Greece: Transfer Refugees and Asylum seekers to Safety on Mainland

Respect for Human Rights should Prevail over Use of Force

Following the fire in Moria on Tuesday September 8, on Lesvos, which destroyed the Reception and Identification Centre, 48 civil society organizations call on the Greek Government to immediately provide assistance to people who lost their shelter. Those affected, among them many children and at-risk groups, must be carefully transferred to safety on the mainland. 

The transfer of at-risk groups, including unaccompanied children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, people with medical and mental health conditions, and older people should be prioritized. People who tested positive for Covid-19 should be given safe housing for the quarantine period, healthcare, and hospitalization if necessary.

Moving people from Lesvos to mainland Greece requires finding urgent solutions to address the fact that many current housing facilities for refugees and asylum seekers are at full capacity. We urge the Greek authorities to work on a coherent plan that maximises all available resources including those from the EU and we renew our call to European leaders to share the responsibility for the reception and support of asylum seekers now more than ever.

In these difficult times, it is of outmost importance that respect for human rights is at the centre of the response to the fire at Moria, and that authorities do not resort to use of force or inflammatory language, but take appropriate steps to de-escalate any risk of violence.

ACTIONAID HELLAS
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
ANTIGONE – INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION CENTRE ON RACISM, ECOLOGY, PEACE AND NON VIOLENCE
ARE YOU SERIOUS?
ARSIS – ASSOCIATION FOR THE SOCIAL SUPPORT OF YOUTH
BOAT REFUGEE FOUNDATION
CEAR (SPANISH COMMISSION FOR REFUGEES)
CRWI DIOTIMA
ECOLOGICAL MOVEMENT OF THESSALONIKI
ECHO100PLUS
ELIX
EQUAL RIGHTS BEYOND BORDERS
FENIX – HUMANITARIAN LEGAL AID
GENERATION 2.0 RED
GREEK COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES (GCR)
GREEK HOUSING NETWORK
HELLENIC LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
HELLENIC PLATFORM FOR DEVELOPMENT (ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΉ ΠΛΑΤΦΌΡΜΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΑΝΆΠΤΥΞΗ)
HELP REFUGEES
HIAS GREECE
HUMANRIGHTS360
HUMANITARIAN LEGAL AID
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE (IRC)
INTERSOS HELLAS
INTERVOLVE – IRIDA CENTER
LEGAL CENTRE LESVOS
LESVOS SOLIDARITY
MEDECINS DU MONDE – GREECE
MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES
MELISSA
MOBILE INFO TEAM
NETWORK FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
ODYSSEA
OMNES
REFUGEE LEGAL SUPPORT (RLS)
REFUGEE RIGHTS EUROPE (RRE)
REFUGEE SUPPORT AEGEAN (RSA)
REFUGEE TRAUMA INITIATIVE
SAFE PASSAGE INTERNATIONAL
SOLIDARITY NOW
SOLOMON
SYMBIOSIS-SCHOOL OF POLITICAL STUDIES IN GREECE
TERRE DES HOMMES HELLAS
THE HOME PROJECT
WAVE – THESSALONIKI
WORLD REFUGEE AND MIGRATION COUNCIL
ZEUXIS