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December 22, 2021 News

Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child Concerning Greece

89th Session

This update submission relates to articles 22, 24, 28, 31 and 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and focuses on the ill-treatment and summary returns of children seeking asylum, detention of unaccompanied migrant children, access to education…

January 20, 2021 News

Interview: Hard-Won Victories for Refugees in Greece

How Ten Years of Advocacy and Incremental Changes Add Up

In Greece, a recent high-profile court ruling and policy change mark momentous human rights victories for migrants and children. On October 7, an Athens court ruled that the country’s far-right xenophobic political party, Golden Dawn, whose members…

A woman sits with her children in Victoria Square in Athens, Greece, awaiting transfer after being evicted from their place of residence, July 20, 2020.

April 3, 2020 News

The Coronavirus in Europe: From Lockdowns to Power Grabs

COVID-19 in Europe, the Central Eurasian Region, and Turkey

What are some of your biggest concerns about the coronavirus moving through Europe and Central Asia? Europe is one of the world’s epicenters of COVID-19 cases. There’s an awful death toll in Italy and Spain with the numbers of dead going up…

Military police officers patrol at a market in Budapest, Hungary, March 31, 2020.

March 16, 2020 News

Joint NGO Statement Regarding Refugee Children in Greece

"CHILDREN REMAIN INVISIBLE” JOINT OPEN LETTER TO THE GREEK PRIME MINISTER, KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS MINISTER OF MIGRATION AND ASYLUM, NOTIS MITARAKIS ALTERNATE MINISTER OF MIGRATION,…

March 6, 2020 News

Interview: What’s Happening to Refugees in Greece

How has the situation on Lesbos changed since your last visit? When I was here in 2016, I couldn’t imagine things being worse. We saw a lawless situation in Moria refugee camp. There were around 6,000 people in the camp,…

Migrants who arrived yesterday to Greece from Turkey eat bread as they try to warm themselves at the village of Skala Sikaminias, on the Greek island of Lesbos on Friday, March 6, 2020.

March 6, 2020 News

Open Letter by 85 Organizations Regarding Rights Violations of Refugees

"Protect our laws and humanity!" Open Letter by 85 Organizations To: Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli President…

March 4, 2020 News

NGOs' Urgent Call to Action: EU Member States Should Commit to the Emergency Relocation of Unaccompanied Children from the Greek Islands

Our Call to Action We, the undersigned organizations, jointly call on the governments of European Union (EU) Member States to immediately commit to the emergency relocation of unaccompanied children from the Greek islands to…

July 4, 2019 News

Human Rights Watch Submission to the United Nations Committee against Torture on Greece

This memorandum, submitted to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (the Committee) ahead of its upcoming review of Greece, highlights areas of concern that Human Rights Watch hopes will inform the Committee’s consideration of the Greek government’…

December 6, 2018 News

Greece, EU: Move Asylum Seekers to Safety

End Containment Policy, Organize Transfers Now

(Athens) – The Greek government and its European Union partners should urgently ensure that all asylum seekers on the Aegean islands are transferred to suitable accommodation on the mainland or relocated to other EU countries as winter approaches…

Asylum seekers outside their tent in the "Olive Grove", a makeshift camp outside Moria camp on the island of Lesbos on October 31, 2018.

June 16, 2017 News

UN Rights Council should address DR Congo, Turkey, and Ethiopia; Greece should not block EU attention to human rights in China

Item 4 General Debate

As called for by 262 Congolese and 9 international NGOs ahead of this session, it is critical that the Council immediately launch a Commission of Inquiry into violations committed in Congo’s Kasai region, providing it with the…

Armed security officials watch as protesters stage a protest against government during the Irreechaa cultural festival in Bishoftu, Ethiopia on October 02, 2016.

May 9, 2017 News

Greece: NGOs Decry Policy Limiting Asylum Appeal Rights

STATEMENT “15 NGOs Decry New Policy Limiting Asylum Seekers in Exercising their Right to Appeal” Athens, Greece, 9 May 2017 – 15 NGOs urge the Greek Government to immediately reverse the recent policy excluding asylum-…

September 21, 2016 News

Greece should implement Universal Periodic Review recommendations and counter xenophobic violence

Item 6 UPR Adoption

Human Rights Watch welcomes the UPR report on Greece, which includes important recommendations concerning the protection of the rights of migrants and asylum seekers; the adoption and effective implementation of a National Action Plan on the Rights of the…

July 27, 2016 News

Human Rights Watch Submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in advance of its review on Greece July 2016

Introduction This memorandum, submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (the Committee) ahead of its upcoming review of Greece, highlights areas of concern Human Rights Watch hopes will inform the…

August 25, 2015 News

Human Rights Watch Submission to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in advance of its review on Greece August 2015

Introduction This memorandum, submitted to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Committee) ahead of its upcoming review of Greece, highlights areas of concern Human Rights Watch hopes will…

April 25, 2012 News

Human Rights Watch's Updated Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Greece

United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR - Palais Wilson 52 rue des Pâquis CH-1201 Geneva Switzerland 10 April 2012 Re: Periodic Review of Greece Dear Committee…