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Communiqué de presse du Groupe de travail des Nations Unies sur la détention arbitraire - « Greece praised for progress but must end widespread detention practices, say UN experts »

Publié le : mardi 17 décembre 2019

Voir en ligne : https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents...

Source : Groupe de travail des Nations Unies sur la détention arbitraire

Date : 13 décembre 2019

Présentation :

« GENEVA / ATHENS (13 December 2019) – Greece has made improvements on ending arbitrary detentions, but still has challenges due to the widespread detention in the criminal justice and migration systems which must end, UN human rights experts have concluded after a visit.

"We recognise and praise Greece’s efforts to address arbitrary detention through laws on alternatives to detention, provisions for early release and plans to deinstitutionalise people with disabilities," said a delegation from the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, issuing a preliminary statement at the end of their 10-day visit.

"The cooperation from the authorities and their willingness to facilitate access to all places of detention, both announced and unannounced, was outstanding. This should serve as a model for how the Working Group’s visits take place.

"However, the use of detention remains widespread in the criminal justice and migration contexts and we urge Greece to end this policy. It is worrying that it has become the common response, despite the requirement under international law that it should only be used as a measure of last resort.

"The use of pre-trial detention should be the exception not the rule. Implementing alternatives to detention would also help alleviate serious overcrowding in penal establishments."

The experts acknowledged that Greece continued to face "serious challenges" in the field of migration, given its location on the southern border of the European Union.

"It is important that a regional approach is taken to address migration with full respect for the human rights of all migrants, including those seeking international protection," they said.

"Detention in the context of migration must be an exceptional measure of last resort, based on an individual assessment of each migrant and for the shortest period."

Aspects of the recent legislative reform in Law No. 4636/2019 which will come into force on 1 January 2020 are also of concern, particularly the extension of the maximum limit of detention. "This cannot be reconciled with the international human rights obligations undertaken by Greece," they said.

"We are also seriously concerned that unaccompanied minors and other children are being detained and treated as adults. Detention of children in the context of migration is prohibited under international law and should be discontinued."

The Working Group also urged the Government to accelerate its work to deinstitutionalise people with disabilities, in accordance with Greece’s treaty obligations.

During the visit, from 2 to 13 December 2019, the three members of the delegation, Jose Antonio Guevara Bermúdez, Leigh Toomey and Sètondji Roland Adjovi, met Government officials, judges, lawyers, civil society representatives and other relevant people. They visited 20 different places of detention, interviewing more than 150 people deprived of their liberty.

A final report on the visit will be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in September 2020. »

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Working Group on Arbitrary Detention : Preliminary Findings from its visit to Greece (2 - 13 December 2019)