EU should stop transferring asylum seekers to Greece, says UN

Oct 20, 2010, 13:34 GMT

Athens - European Union states need to stop all transfers of asylum seekers back to Greece under the 'Dublin II' regulation due to the extremely poor conditions they face in the country, a United Nations official on torture said Wednesday.

'Greece should not carry the burden of receiving the vast majority of all irregular migrants entering the European Union,' said Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

The 'Dublin II' regulation says asylum seekers should have their applications heard in the first EU state they enter.

According to the UN, some 50 per cent of all arrests of irregular migrants in the EU took place in Greece in 2008. This number increased to 75 per cent in 2009 and almost 90 per cent in 2010.

Roughly between 300 and 400 migrants enter the country every day, the UN said, which has led to a national crisis within the Greek detention system, namely migration detention facilities, police and border guard stations and prisons.

'This is a truly European problem which needs a joint European solution, and not only a reinforcement of the European borders,' Nowak added, calling on the EU to fundamentally rethink its asylum and migration policy

Greece has come under fire from international and human rights groups for turning down asylum applications on first review, regardless of merit, and of failing to provide adequate facilities for asylum seekers.

Nowak said asylum seekers in Greece continued to face enormous difficulties trying to gain access to the asylum procedure and do not always enjoy basic safeguards such as interpretation, access to medical care and legal aid.

Following a 10-day fact finding mission, Nowak said he found the conditions in police custody throughout Greece to be poor, with detainees locked up in overcrowded, filthy cells with very bad ventilation and lighting.

'Detainees were never allowed to open air space despite the fact that the police may hold foreigners in administrative detention for up to 6 months,' said Nowak.

Norway and Britain are among the handful of EU countries which have suspended the return of asylum seekers to Greece because of the poor conditions there, despite the Dublin regulation.

The Greek government has promised to overhaul its asylum procedure but says it is overwhelmed by the influx of immigrants crossing into the EU from Turkey.

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