Greece wants to stop taking asylum applications from boat arrivals for three months and send people back without hearing their cases, but United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says this breaks international law.
The UN refugee agency is pushing back hard against the amendment now before Greece’s parliament. It would block asylum claims from people arriving by boat from North Africa and allow their return without any screening. UNHCR warns this tears up a basic human right that applies to everyone, no matter how they get to a country. The agency says Greece has always protected people fleeing war and persecution—and that tradition can’t be thrown away now.
Recent boat arrivals on the islands of Gavdos and Crete have overwhelmed Greece’s system. Local authorities are struggling to handle the numbers, and tensions are rising. But even when borders get busy, countries still have to let people ask for asylum. That’s the law, and Greece can’t just ignore it because things get difficult.
The real problem is that many of these arrivals are genuine refugees, especially people from Sudan escaping violence back home. Others might be economic migrants, but you can’t tell the difference without proper checks. UNHCR says sending everyone back without looking at their cases could mean pushing real refugees into danger. That violates the core principle that you never return someone to a place where they could be killed or tortured.
Greece doesn’t have to handle this alone. UNHCR has been helping the coast guard and local officials deal with arrivals, and the agency wants other EU countries to step up too.
