Top EU human rights job deserves better
As the Greek migration minister backed a deal that left thousands of refugees trapped, his candidature for a key European Council role raises uneasy questions
he Greek government’s decision to put forward its current minister of migration as a candidate for Europe’s top human rights job must seem reasonable to many people outside Greece. The country was forced to deal with record arrivals of refugees at a time when it was already struggling to emerge from a serious financial crisis. The humanity displayed by many Greeks in responding to these twin crises has earned the country the moral right to be heard.
But the nomination of Ioannis Mouzalas for Human Rights Commissioner at the Council of Europe has caused serious concern in Greece itself. His term as migration minister is not one that has promoted respect for human rights.
The choice of this commissioner is of particular importance because the role oversees human rights conditions and detects problems in law and administrative practice. It also proposes recommendations and follows up on their implementation. The commissioner must act according to the basic principles of the Council of Europe, an institutional pillar for the protection of human rights.
The incumbent, Nils Muiznieks, has expressed serious concern about the deal struck between the European Union and Turkey in March 2016 to stem the flow of Syrian refugees into Greece, in which aid and political concessions were offered to Ankara.
The Greek minister, on the contrary, has been one of the most ardent protectors of this controversial agreement. He has insisted on implementation of the deal and refused any input from national and international stakeholders regarding its impact on human rights. In cases where the EU-Turkey deal has not been implemented fully, and no Syrian refugee has been forcibly returned to Turkey, this is because of the determined resistance of civil society organisations as well as public servants.
When the independent committees that decide asylum appeals claim in Greece ruled in favour of claimants who were resisting being sent back to Turkey, Mouzalas was accused of intervening to influence their decisions. When this did not work, he amended the law to change the composition of the committees and speed up the return of Syrians to Turkey.
Serious reservations
This interference directly contradicted the principles of the Council of Europe — the very body in which he is now a candidate for a senior role.
The minister’s support for the EU-Turkey deal should at least have triggered unease about nominating him for a top institutional position. Especially one that implies an unwavering stance in support of human rights in general, and respect for the rights of refugees in particular. We presume that consistency with the principles of the Council of Europe will be taken into account when the nominees are considered.
Far from there being positive work leading to his nomination, there is, unfortunately, plenty of evidence of the opposite. Multiple reports from Greek and international organisations, including an investigation in the Guardian, have raised very serious reservations about the management of the refugee issue.
The EU policy, backed by the Greek government, has led to thousands of refugees and migrants being trapped in unacceptable conditions on the Greek islands. Last winter, this confinement to the islands and mismanagement led to the loss of life. There has been no meaningful investigation to establish responsibility for these deaths. The failure to provide adequate camp facilities or the structures and rules needed to properly administer the refugee population belongs in part to Mouzalas. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, among others, has already warned about the danger of a repeat of similar failings this winter.
The policy supported by Mouzalas has also placed an unreasonable burden on local communities on the islands where new arrivals are confined. This was done without any planning or attempts to gain local support and has resulted in a serious risk of social and political unrest.
This agreement is becoming a paradigm on how to undermine the post-Second World War refugee protection apparatus. Its strict implementation has badly damaged the rule of law. Even if Greece had no choice but to accept the EU-Turkey deal, what we have managed is the worst possible version: Entrapping and dehumanising asylum-seekers in a punitive way beyond what the deal formally envisioned. We often criticise the negative political stance of central European countries that target refugees and do not take their share of responsibility as EU members. But for this criticism to be essential, Greece ought to contrast it with its own politics.
It is clear that the Greek government should think again on its decision to propose Mouzalas as a candidate for human rights commissioner at the Council of Europe.
Kostis Papaioannou is the former secretary general for human rights in the Greek government. Vassilis Papadopoulos is a former secretary general for migration policy.