The protection of unaccompanied children has long been a stated priority of the Greek State, supported by dedicated institutional structures and a broad network of services developed in collaboration with civil society and international partners.
Equal Rights Beyond Borders co-publishes a joint statement against the Greek state's practice of denying access to asylum procedures for those accused of driving migrant boats towards Greece.
Abdo, a Yemeni national fleeing war was detained in Greece upon arrival and was denied access to asylum due to the unlawful suspension of asylum of art. 79 L. 5218/2025. Despite having strong grounds of protection, he spent more than six months in arbitraty detention since the Asylum Service abusively delayed the examination of his asylum claim claiming an ongoing investigation of his criminal file. Following legal intervention, Administrative Court of Kavala ruled his detention unlawful, and Abdo was ultimately granted refugee status, exposing a widely applied practice by Greek Authorities: the instrumentalization of criminal charges - even for minor offences or pending cases - to justify the administrative detention of foreign nationals.
The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) seeks to transfer protection status holders to Greece as a matter of policy. A new legal opinion by Equal Rights Beyond Borders shows: this is currently unlawful.
Return hubs have long been discussed by EU member states as a further measure to outsource refugee protection. A new Briefing shows, that they are legally fragile.
On Friday, March 13, Equal Rights Beyond Borders secured the release of Mariam, the first woman to be imprisoned in Greece because she applied for international protection.
On 12 June 2026, the new Common European Asylum System (CEAS) enters into force. With this unified start date, a series of new regulations and directives will take effect – from the Asylum Procedures Regulation and the Qualification Regulation to the AMMR as the successor to the Dublin III Regulation.
On the night of 3 February 2026, a boat carrying people seeking refuge ran into distress at sea. The Greek Coast Guard was present and involved. Fifteen people lost their lives, and 25 others were injured. Equal Rights Beyond Borders operates an office on Chios and is committed to ensuring the humane treatment of the survivors. We also call for a thorough and independent investigation.
The Administrative Court of Cologne has ruled that security interviews and the storage of data by Germany’s domestic intelligence services (Verfassungsschutz) involving asylum seekers rescued at sea in Malta were unlawful. There was neither valid consent nor a legal basis for the measures. The interviews were conducted under significant pressure, without transparency and without the interviewers being identifiable as government officials. Neither the Federal Constitutional Protection Act, the Dublin III Regulation, nor the “Malta Agreement” justified such actions. The judgment emphasizes that state authorities remain bound by fundamental rights even when acting abroad; leave to appeal was granted.
The population of VIAL Camp in Chios has been cut off from electricity, creating inhumane living conditions.
