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Joint Statement:

The Ministry of Migration and Asylum must rescind the eviction order of people on the move from camps 

4 June 2025

READ THE FULL STATEMENT IN ENGLISH AND GREEK

 

In early May, Greek media reported that the Ministry of Migration and Asylum issued a verbal directive to the authorities of refugee camps across Greece to evict beneficiaries of International Protection as well as rejected asylum seekers from their facilities. No guidance on alternative accommodation solutions was provided.

Outside of state facilities, options for support and alternative accommodation are limited. Previously filling critical gaps in state support, NGOs - including those providing accommodation - now face structural funding and capacity cuts, while the strict eligibility requirements of municipal shelters mean they remain inaccessible for people on the move. 

As a result, camp evictions risk placing many into states of homelessness and destitution, and carry the associated risk of exposure to retraumatisation, exploitation, human trafficking and police violence. The Ministry's directive consequently risks threatening the protection of individuals’ safety and security, and of their fundamental rights, including human dignity.

The undersigned organisations call on the Ministry of Migration and Asylum:

  • To rescind the eviction order of people on the move from camps; 

  • To ensure that if people are removed, this happens only where they have secured a safe and appropriate housing alternative that guarantees they will not end up destitute and homeless and enables them to access their rights in a manner that respects their human dignity;

  • To implement a sustainable and dignified framework of support and integration that ensures appropriate accommodation for people on the move, whatever their legal status, during, and after their stay in temporary reception facilities. 

Signatories: 

  • Mobile Info Team 

  • Equal Legal Aid

  • Greek Council for Refugees 

  • Refugee Legal Support 

  • Fenix - Humanitarian Legal Aid

  • Legal Centre Lesvos 

  • Drapen i Havet

  • Drapen i Havet Stagona

  • Greek Forum of Refugees 

  • HIAS Greece 

  • Symbiosis-Council of Europe School of Political Studies

  • Love Without Borders for Refugees in Need

  • Refcheckpoint

  • Safe Place Greece 

  • Project Armonia 

  • Defence for Children

  • Arsis Association for the Social Support of Youth

  • Collective Aid

  • Samos Volunteers 

  • Network for Children’s Rights 

  • EmpowerVan

  • Equal Rights Beyond Borders

  • ECHO100PLUS  

  • INTERSOS HELLAS

  • I Have Rights

  • NAOMI Ecumenical Workshop for Refugees 

  • MKO Meraki Humanitarian Support 

  • Second Tree 

  • Changemakers Lab 

  • Γιατροί Χωρίς Σύνορα-Ελληνικό Τμήμα/Doctors Without Borders-Greek Section

  • Boat Refugee Foundation

  • Greek Forum of Migrants

  • Human Rights Legal Project