REPORTS
PRAB report: allegations of 50 pushback incidents from Greece involving 2,157 refugees and migrants
In January 2024, the PRAB network (Protecting Rights At Borders), an initiative made up of protection and legal aid organisations focusing on human rights compliance at the EU’s external and internal borders, published its report on pushbacks at Europe’s borders.
Regarding Greece, the report notes that in the period September – December 2023, the PRAB network spoke with 85 people (the majority of whom were Syrians and 30 children) who, during their stay in Greece, filed an application for interim measures with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), in accordance with the procedure of Article 39 of the court’s regulation, concerning pushbacks at the Greek borders. Based on testimonies collected from these alleged victims of human rights violations at the Greek border, the PRAB report records 50 alleged pushback incidents involving at least 2,157 people, including children, women, disabled persons and people from unsafe third countries.
These findings imply the violation of international law, as the refoulement of refugees is prohibited by Article 33 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Geneva Convention), and should therefore be investigated by the Greek authorities.
We recall that on 21 February 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made a public statement expressing its deep concern at the “increasing number of incidents of violence and serious human rights violations against refugees and migrants at various European borders, several of which have resulted in tragic loss of life.”
Referring specifically to Greece the UNHCR expressed its alarm at “recurrent and consistent reports coming from Greece’s land and sea borders with Turkey, where UNHCR has recorded almost 540 reported incidents of informal returns by Greece since the beginning of 2020. At sea, people report being left adrift in life rafts or sometimes even forced directly into the water, showing a callous lack of regard for human life. At least three people are reported to have died in such incidents since September 2021 in the Aegean Sea, including one in January. Equally horrific practices are frequently reported at land borders, with consistent testimonies of people being stripped and brutally pushed back in harsh weather conditions.”
Under the rule of law, the authorities must refrain from the unlawful refoulement of refugees and migrants from their territory. Under international law, Greece must ensure effective international protection procedures that protect applicants from war, illiberal and undemocratic regimes and other risks in their countries of origin.
As the UNHCR has noted, European law requires that border surveillance measures must be implemented in full compliance with human rights and refugee law, including the 1951 Convention, while “States must honour their commitments and respect fundamental human rights, such as the right to life and the right to asylum”.
However, the PRAB report refers to 50 pushback incidents involving at least 2 157 people, raising the possibility of the systematic violation of international law and, in particular, of Article 33 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which prohibits refoulement.
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