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Greece establishes new asylum and reception services

Greece establishes new asylum and reception services

The UN agency for refugees has welcomed the establishment of three new asylum services in Greece that are part of Greece’s National Action Plan on Migration Management and Asylum Reform.: the Initial Reception Service, the Asylum Service and the Appeals Authority.

According to the Greek government, the objective of the Initial Reception Service is to provide reception services to third country nationals who are arrested due to illegal entry or stay in Greece, under conditions that guarantee human dignity and their rights, in accordance with the international obligations of the country. These reception services, in addition to ensuring the immediate vital needs of the third country nationals, includes identification, registration, medical screening and socio-psychological support, provision of information on their rights and obligations, and the referral of vulnerable persons such as unaccompanied children and victims of torture.

Panagiotis Nikas, Director of the Initial Reception Service announced the construction of the first screening centres in the Evros region. According to the Ministry of Citizen Protection, there will be cooperation with FRONTEX and the EASO in the centres of first screening.

The Asylum Service will be in charge of receiving asylum seekers and examining and deciding on their cases. Director of the Asylum Service Maria Stavropoulou appealed to interested civil servants to join the Asylum Service and to the international and European organisations and NGOs to support this effort of “national importance”.

Furthermore, the Appeals Authority noted that the goal is to overcome the shortcomings of the past which has resulted in a series of condemnations for human rights violations and criticism from both the domestic and the international community.

UNHCR’s Representative for South Europe, Laurent Jolles, stated that this is a positive step in the right direction. Jolles added that, “UNHCR fully supports the effort while we do not underestimate the enormous challenges.”