The operations undertaken by the Greek authorities constitute a flagrant violation of article 3 of the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT), Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), of Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and of Articles 18 and 19 paragraph 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. 2.3 | Recommendations To the Greek government: • We call on the Greek government to carry out a full and exhaustive investigation into all 2.2.3 | Putting Lives at Risk, Ill–treatment 9 The way in which summary expulsions are carried out by the Greek authorities endangers refugees’ lives, in violation of Article 2 ECHR. allegations of push-backs, ill-treatment and torture – with due respect to the victims – and to prosecute the officials involved; this investigation must include the entire chain of command. • We call on the Greek government to immediately stop all push back operations in the Furthermore, they constitute, in most cases, ill-treatment in themselves, in violation of article 3 ECHR. Aegean and at the land border with Turkey. • We call on the Greek government to ensure that refugees are able to access the territory and are given the chance to seek international protection. 2.2.4 | Violation of the Prohibition of Arbitrary Arrest and Detention Deprivation of liberty, as carried out by the Greek authorities, including cases of unregistered and incommunicado detention, and the lack of access to an effective remedy against removal constitute flagrant violations of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of article 5 ECHR10, and of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. To the Turkish government: It should also be noted that the practices of the Greek authorities in the Aegean Sea violate a series of guaranties contained in the Law of the Sea.11 •. Due to the geographical limitation of the 1951 Refugee Convention, Non-European 8 | See: Hirsi Jamaa v Italy. Available at: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001109231#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-109231%22]} 9 | A Thematic Compilation of Executive Committee Conclusions, 6th edition, June 2011. Publisher, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): EXCOM Conclusion No. 14 (1979), para. C. Available at: http://www.unhcr.org/3d4ab3ff2.html ; The 2000 Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (art 16, 19). Available at: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CTOC/countrylist-migrantsmugglingprotocol.html (Greece has signed the Protocol in 2000, but has not ratified it yet) 10 | The European Convention on Human Rights. Available at: http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf 11 | The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, (UNCLOS); The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of 1974, as amended, (SOLAS) the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue of 1979, as amended, (SAR); These conventions explicitly contain the obligation to come to the assistance of persons in distress at sea. This obligation is unaffected by the status of the persons in question, their mode of travel, or the numbers involved. The legal framework also foresees different sets of responsibilities that need to be considered both independently and to XIV | sUMMARY | sYSTHEMATC hUMAN rIGHTS vIOLATIONS • The interviewed refugees reported that the Turkish authorities registered and documented their cases of distress at sea and of push-backs. A full disclosure of this information is urgently called for. refugees cannot be granted asylum in Turkey. We call on the Turkish government, to ensure that victims of push-back operations are not detained arbitrarily, and that the violations of the principle of non-refoulement – the chain-deportation of refugees to their countries of origin – are stopped. the degree to which they inter-relate; The 2000 Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air: Article 16(1) obliges States to take “all appropriate measures … to preserve and protect the rights of persons” who have been the object of smuggling, “in particular the right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, or punishment.” In addition, according to Article 16(3), States should “afford appropriate assistance to migrants whose lives and safety are endangered” by reason of being smuggled. In applying the provisions of Article 16, States are required in its paragraph 4 to take into account the special needs of women and children. Article 19 states that “nothing in this Protocol shall affect the other rights, obligations and responsibilities of States and individuals under international law, including international humanitarian law, and in particular, where applicable, the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and the principle of non- refoulment as contained therein.” sUMMARY | r ECOMMENDATIONS | XV