Report
In this joint briefing, the IRC has joined 28 other organisations calling on Members of the European Parliament to:
1. Insist that Greece comply with the Commission’s call to establish an effective and truly Independent Border Monitoring Mechanism (IBMM) to investigate the overwhelming, consistent evidence indicating persistent pushbacks. Ask the Commission to sustain pressure on Greece to establish an IBMM which is expansive in scope, ensures independence and guarantees accountability for violations, including suitable consequences for the government’s non-compliance, so that other Member States do not follow the Greek example of non-compliance with the request.
2. Reject policies that impede rather than promote the inclusion of displaced people. Restrictions of movement and poor living conditions on the Greek islands have devastated people's mental health and wellbeing. The construction of new multipurpose reception and identification centres (MPRICs) that are enclosed by barbed wire and built in isolated areas, are a step in the wrong direction. The European Union must prioritise funding for alternative accommodation, instead of fenced camps, for housing asylum seekers.
3. Urge Greece to establish a long-term strategy for the support of displaced people from reception to integration, to avoid gaps in the provision of rights and services. Recent examples of gaps include the delay in disbursing cash assistance - stripping people not only of agency but a sense of security - and another delay in the implementation of guardianship for unaccompanied children, which has left hundreds of children in limbo, as well as the lack of holistic or effective integration support, which has led thousands of refugees to poverty and homelessness, forcing many to return to or remain in camps.
