News from the field
April 2025
CALL FOR URGENT AND IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE - Millions of refugees worldwide are affected by the immediate cut in US funding for humanitarian assistance and development - Among them thousands of asylum seekers and refugees in Greece who receive legal assistance from the Greek Council for Refugees due to cuts in funding of the organisation.
More than 120 million people in over 100 countries are directly affected by the suspension of funding from the United States, which previously covered 42% of global humanitarian aid. This sudden cut has caused serious disruption to food aid, healthcare, education, and protection services.
The consequences will be felt around the world: life-saving assistance will not be provided to millions of people in need, and very difficult decisions will have to be made about the allocation of resources. People who have been forcibly displaced within their own country or across borders will feel the impact immediately. While the majority will be trapped in protracted displacement within or in neighboring countries, others will be forced to embark on dangerous journeys to access protection and humanitarian assistance, including to Europe.
The impact of funding cuts will also be significant on asylum systems in Europe, leaving asylum seekers and refugees, among others, without legal protection and assistance, access to social and integration support.
The Greek Council for Refugees, the main legal aid organization for asylum seekers and refugees in Greece and a long-standing operational partner of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, is directly affected by the cuts to the UN budget due to the reduction and/or suspension of US funding. In 2024 alone, more than 4,000 asylum seekers and refugees received free legal assistance from the GCR
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New designation of Türkiye as a "safe third country" for refugees in defiant contempt of the Greek Council of State's ruling
The Council of State recently annulled the Joint Ministerial Decision (JMD) designating Turkey as a "safe third country." On April 9, 2025, even before the Council of State's decision was released , the Greek government released a new, similar Joint Ministerial Decision re-designating Türkiye as a "safe third country" for asylum seekers originating from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.The publication of the new Joint Ministerial Decision blatantly violates the rule of law and legal certainty and constitutes an explicit and provocative declaration of non-compliance by the Administration with the relevant decisions of the Council of State and the CJEU.
FRONTEX chief:"We cannot operate with such means"
The head of FRONTEX, responding to a question about whether pushbacks in the Aegean are continuing, stressed, among other things, "I am still receiving reports of irregularities from some Member States. I always stress that we cannot operate with such means",and left open the possibility of suspending funding for the Greek Coast Guarddue to these violations. In addition, the Agency is considering asking the European Commission to launch infringement proceedings against Greece, while 13 cases against the Greek authorities, while 13 cases against the Greek authorities,most of them against a Member State, remain under investigation by the competent chief:. One of theseconcerns a recent incident off the coast of Lesbos where seven refugees, including two children, lost their lives.It should be recalled that in January 2025, the European Court of Human Rights, in two judgments, including a case brought by the GCR before the European Court, found that pushbacks constitute a "systematic practice" of the Greek authorities.
Ensuring the right of recognized refugees to family reunification
The Greek Council for Refugees has supported 290 family reunification cases between 2021 and 2024. During the same period, 145 people were successfully reunited with other members of their families in Greece with the assistance of the Legal Unit of the Council for Refugees. Family reunification is based on the universal human right to family life and is recognized as a right of recognized refugees under Greek and European law. In reality, however, refugees face enormous difficulties and chronic delays due to complex procedures, the objective inability to provide the required supporting documents, and the absence of Greek consular authorities in the countries where the refugees' family members are located, which make legal assistance essential for these people to complete the reunification process. Cuts in humanitarian funding are jeopardizing the provision of legal assistance to vulnerable refugees.
- UN High Commissioner for Refugees, , Refugees trying to reunite with their families: Stories of separation and hope
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Children on the move
A Briefing of the situation of refugee and asylum-seeking children in Greece for the period January–April 2025, published by the Greek Council for Refugees in collaboration with Save the Children, documents the protection challenges faced by refugee children in Greece. Among others, the Briefing highlights that 2,375 unaccompanied and separated children are currently in Greece, often in conditions of de facto detention in "safe zones," with serious risks to their safety and well-being.
