Greece suspends asylum registrations for boat arrivals

In Greece, a new ruling was passed by the parliament to suspend the registration of asylum claims for individuals arriving by boat. This decision has been criticized for violating human rights and contradicting international law, as it effectively denies the legal right to seek asylum for a period of 90 days. It was introduced shortly after the appointment of a right-wing migration minister and has been described as a response to an increase in arrivals on the islands of Crete and Gavdos, which are facing inadequate reception facilities. Following this move, the government indicated that individuals arriving by boat would be deported to their countries of origin almost immediately. Critics, including NGOs and human rights organizations, advocate that the suspension of asylum registration raises significant human rights concerns and ignores refugee protection principles. They argue that the current approach to migration management within the EU is evolving toward stricter measures, with countries like Poland and Lithuania also implementing similar restrictions. This trend towards limiting the right to asylum marks a significant shift in European migration policy, once largely advocated by far-right factions, now gaining traction among mainstream policymakers, signaling a potential crisis for humanitarian treatment of migrants in the region.