Introduction

After nightfall, trucks rumble up to the Evros River in northern Greece. Small boats are tied up at the riverbank. Armed, uniformed Greek security personnel climb out of the trucks and peer across the water. If there are no signs of border guards on the Turkish side of the river, they quickly unload their cargo, undocumented migrants picked up in sweeps conducted throughout Greece. They roughly order the migrants onboard the boats for the short ride across the river to an uncertain fate in Turkey and away from the safeguards European Union member states are committed – on paper – to provide.

Athens was selected to be the host, in early November, of the Third Global Forum on Migration and Development, with scores of delegates discussing global migration-related topics. Meanwhile, the host country’s already-abysmal treatment of undocumented migrants is getting worse, with:

• The forced, secret expulsions across the Evros River that expanded in the summer of 2009 to include irregular migrants apprehended not only in the border region but also in the cities and islands;
• The harsh and demeaning conditions in which detained migrants are often held;
• The alarmingly inadequate attention and care for unaccompanied migrant children; and
• A broken asylum system that grants protection to only 0.05 percent of applicants at initial hearings, and changes to the national asylum law in July that eliminated meaningful appeals.

All in all, Greece has failed to live up to its international legal obligations to migrants and refugees. While the newly elected administration has made some encouraging announcements, such as the release of 1,200 undocumented migrants from detention and a review of Coast Guard and police force practices, there remain serious concerns about whether the host of the Third Global Forum on Migration and Development respects the basic rights of migrants.

Greece is, of course, the front line for migration to the European Union. The country has 1,170 kilometers of porous land borders and 18,400 kilometers of coastline, including islands close to Turkey. By virtue of its geographic location, Greece is the main entry point for asylum seekers and migrants traveling overland through Turkey from the Middle East and South Asia into the European Union, while Africans are increasingly coming to Greece via Egypt.

But being on the front line and being the host for increasing numbers of migrants and asylum seekers does not excuse Greece’s abusive treatment of undocumented migrants, including children and potential refugees.