New York-Athens: Europe and the Arabs
Greece should adopt "safe and neutral" border policies and practices, and hold law enforcement officials accountable for alleged abuses against asylum seekers, a group of independent experts said, citing "growing evidence of a deliberate and coordinated policy of refoulement and other inhumane border control practices" from before the authorities there.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the experts - who have been appointed by the UN Human Rights Council - urged Greece to investigate alleged abuses against asylum seekers in a transparent and impartial manner.
They expressed particular concern about the failure of the Greek border authorities "to provide prompt and effective assistance to migrants in distress and to ensure safe disembarkation and proper reception of migrants."

racial exclusion
Earlier this month, the independent experts requested detailed information from the Greek government about a case involving 12 asylum-seekers from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, including a six-month-old baby, who arrived on Greek soil only to be apprehended by masked men. . The asylum-seekers were stripped of their belongings and forcibly taken to the port of Mytilene, in Lesbos, on 11 April.
In this regard, the experts said: "The acts of violence captured on video - verified and reported by the media - exposed the racial exclusion and harshness of border protection practices in Europe."
They noted that the past 12 months were "among the deadliest for asylum-seekers, refugees, migrants of African descent and others on their journeys, particularly along the sea and land routes of the Middle East and North Africa, and the perilous crossings in the Sahara and the Mediterranean." .