Announcement

GNCHR statement on the shipwreck in the south-west area of Pylos.
The present Statement has been adopted by the GNCHR Plenary on 15.6.2023 Rapporteurs: Professor Maria Gavouneli, President of the GNCHR and Eva Tzavala, GNCHR Legal Officer.

Located in remote areas far from local communities, with 24/7 CCTV and barbed-wire fences, these prison-like complexes go against the core principles of European policy, including for example in the EU Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion, with disproportionate focus on deterrence, isolation and containment.

This statement is attributed to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

We are alarmed by 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. Disturbing incidents are also reported in Central and South-eastern Europe at the borders with EU Member States.