide legal aid services for an informed procedure," the UN Special Rapporteur stated.
The Special Rapporteur will present his follow-up country mission report to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2017.