Thursday, March 15, 2018—On Saturday, March 3 2018, the Greek Council for Refugees had the pleasure of receiving Dutch MPs
Mr. Jasper van Dijk of the Dutch Socialist Party and Mr. Bram van Ojik of the Green Party at its premises, in order to discuss legal and human rights developments concerning refugees in Greece.
The visit was organized together with the Dutch Council for Refugees, with which the Greek Council for Refugees has a long standing and successful partnership, with ongoing projects offering support to persons in need in the islands.
Thursday, March 15, 2018—On Saturday, March 3 2018, the Greek Council for Refugees had the pleasure of receiving Dutch MPs Mr. Jasper van Dijk of the Dutch Socialist Party and Mr. Bram van Ojik of the Green Party at its premises, in order to discuss legal and human rights developments concerning refugees in Greece.The visit was organized together with the Dutch Council for Refugees, with which the Greek Council for Refugees has a long standing and successful partnership, with ongoing projects offering support to persons in need in the islands.
Consequently, the discussion that GCR lawyers had with the Dutch MPs was extremely fruitful and touched upon a variety of issues, from elaborating on the harsh conditions of asylum seekers in Greece, especially on the islands of the Aegean, to stressing the pressing need for Europe to shoulder its share of responsibility towards refugees and not approaching this as an issue concerning Greece exclusively, a point raised by the MPs in a recent debate held at the Dutch Parliament, after they returned home.
The issue of the cooperation of European governments with third countries, which are known to violate human rights, with the purpose of controlling migration flows, and the repercussions this might have on the European policy-making context, was also discussed, with GCR explaining the potential dangers of such a development.
Finally, the challenges but also the benefits of refugee integration, based on GCR's current experience, also emerged as an important talking point, with solidarity in practice showing the way to effective refugee integration and better prospects for all displaced people stranded in Greece.
The Greek Council for Refugees was honored to host this meeting with the two Dutch MPs during their visit in Greece and hopes that more encounters with concerned policy-makers from Europe will follow, in order for us all to be able to exchange knowledge for a brighter common future together with refugees.
For further information, please contact:
Danai Leivada
Υπεύθυνη επικοινωνίας -Ελληνικό Συμβούλιο για τους Πρόσφυγες
Solomou 25 Str, 10682, Athens
Tel: +30 210-3800990
Ε-mail: d.leivada@gcr.gr
