On 28 April 2025, the organization Refugee Support Aegean – RSA published an extensive analysis highlighting “critical deficiencies in reception conditions” for refugees, the non‑provision of financial assistance to beneficiaries of international protection, and “serious gaps in medical care and housing for vulnerable individuals.”
RSA’s analysis pointed out that, according to official Greek state statistics for 2024, 24,000 refugees were entitled to reception conditions such as housing, food, clothing, and monthly financial support. However, only 8,527 individuals received such financial assistance, just 35% of those eligible who had applied for it.
“In reality,” RSA added, “none of the 24,000 people living in camps received financial assistance during the last seven months of the year (2024), due to the state’s chronic inability to manage the EU‑funded program and to meet its legal obligations. As a result, most asylum seekers in the camps are unable to cover even their most basic needs, such as medicines or transportation.”
The shortcomings and failures of the Greek authorities in ensuring dignified living conditions for refugees are not limited to the non‑provision of financial assistance.Indeed, by the end of 2024 more than 8,000 children were in Greece, most of them (4,416) accommodated in the Closed Controlled Facilities (CCFs) of the Eastern Aegean islands, “under extremely unsuitable living conditions, contrary to the minimum level of protection required by human rights, as recently determined by an interim measures decision of the European Court of Human Rights in a case concerning Samos,” according to RSA.
The organization further noted in its analysis that “unaccompanied and separated minors for whom no guardian has been appointed or care assigned to relatives, due to serious delays in the guardianship system, remain de facto in detention […], which two administrative courts have recently ruled unlawful in cases concerning Samos and Kos respectively.”
RSA also referred to persistent shortages in the staffing of medical and psychosocial services in the camps, noting that, given their total population (27,100 people), one doctor corresponded in the reference year to more than 500 individuals. In some facilities, such as those in Kos, Filippiada, and Pyrgos, there was not a single doctor available.
Similar problems were identified with interpreters: in 2024, Leros had only one interpreter for 1,691 people, while Samos had two for 4,126 people.
These figures raise a serious issue of compliance on the part of the Greek authorities with the country’s international obligations regarding the reception, care, and dignified living conditions of refugees.
More specifically, the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Geneva Convention), by recognizing the right to asylum, guarantees a series of rights for refugees in their country of residence, including: the right to movable and immovable property (Article 13), the right of association (Article 15), the right of access to courts (Article 16), the right to work (Articles 17–19), the right to social welfare (Article 20), housing (Article 21), public education (Article 22), and freedom of movement (Article 26). The Geneva Convention also prohibits the expulsion or refoulement of refugees (Article 33).
In a state governed by the rule of law, authorities are obliged to respect the rights of refugees during their reception and care.
However, the evidence in the case under examination reveals serious shortcomings and failures on the part of the Greek authorities in the reception of individuals entitled to international protection in our country, despite the fact that their rights are safeguarded under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Geneva Convention).
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