HRW urges new Greek gov’t to take action against abuses of migrants

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Greece’s newly-elected Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to take action to end abuses against unaccompanied migrant children, other asylum seekers and migrants, and children with disabilities.

In an open letter to the new premier on Wednesday, the New York-based organization said that the new government should end the unlawful practice of detaining unaccompanied migrant children in so-called “protective custody,” end the institutionalization of children with disabilities, order an immediate halt of pushbacks and other summary returns to Turkey from the Evros region, and put an end to the ongoing “containment policy” of asylum seekers on the Aegean islands.

In comments distributed to the media, Eva Cosse, Greece researcher at Human Rights Watch said, “the new prime minister should outline how he intends to guarantee human rights for everyone in Greece.”

“A first priority should be ending the scandalous and abusive detention of unaccompanied children in police lockups and detention centers,” she said.

HRW is an independent non-governmental organization that monitors human rights in over 90 countries around the world.