HRW Urges Greece Provide to Access Education for Refugee Children

Athena, MINA – Bill Van Esveld, Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) urges Greece authorities to ensure all asylum-seeking children are enrolled in school in the coming school year.

HRW claimed just one from seven children which living in the camp to attend school last year.

In a statement on Thursday, July 29 the rights group said the Greek government “should immediately reform discriminatory policies so that children seeking asylum can go to school when the new year begins on September 13, 2021 Anadolu Agency reported.

“The Greece must welcome children into education national system, because EU and Greek laws require and are consistent with the principle of the best interests of the child,” said Bill.

“Just one from seven child which living in the camps will be able to attend school in the final school year and authorities must urgently teachers, control for school transportation, and lift measures blocking asylum-seeking children from school on the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic, ” he added.

HRW also accus Greece of “violating EU directives,” which require member states to integrate asylum-seeking children into the national school system in three months after identification.

“European commission has give billion of euro to ‘migration management’, including education in Greece, routinely takes action against EU member states that do not fulfill their obligations under EU law and should seek to force Greece to end its non-compliance and policies discriminatory,” he said.

HRW ask the EU to reconsider its support for other projects in Greece that could limit children access to quality education, such as building new closed camps in remote locations on the islands, building concrete walls around camps, and plan to build walls and fences around the other 24 mainland camps. (T/Hju/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)