Statement from Refugees International Senior Advocate for Women and Girls Devon Cone on the announcement that European Asylum Support Office is doubling its staff in order to speed up processing of asylum claims on the Greek islands.
EU Failure on Unaccompanied Minors ‘A Shameful Abdication of Responsibility’
Of the more than 5,000 unaccompanied minors who have recently arrived in Greece, more than 1,600 of these children are stuck in miserable conditions on the islands and the majority of them are living in tents outside of formal shelters.
Greek Government Should Immediately Alleviate Conditions in Migrant Camps
The situation for asylum seekers on the Greek islands is rapidly deteriorating and must be urgently addressed.
Greek Government Defies Court on Asylum Seekers
Twenty-one human rights and humanitarian organizations issued a statement today protesting the Greek government’s move to overturn a binding court ruling which ordered the government to end its abusive policy of trapping asylum seekers on Greece’s islands.
Refugees International Welcomes European Court Ruling on EU Relocation
Refugees International welcomes this week’s decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which reaffirms an EU scheme for a fairer distribution of asylum-seekers among EU member states.
“Like a Prison”: Asylum Seekers Confined to the Greek Islands
Thousands of men, women, and children are trapped on Greece’s small islands in appalling circumstances.
Update from Greece
Izza Leghtas, RI’s Senior Advocate for Europe, remarks on her time spent interviewing refugees stranded on islands in Greece. Watch her video
update below.
Pain and Anxiety for Refugees Stuck on the Greek Islands
While the Greek islands used to be places of transit where asylum seekers and migrants spent only days on their way to other European countries, as a result of an EU agreement with Turkey, thousands are stranded on Greece’s Aegean islands.
Unnecessary Suffering for Asylum Seekers on the Greek Islands
As a human rights researcher and advocate for many years, I have sadly become accustomed to listening to painful stories and to witnessing people’s despair. But on the Greek islands, there is an added layer of cruelty: this pain is avoidable.
No Excuse: Freezing Conditions in Greece
As snow and freezing temperatures impact refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants currently living in make-shift shelters in Greece, Refugees International urges the Greek government and the European Union to immediately provide adequate accommodations.