Brussels, 21/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 21 January, several NGOs, including Amnesty International, called on the Greek Presidency of the EU to tackle breaches of fundamental rights and ensure that the EU provides a robust response to this kind of issue.
Amnesty has issued the Greek Presidency and Commissioner Malmström with a number of recommendations focusing on the way in which migrants are treated. The commissioner met Amnesty Secretary General Salil Shetty on Monday.
According to the NGO, the Greek pPresidency has a golden opportunity to tackle degrading treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers in the EU, as well as discrimination against the Roma and the “alarmingly” high rate of hate crimes. Violence against women and children is also expected to be included in this roadmap.
Among possible areas for action highlighted by Amnesty International is the detention of migrants, a practice which ought to be replaced by alternative solutions, explains the NGO. In the context of hate crimes, there is also the worrying situation affecting the LGTBI community (lesbian, gay, transsexual, bisexual and intersexual). The Presidency could also work on the cases of political prisoners, particularly the case involving the “Bolotnaya Three”, who have been imprisoned in Russia since 2012 (Vladimir Gheorgievich Akimenkov, Artiom Victorovich Saviolov and Mikhail Aleksandrovich Kosenko). They were arrested on 6 May 2012 during a demonstration at Bolotnaya Square in Moscow and are accused of having taken part in serious rioting.
In a press release jointly signed by around 20 different human rights organisations, including the Belgian Human Rights League, CATDM Europe and the European Attac network, other NGOs appealed to the Greek Presidency to ensure that Greece itself respects its commitments on fundamental rights.
These organisations also sent a letter to the president of the European Parliament and called on him to draft a report on human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Greece, under Article 7 of the TEU. The letter highlights the high number of serious violations of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights systematically perpetrated in this country which, the organisations say, have occurred particularly since the country has been subject to the tough economic programmes devised by the troika. (SP/transl.fl)