SECRETARIAT GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS SECRETARIAT DU COMITE DES MINISTRES Contact: Clare Ovey Tel: 03 88 41 36 45 Date: 01/06/2017 DH-DD(2017)603 Documents distributed at the request of a Representative shall be under the sole responsibility of the said Representative, without prejudice to the legal or political position of the Committee of Ministers. Meeting: 1288th meeting (June 2017) (DH) Communication from a NGO (19/05/2017) in the case of M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece (Application No. 30696/09) (160 pages) Information made available under Rule 9.2 of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers for the supervision of the execution of judgments and of the terms of friendly settlements. * * * * * * * * * * * Les documents distribués à la demande d’un/e Représentant/e le sont sous la seule responsabilité dudit/de ladite Représentant/e, sans préjuger de la position juridique ou politique du Comité des Ministres. Réunion : 1288e réunion (juin 2017) (DH) Communication d’une ONG (19/05/2017) dans l’affaire M.S.S. c. Belgique et Grèce (Requête n° 30696/09) [anglais uniquement] Informations mises à disposition en vertu de la Règle 9.2 des Règles du Comité des Ministres pour la surveillance de l’exécution des arrêts et des termes des règlements amiables. DGI 19 MAI 2017 SERVICE DE L’EXECUTION DES ARRETS DE LA CEDH SUBMISSION OF THE GREEK COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES TO THE COMMMITTEE OF MINISTERS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE IN THE CASE OF M.S.S. v. BELGIUM & GREECE (Appl. No 30696/09) AND RELATED CASES 1288th (Human Rights) meeting (6-8 June 2017) The Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) is a Greek Non-Governmental Organization, which has been active since 1989, providing legal assistance and social support to persons in need of international protection in Greece. During the previous years GCR has communicated to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe a series on selected issues, within the framework of the execution of the ECtHR judgment M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece (appl. no. 30696/09) according to art. 9 of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers for the supervision of the execution of judgments and of the terms of friendly settlements. Most recently, with a communication send in May 20161, GCR was providing information to the Committee regarding selected issues arose right after the closure of the Western Balkan route and the entry into force of the Statement of March 18, 2016 between the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Union and the Turkish Prime Minister, the so-called ‘EU-Turkey Statement’2. With the present submission, GCR means to provide the Committee with updated information on the situation of persons in need of international protection in Greece, by taking into consideration relevant developments that have occurred during the previous period. 1 DH-DD (2016) 725, 1265 meeting (20-22 September 2016), (DH) - Communication from a NGO (Greek Council for Refugees) (30/05/2016) in the case of M.S.S. against Greece (Application No. 30696/09). 2 General Court of the European Union, Cases T-192/16, T-193/16 and T-257/16, NF, NG and NM v. European Council, Order of 28 February 2017. GREEK COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES – SPECIAL CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH THE UN (ECOSOC) 25 SOLOMOU STR., ATHENS 106 82, GREECE TEL: 0030 210 38 00 990 | FAX: 0030 210 38 03 774 | EMAIL: [email protected] In March 2017, the updated AIDA Country Report on Greece – written by GCR- has been published under the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) managed Asylum Information Database platform3. This report provides a thorough analysis of the transformation of the Greek asylum system in the light of the closure of the Western Balkan route and the EU-Turkey statement. Pursuant to Art 9(2) of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers for the supervision of the execution of judgments and of the terms of friendly settlements, GCR would like to submit to the Committee of Minister the recent updated AIDA Country Report on Greece- annexed to the present document, with a view to assisting the latter in its evaluation of the measures taken to date by the Greek Government to fulfill its obligations to implement the Grand Chamber’s judgment in the case of M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece. Without underestimating positive developments that took place the period since GCR’s latest submission in May 2016, and notably the increase of the Asylum Service staff, the establishment of new Regional Asylum Offices and Asylum Units, the pre-registration exercise, the increase of the reception capacity, the granting of a residence permit on humanitarian grounds for appellants under the ‘old’ procedure (PD. 114/2010) in case that the examination was pending for more than 5 years by April 2016 and the facilitation of the access to the labour market for asylum seekers, which is however constrained due to the overall economic recession, significant shortcomings and issues of concern persist. To this respect, the entry into force of the EU-Turkey Statement has an important impact on the functioning of the Greek Asylum System and the protection standards. Key issues, as described on the AIDA Country Report on Greece and more recent sources, if stated, can be summarized as follows: 3 Asylum Information Database (AIDA), Country Report Greece, 2016 Update, March 2017, http://www.asylumineurope.org/sites/default/files/report-download/aida_gr_2016update.pdf. GREEK COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES – SPECIAL CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH THE UN (ECOSOC) 25 SOLOMOU STR., ATHENS 106 82, GREECE TEL: 0030 210 38 00 990 | FAX: 0030 210 38 03 774 | EMAIL: [email protected] 1. Second Instance Appeals Committees amendment:4 The reform of the asylum system in Greece and the implementation of a fair and effective asylum procedure has been a long-standing commitment of the Greek Authorities already since the Greek Action Plan on Asylum and Migration in 2010. The establishment of the new Asylum Service and the Appeals Authority were important steps in that direction. However, in June 2016, following reported pressure by the EU with regard to the implementation of the EU- Turkey statement and the fact that a very small number of second-instance decisions had approved the first-instance decisions on inadmissibility, national legislation regulating the establishment and the functioning of the Second Instance Appeals Committees under the Appeal Authority was (re)amended (L. 4399/2016, G.G. 117/A/22-6-2016), two months after the initial piece of legislation was issued (L. 4375/2016, G.G. 51/A/3-4-2016). This amendment has been highly criticized by human rights actors, including the Greek National Commission for Human Rights. According to the data made available by the Appeals Authority, since the launch of the operation of the new Appeals Committees (21 July 2016) and by 31 March 2017, the recognition rate of international protection is below 1%. In particular, international protection recognition rate from 21 July 2016 and by 31.12.2016 is no more than 0,4 %5. Respectively, international protection rate from 1.1.2017 and by 31.3.2017 is no more than 0,8 %6. Number of Decisions Refugee Subsidiary Humanitarian decisions on rejecting the status protection status Appeals (on Appeal (on the merits) the merits) 21.7.2016- 1216 1201 5 1 9 31.12.2016 1.1.2017- 868 857 3 4 4 31.3.2017 Appeals Authority, Information provided to GCR, 9 February 2017 and 10 May 2017. 4 Asylum Information Database (AIDA), Country Report Greece, 2016 Update, ibid., pp. 39-44. 5 Appeals Authority, Information provided to GCR, 9 February 2017. 6 Appeals Authority, Information provided to GCR, 10 May 2017. GREEK COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES – SPECIAL CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH THE UN (ECOSOC) 25 SOLOMOU STR., ATHENS 106 82, GREECE TEL: 0030 210 38 00 990 | FAX: 0030 210 38 03 774 | EMAIL: [email protected] These finding regarding the international protection recognition rate of the new second instance Appeals Committees are in glaring discrepancy with the outcome of the second- instance procedure of the previous years (2014: 16,1% recognition rate; 2015: 15,9% recognition rate), and also the EU-28 average recognition rate at second instance in 2016.7 Without underestimating the fact that available data with regard to the decisions of the new Appeals Authority Committees concern a relatively limited period of time (21 July – 31 March 2016), and the particularities of the asylum procedure in Greece while this period,8 the extremely low recognition rate on second instance may be an alarming finding as to the operation of an efficient and fair asylum procedure in Greece and as of the obligations of the Greek authorities under art. 3 in combination with art. 13 ECHR. To this regards, it should be noted that, in May 2017, the ECtHR has granted an interim measure in case of an Iranian asylum seeker whose application was rejected on second 9 instance by the Appeals Committees. 7 Eurostat, Asylum Statistics, http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php/Asylum_statistics#Decisions_on_asylum_applications; EU -28 average of positive final decisions based on appeal or review in 2016 was 17% (incl. refugee status, subsidiary protection, and humanitarian status). Respectively recognition rate of second instance Decisions of the new Appeals Committees (incl. refugee status, subsidiary protection, and humanitarian status) was 1,23 % (21.7.2016- 31.12.2016) and 1,26 % (1.1.2017-31.3.2017). 8 From July 2016 and by December 2016, the Asylum Service on the Eastern Aegean Islands was only registering and processing applications by specific nationalities with low recognition rate (under 25%) such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia and applications of Syrian nationals examined on admissibility.