GEOGRAPHICAL RESTRICTION OF ASYLUM SEEKERS ON THE GREEK ISLANDS: WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE RECENT GREEK COUNCIL OF STATE’S DECISION?

Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

Athens, April 19, 2018

SolidarityNow welcomes Ruling No 805/2018 of the Greek Council of State (the country’s Supreme Administrative Court) (“the Ruling”), which annuls the Asylum Service’s Decision (No 10464/31.5.2016) imposing geographical restrictions on six islands of the Eastern Aegean Sea (Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Leros, Rhodes and Kos). The case was brought forward by the Greek Council for Refugees.

The Ruling lifted the geographical restrictions on asylum seekers arriving to the islands from now onwards, given that the contested Asylum Service Decision did not set out the legal grounds for imposing such restrictions on asylum seekers’ freedom of movement and their confinement in Reception and Identification Centers (hotspots) on the islands (the so-called “containment policy”). In addition, the Ruling highlighted that the regime of geographical restriction within the aforementioned islands has resulted in unequal distribution of asylum seekers across the national territory, over-burdening and exercising significant pressure on specific regions.

Insofar there are no imperative reasons of public interest and migration policy that would justify restricting applicants of international protection to the Greek islands, the Court decided to annul the administrative decision imposing such restrictions and ordered the free movement of asylum seekers arriving to the islands following the Ruling’s publication. The Ruling, however, does not have retroactive effect, i.e., the geographical restriction will continue to apply to over 13.000 asylum seekers currently residing on the islands.

SolidarityNow greets the Ruling as a victory for human rights and asylum law in Greece, in line with our organization’s continuous pressure against the containment policy – through joined letters to the authorities (see here and here) and the #OpenTheIslands campaign, supported by many organizations during 2017.

However, we express our concerns regarding the implementation of the Ruling by the Greek Government and competent authorities:

  • Firstly, the Ruling has no retroactive effect, which results in unequal treatment between asylum seekers already restricted on the islands, on one hand, and those who come after the Ruling and can freely move. Such discrimination could be explained by the difficulty around the immediate decongestion of the islands and the need to organize proper accommodation in the mainland. This could be resolved only by a Government decision providing for a timely and gradual decongestion of the islands, as part of a well-organized, nation-wide plan.
  • Secondly, the Ministry of Migration Policy (“MoMP”) seems to be planning the imposition of geographical restrictions anew, on the basis of a law transposing EU Directive 2013/33. The draft law is already submitted to the Greek Parliament for voting (see the MoMP’s announcement in response to the Ruling).

Thus, we are keen to see how the Ruling will be implemented, anticipating the free movement of newly admitted asylum seekers on the Greek islands until the draft law is adopted, and geographical restrictions are potentially re-imposed by an executive decision of the Greek administration.

SolidarityNow strongly opposes the creation of a “multi-speed” asylum system, which randomly favors certain asylum seekers while violating the rights of others and transforming the Greek islands to “buffer zones”. We insist on the need to lift geographic restrictions altogether, along with the adoption of a strategic, long-term plan – at both national and European level – for an equal and fair distribution of refugees and asylum seekers throughout the Greek and EU territories, in accordance with the principles of refugee law and with respect for human rights.