Situation
In November 2023, the Médecins Sans Frontières released its report building on years of instances and data about violence and “pushbacks” at the Greek border against refugees attempting to seek asylum in the country. Following the report’s publication, the Qatar-based news outlet, Al Jazeera, published its investigation about violent and invasive bodily searches based on interviews and testimonials from refugees. Al Jazeera conducted interviews with 13 migrants whose responses covered severe instances of genital searches and violations of human rights as a part of resistance at the borders to welcoming migrants.
Background
According to the MSF report, “pushbacks” at the Greek border have been consistently documented by the Council of Europe (CoE), the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, non-governmental organisations, and the media. According to the CoE, pushbacks “are criminal acts which generally involve multiple violations of human rights, including the violation of the prohibition of refoulement and collective expulsion, the prohibition of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.
Human rights violations of refugees and “informal” returns by Greece were reported by the UNHCR in 2022 including more than 540 incidents of return since 2020. Significantly, persons arriving at Greek shores are intercepted and “drifted or towed towards Turkish waters”, as highlighted in MSF’s report. Also, after arriving on land, persons have described being “assaulted and chased”.
On the other hand, according to the Turkish authorities, 140,000 ‘undocumented’ persons attempting to enter Europe have been arrested while 40,000 persons have been deported to their countries of origin in 2023. Responding to this data, Dimitris Kairidis, the Greek Migration Minister commented, “These are all very positive, and we see especially on the land border with Greece and Bulgaria a very determined action on the part of Turkey’s security forces, army police and gendarmerie, to do away with smugglers and flows”. This has come following the publication of a 42% decrease in the arrival of refugees from land and sea to Greece.
Subsequently, Greece has received an additional €42.2 million from the EU for “optimization of the repercussions of electronic surveillance through enforced communications connections – boosting the Hellenic Police’s ability to supervise land borders”.
It is crucial to note that in 2001, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that body searches by law enforcement are justified in “some cases.” However, “forced undressing and genital searches, which leave victims “with feelings of anguish and inferiority capable of humiliating and debasing him,” violate Article 3 of the Convention on Human Rights.
Impact
The accounts of invasive and violent searches as reported by the MSF, Al Jazeera and the media in general, include instances occurring beyond Greece, and to all of the EU. The testimonies include physical violence, beating, dehumanisation and humiliation in addition to sexual and gender-based violence experienced by refugees.
In the accounts of the 13 people interviewed by Al Jazeera, the prominent descriptions included forced undressing, invasive genital searches and patterns of humiliation that restrain the refugees from making the journey to Europe again.
One woman, in this interview, recalled their years-long attempt to seek asylum in Greece. The men conducting these invasive searches covered their faces so as not to be recognised by the border guard systems. In 2021, this individual was charged with having “membership of a terrorist organisation” and “making terrorist propaganda” in Turkey where she then faced up to 15 years in prison. Arriving in Greece, they encountered physical violence from four officers who then instructed them to undress and searched their genitals.
MSF interviewed 50 people and recorded 11 detailed testimonies including similar accounts. For instance, “I wear the hijab, but on the boat, they undressed me. I was in my underwear. They touched me and searched me”.
While women constitute a large chunk of refugees at the receiving end of this violence, reports have revealed that men and babies were also “searched” in similar manners. “Then he undressed the baby. He tore his diaper apart and was searching [for] it. For what? For money? They searched his entire small body”.
These only account for few of the many instances of ill-treatment at EU borders. Having endured dangerous and life-threatening journeys to arrive at EU borders and encountering severe physical, sexual, and mental attacks, individuals have been forced to return to their countries via sea with none of their valuables in their possession.
Current Action
Considering the ECHR 2001, human rights lawyer Nikola Kovacevic has attested that these reported instances are a violation of human rights; “That’s one of the ways to send the message and to deter them” as reported by Al Jazeera.
In defining migration rights, the recognition of systemic control over movement and flows from persecution is clear from occurrences of violations. The message, “if you come again, it will happen again,” has been communicated in these numerous accounts recently reported.
A lawsuit has been filed by one of the refugees at a Greek court alleging that the forced body and genital search was “extremely invasive and offensive”. The senior media officer for the European Border Control Authority, Chris Borowski, has stated that the authority is taking these reports seriously and condemns acts that infringe fundamental human rights. However, no steps to rectify the systemic pattern of exploitation of refugees have been reported.
The MSF Head of Mission for Greece and Balkan Migration, Duccio Staderini, in his statement, said that this violation “while not systemic” is instead a pattern and extremely common. “They are not related to enforcing security”. Yet, the persistence of numerous such instances and negligible, if not absent, action or measures to rectify this lived reality hints at the construction of systemic violation, on its way to institutionalisation.
The UNHCR, other UN agencies, and NGOs across the world have called for EU authorities to take action to preserve refugee and migration rights. These reports however are not cause for shock given a long history of concern for refugees attempting to seek asylum in the EU. The Greek and Turkish authorities, in addition to other countries of the EU, have resolved to strengthen migration policies and find ways to restrict persons from entering, and encourage their return to countries of origin.
Arrivals on the Greek islands from the Turkish coast have increased by 136% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This has encouraged Greece’s Migration Minister to institute a “strict but fair” migration policy to prevent illegal entry into the country.
The concern for balancing the need for asylum with the burden on host states is an old one, whereas a respect for human rights and dignity continues to be forgotten.
Vrinda Sahai
References
https://apnews.com/article/greece-migrationeu-politics-mediterranean-64d7e07fc8bd01ae1b4197041ca75ebe
https://areyousyrious.medium.com/ays-news-digest-8-11-23-asylum-seekers-undergo-invasive-body-searches-at-eu-borders-dcb42d14f89b
https://ecre.org/greece-new-report-confirms-the-cycle-of-violence-and-abuse-at-greek-borders-as-court-rejects-charges-of-facilitation-of-illegal-entry-for-refugees-more-scrutiny-over-hellenic-coast-guard-role-in-pyl/
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/3/at-eu-borders-refugees-report-invasive-genital-searches-during-pushbacks
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/6/greek-minister-hails-turkish-u-turn-in-migration-policy
https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/53130/migrants-allege-forced-and-extremely-invasive-body-searches-at-eu-borders
https://www.msf.org/plain-sight-migration-policies-greek-sea-borders
In November 2023, the Médecins Sans Frontières released its report building on years of instances and data about violence and “pushbacks” at the Greek border against refugees attempting to seek asylum in the country. Following the report’s publication, the Qatar-based news outlet, Al Jazeera, published its investigation about violent and invasive bodily searches based on interviews and testimonials from refugees. Al Jazeera conducted interviews with 13 migrants whose responses covered severe instances of genital searches and violations of human rights as a part of resistance at the borders to welcoming migrants.
Background
According to the MSF report, “pushbacks” at the Greek border have been consistently documented by the Council of Europe (CoE), the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, non-governmental organisations, and the media. According to the CoE, pushbacks “are criminal acts which generally involve multiple violations of human rights, including the violation of the prohibition of refoulement and collective expulsion, the prohibition of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.
Human rights violations of refugees and “informal” returns by Greece were reported by the UNHCR in 2022 including more than 540 incidents of return since 2020. Significantly, persons arriving at Greek shores are intercepted and “drifted or towed towards Turkish waters”, as highlighted in MSF’s report. Also, after arriving on land, persons have described being “assaulted and chased”.
On the other hand, according to the Turkish authorities, 140,000 ‘undocumented’ persons attempting to enter Europe have been arrested while 40,000 persons have been deported to their countries of origin in 2023. Responding to this data, Dimitris Kairidis, the Greek Migration Minister commented, “These are all very positive, and we see especially on the land border with Greece and Bulgaria a very determined action on the part of Turkey’s security forces, army police and gendarmerie, to do away with smugglers and flows”. This has come following the publication of a 42% decrease in the arrival of refugees from land and sea to Greece.
Subsequently, Greece has received an additional €42.2 million from the EU for “optimization of the repercussions of electronic surveillance through enforced communications connections – boosting the Hellenic Police’s ability to supervise land borders”.
It is crucial to note that in 2001, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that body searches by law enforcement are justified in “some cases.” However, “forced undressing and genital searches, which leave victims “with feelings of anguish and inferiority capable of humiliating and debasing him,” violate Article 3 of the Convention on Human Rights.
Impact
The accounts of invasive and violent searches as reported by the MSF, Al Jazeera and the media in general, include instances occurring beyond Greece, and to all of the EU. The testimonies include physical violence, beating, dehumanisation and humiliation in addition to sexual and gender-based violence experienced by refugees.
In the accounts of the 13 people interviewed by Al Jazeera, the prominent descriptions included forced undressing, invasive genital searches and patterns of humiliation that restrain the refugees from making the journey to Europe again.
One woman, in this interview, recalled their years-long attempt to seek asylum in Greece. The men conducting these invasive searches covered their faces so as not to be recognised by the border guard systems. In 2021, this individual was charged with having “membership of a terrorist organisation” and “making terrorist propaganda” in Turkey where she then faced up to 15 years in prison. Arriving in Greece, they encountered physical violence from four officers who then instructed them to undress and searched their genitals.
MSF interviewed 50 people and recorded 11 detailed testimonies including similar accounts. For instance, “I wear the hijab, but on the boat, they undressed me. I was in my underwear. They touched me and searched me”.
While women constitute a large chunk of refugees at the receiving end of this violence, reports have revealed that men and babies were also “searched” in similar manners. “Then he undressed the baby. He tore his diaper apart and was searching [for] it. For what? For money? They searched his entire small body”.
These only account for few of the many instances of ill-treatment at EU borders. Having endured dangerous and life-threatening journeys to arrive at EU borders and encountering severe physical, sexual, and mental attacks, individuals have been forced to return to their countries via sea with none of their valuables in their possession.
Current Action
Considering the ECHR 2001, human rights lawyer Nikola Kovacevic has attested that these reported instances are a violation of human rights; “That’s one of the ways to send the message and to deter them” as reported by Al Jazeera.
In defining migration rights, the recognition of systemic control over movement and flows from persecution is clear from occurrences of violations. The message, “if you come again, it will happen again,” has been communicated in these numerous accounts recently reported.
A lawsuit has been filed by one of the refugees at a Greek court alleging that the forced body and genital search was “extremely invasive and offensive”. The senior media officer for the European Border Control Authority, Chris Borowski, has stated that the authority is taking these reports seriously and condemns acts that infringe fundamental human rights. However, no steps to rectify the systemic pattern of exploitation of refugees have been reported.
The MSF Head of Mission for Greece and Balkan Migration, Duccio Staderini, in his statement, said that this violation “while not systemic” is instead a pattern and extremely common. “They are not related to enforcing security”. Yet, the persistence of numerous such instances and negligible, if not absent, action or measures to rectify this lived reality hints at the construction of systemic violation, on its way to institutionalisation.
The UNHCR, other UN agencies, and NGOs across the world have called for EU authorities to take action to preserve refugee and migration rights. These reports however are not cause for shock given a long history of concern for refugees attempting to seek asylum in the EU. The Greek and Turkish authorities, in addition to other countries of the EU, have resolved to strengthen migration policies and find ways to restrict persons from entering, and encourage their return to countries of origin.
Arrivals on the Greek islands from the Turkish coast have increased by 136% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This has encouraged Greece’s Migration Minister to institute a “strict but fair” migration policy to prevent illegal entry into the country.
The concern for balancing the need for asylum with the burden on host states is an old one, whereas a respect for human rights and dignity continues to be forgotten.
Vrinda Sahai
References
https://apnews.com/article/greece-migrationeu-politics-mediterranean-64d7e07fc8bd01ae1b4197041ca75ebe
https://areyousyrious.medium.com/ays-news-digest-8-11-23-asylum-seekers-undergo-invasive-body-searches-at-eu-borders-dcb42d14f89b
https://ecre.org/greece-new-report-confirms-the-cycle-of-violence-and-abuse-at-greek-borders-as-court-rejects-charges-of-facilitation-of-illegal-entry-for-refugees-more-scrutiny-over-hellenic-coast-guard-role-in-pyl/
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/3/at-eu-borders-refugees-report-invasive-genital-searches-during-pushbacks
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/6/greek-minister-hails-turkish-u-turn-in-migration-policy
https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/53130/migrants-allege-forced-and-extremely-invasive-body-searches-at-eu-borders
https://www.msf.org/plain-sight-migration-policies-greek-sea-borders