The Protection Refugee Rights Center said that the Greek government’s actions towards the asylum seekers stranded on an island in the Evros River violate Article 3 and Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In its latest report, the Center stressed that these measures violate Article VI of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, the 1951 Refugee Convention, the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants of 2016, and the Global Compact on Refugees of 2018.
The Center indicated that the asylum seekers stranded on the Greek island suffer from very bad conditions, especially as they include many patients, the elderly, women and children. They are also suffering lack of the basic necessities of life, as they have no food or clean water, which forces them to drink from the river.
The Center also indicated that those stranded on the island do not have blankets or means of heating amid freezing temperatures at night, which may endanger their lives, especially the elderly and children.
The Center called on the Greek government to rescue the asylum seekers stranded on the island, save their endangered lives, and issue a decision against them in accordance with international covenants and local laws.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) earlier called on the United Nations, international organizations and the European Union to take urgent action to save the Syrian asylum seekers stranded on the island. It stressed that saving the stranded should be a priority for the United Nations, international organizations and the European Union. It stressed the need to find a swift solution to their plight considering that the stranded asylum seekers are located in areas that everyone can access.
The SOC called on the European Union to stop the attacks against Syrian asylum seekers in Greece, stressing the need to respect the 1951 Geneva Convention and to treat arrivals in transit countries in accordance with its provisions.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
