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Recommendation 2155 (2019)
The situation of migrants and refugees on the Greek islands: more needs to be done
1. Referring to its Resolution 2280 (2019) “The
situation of migrants and refugees on the Greek islands: more needs
to be done”, the Parliamentary Assembly emphasises the seriousness
of the humanitarian situation inside the reception and identification
centres for asylum seekers on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos
and Chios. The Council of Europe needs to address this subject in
an adequate manner and assist the Greek authorities in improving
this situation urgently.
2. The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
2.1. invite Greece and Turkey to
continue the readmission of rejected asylum applicants and irregular migrants
who have arrived across the Turkish–Greek sea and land borders,
in accordance with the bilateral Greek–Turkish readmission agreement
as well as the EU–Turkey Statement;
2.2. invite the Committee of the Parties of the Council of
Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
(CETS No. 197) and the Committee of the Parties to the Council of
Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation
and Sexual Abuse (CETS No. 201) to assess the action of Greece and
Turkey in combating the trafficking and sexual exploitation of migrants
who cross from Turkey to Greece or vice versa; particular attention
should be paid to the numerous young male prostitutes to be found
on the streets of Greek cities and who seem to fall through the
safety net of the usual protection measures for women and children;
2.3. invite the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO)
to address the issue of misappropriation of public funds for refugees
in the framework of its fifth evaluation round on Greece;
2.4. invite the Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and
Illicit Trafficking in Drugs (the Pompidou Group) to address drug
trafficking in the context of the migrant routes from Afghanistan
to western Europe;
2.5. evaluate the human rights impact of the EU–Turkey Statement,
taking into account Assembly Resolutions
2109 (2016) on the situation of refugees and migrants
under the EU–Turkey Agreement of 18 March 2016, 2118 (2016) “Refugees
in Greece: challenges and risks – A European responsibility”, 2174
(2017) on the human rights implications of the European
response to transit migration across the Mediterranean and 2228 (2018) “Human
rights impact of the ‘external dimension’ of European Union asylum
and migration policy: out of sight, out of rights?”.