On 26 May 2025, Equal Rights Beyond Borders co-hosted a meeting on gender-based violence (GBV) against women asylum seekers and refugees in Chios CCAC. Key actors discussed legal frameworks, referral pathways, and institutional responsibilities.
In light of Greece’s decision to suspend asylum application examinations for Syrians, Equal Rights Beyond Borders submitted a complaint to the Greek Ombudsman, arguing that this decision should not, in any case, affect Palestinians from Syria because of their distinct circumstances. In response, the Ombudsman urged the Greek Asylum Service to lift the suspension for these cases.
Donald Trump has long abandoned any notion of the primacy of law, ruling by the motto: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law“[1]. Anyone who believes Europe is a stronghold of the rule of law and such a thing could not happen here is mistaken.
The Athens Administrative Court of First Instance has ruled that the prolonged detention of two minors in the Malakasa Camp constitutes unlawful and arbitrary detention.
Equal Rights Beyond Borders is publishing its fourth annual report on the use and conditions of immigration detention on Kos. This year’s report covers the detention conditions, practices, and policies in the Kos Pre-Removal Detention Centre between January and December 2024.
On 21 February 2025, the European Ombudsman issued a decision following its inquiry into the European Commission’s administration of Greece’s EU-funded border operations (Case 1418/2023/VS).
Deciding on objections submitted by Equal Rights Beyond Borders, the Rhodes Administrative Court of First Instance found that the restriction of a minor’s liberty in the so-called “safe zone” of the Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) of Leros for more than two months amounted to unlawful detention.
Recently, historian Winkler claimed that the “founding parents” of the Basic Law did not intend to establish an individual right to asylum at all. He is not the first one doing this—reference to the Basic Law is often made to argue that the right to asylum is not applicable and that, in principle, no one should be granted political asylum in Germany. Lately this ‘argument’ was made also by Friedrich Merz, Andreas Dobrindt, or Christian Lindner. With our briefing, we aim to provide background information and arguments for the debate. Our communication recommendations below summarize the key points concisely.
Friedrich Merz, Thorsten Frei—the CDU—as well as the AfD and even the SPD have long and vehemently called for “Zurückweisungen”, which we call returns at the border in English, regardless of whether a person applies for asylum or not. This is illegal. With this briefing, we aim to provide background information and arguments for the debate. Our communication recommendations summarize the key points concisely.
Migration is one of the most extensively heavily regulated policy areas - and so every overheated political discussion becomes an exchange of legal ‘arguments’. These are often wrong or inaccurate and characterised by lack of knowledge.
