Deeply concerned about recent developments at the Evros border and the Aegean islands, where people are stranded at the borders of Europe, INTERSOS and other 85 organizations appeal to Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis; President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli; President of the European Council, Charles Michel and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The Organizations are concerned about the way the authorities of Greece and the European Union are handling new arrivals, thousands of people exploited for political purposes and expoded to violations of their rights. They condemn the extreme actions by security forces against refugees and by civilians against staff of human rights and humanitarian organizations.
The organizations firmly express opposition to the recent decisions of the Greek Government to suspend the right to seek asylum for all people entering the country, and their return, without registration, to their countries of origin or transit, because this provision violates the fundamental principle of non-refoulement (no push-back), incurs international responsibilities for Greece and endangers human lives. They denounce the attacks on humanitarian organizations, whose work is fundamental for the refugee management system in Greece, and ask the Greek Government to:
• Respect the obligations of the Greek State concerning the protection of human life and rescue at sea and at the land borders.
Stop returning people to states where their lives and freedom are at risk.
• Relocate asylum seekers to the mainland, protecting their well-being and health.
• Take the necessary measures to protect every person from acts of violence, victimization and racism.
Therefore, the European Commission should protect the right to asylum as enshrined in EU law, and EU Member States and institutions should revise the EU-Turkey Statement, which –in addition to legal lacunae– has now proven to be an unpredictable and unsustainable political tool for border management.