European Council on Refugees and Exiles to Greece : Stop “Xenios Zeus” operation

Greece must halt the sweep-operation “Xenios Zeus” and ensure that the right to asylum is guaranteed for persons seeking international protection
Brussels, 15 August 2012.

On August 2nd the Greek authorities commenced the operation “Xenios Zeus” in the Evros region and Athens. According to Greek officials, the aim of the operation is to seal the Greek border and remove irregular immigrants from the centre of Athens. However this operation has led to the rounding up of thousands of migrants on the basis of their perceived ethnicities in a seemingly discriminatory manner and may have resulted in cases of arbitrary detention. Reportedly, a large number of those arrested in mass round-ups were brought in for questioning on the basis of their perceived ethnicity.
Whilst it is within the Greek government’s sovereign right to control its’ borders and territory, this is not independent of legal obligations undertaken by the Greek State under national, European and international law. This includes first and foremost the full respect of the right to asylum and the principle of non-refoulement. Taking into consideration that access to the asylum procedure in Greece is extremely difficult in practice, it remains under the shadow of doubt whether human rights are and will be respected during an operation of a magnitude such as the “Xenios Zeus” one. In Athens for example, only a few asylum applications are registered once per week, a far cry from the amount of people in need to international protection there. Greece must also ensure that detention is only used as a last resort, that detention conditions meet international and EU standards and that those who are found not to be in need of international protection are issued with individual return decisions taking into account their particular circumstances. In this regard, the European Commission must also take immediate action to verify whether Greece complies with its obligations under EU asylum and immigration legislation. In light of the scale of the operation, ECRE is concerned that the fundamental rights of the persons subjected to the “Xenios Zeus” operation are not being respected in practice.
Furthermore, such operations only fuel the rise of xenophobia and anti-migrant sentiment in Greek society. In one shocking example, on 12 August, the racist violence alarmingly culminated in the death of a 19 year old Iraqi who was stabbed to death in Athens by extremists. Finally, operation “Xenios Zeus” has also created an atmosphere of fear among migrant communities in Athens who increasingly feel unsafe.
With reference to this, ECRE’s Acting Secretary General, Allan Leas, stated: “Operation “Xenios Zeus” and the mass roundup of migrants must be halted as it fundamentally violates the principle of anti-discrimination and further undermines access to protection in Greece. People should not have to live in fear of mass arrests on the basis of their ethnicity or race.”
ECRE calls upon Greece to halt the operation “Xenios Zeus” immediately. Persons in need of protection under international law must be guaranteed effective access to an asylum procedure without discrimination. Greece should also ensure that its borders remain open to persons fleeing violence and persecution, especially given the current conflict in Syria, in line with the country’s obligations under European and international law.

 
Further information:
 Greek Council for Refugees: Operation “Xenios Zeus”: GCR asks for respect of human rights and the active protection of those in need of international protection
 Amnesty International: Greece must halt mass police crackdown on ‘irregular migrants’.
 Human Rights Watch: Greece: Halt mass migrant round-ups
 Washington Post: Greek police looking for killers of Iraqi migrant
 I-ReD: Iraqi immigrant dies after attack out of a Muslim worship place in the Athens centre
 ECRE: Documentary ‘How much further?’
Contact:
Kris Pollet                                                                  Ana López Fontal
Senior Legal & Policy Officer                                 Senior Press & Public Information Officer
Tel. +32 (0)2 234 38 05                                          Tel. +32 (0)2 212 08 12  Mob. +32 (0)4 74 34 05 25
kpollet@ecre.org                                                     afontal@ecre.org

Background information:
The European Council on Refugees & Exiles (ECRE) is a pan-European Alliance of refugee-assisting non-governmental organisations concerned with the needs of all individuals who seek refuge and protection within Europe.
European Council on Refugees and Exiles
Rue Royale 146
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Tel. +32 (0)2 234 38 00
Fax +32 (0)2 514 59 22
ecre@ecre.org
www.ecre.org