Ombudsman’s Special Report on migration flows and refugee protection Athens Concert Hall, Nikos Skalkotas room, 7 pm

The Greek Ombudsman, Andreas Pottakis, released today the special report on “The challenge of migratory flows and refugee protection-Issues of administrative management and rights”. In its first special report on the matter, the Independent Authority reflects its findings on the management of population flows, with particular emphasis in the period from the upsurge of the number of third countries refugees up to about one year from the Joint EU-Turkey Statement. The event launching the report was hosted at the Athens Concert Hall, and was welcomed the President of the Parliament Nikos Voutsis and the Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos.

The special report aims to highlight the degree and level of response of the Greek administration and the European institutions to the situation, both in its earlier more extreme manifestations, and in the current more predictable and more manageable phase. It includes the observations and findings of the Ombudsman following dozens of inspections at the hotspots on the Aegean islands, in mainland temporary accommodation facilities and detention centres throughout Greece. It also refers to the Ombudsman’s experience as an external mechanism for monitoring aliens’ readmission from Greece to Turkey under the implementation of EU-Turkey Joint Statement.

For the purpose of this report, the Ombudsman gathered, compared and assessed information from statistical data, public statements and interventions by national and European authorities, worked with representatives from the civil society as well as national and European institutions and analysed policy initiatives and regulatory acts. In this way, of the Ombudsman substantiated its findings on the role of national and European structures and services to manage migratory flows and refugee populations in the country, in terms of the defence of human rights and fundamental freedoms, with specific references to the rights of children and the protection of vulnerable groups.

More information can be found at pdf, flipping book