C. Schmitz

Today, I Have Rights, Legal Centre Lesvos and de:border // migration justice publish a joint statement highlighting systemic unaccountability at the EU's external border. The statement is in response to the European Ombudsperson’s decision, published on 28 February 2024, following its own-initiative strategic inquiry concerning the role of Frontex in the context of [...]

85 Civil Society Organisations Call on MEPs to Uphold Fundamental Rights and Reject the Harmful Schengen Borders Code Recast. Despite repeated warnings from Civil Society Organisations, EU lawmakers have reached an agreement on the Schengen Borders Code reform which will be voted on in the LIBE Committee next week. The legislative file that [...]

The European Court of Human Rights has granted Interim Measures with regards to a mother and baby held in the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre. The Court orders the Greek Authorities to accommodate the Applicants in safe and suitable accommodation. Samos, 7 February 2024 - On 05/02/2024, in the case of H.T. and [...]

31st January 2024 - Today, civil society organisations unite their voices to denounce the inhumane and degrading living conditions in the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) and the continued failure to uphold human rights standards. We, the undersigned organisations, once again call for the closure of the Samos CCAC and for adequate [...]

Following a joint complaint made by Avocats Sans Frontieres France, I Have Rights and Human Rights Legal Project, the Greek Ombudsman has found that the Reception and Identification Service (RIS) of the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) unlawfully restricts lawyers’ access to the site. In the complaint, [...]

Samos, 18 January 2024 – Today, in the case of T.K. v. Greece (Application No. 16112/20), the European Court of Human Rights delivered a decisive verdict, condemning the treatment of an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child on the Greek island of Samos. The Court found that the wrong registration of the applicant as an adult [...]

Last year was a defining chapter in I Have Rights’ work and we want to thank you for your support throughout 2023. While the challenges faced were high, our shared commitment to upholding the rights of people on the move only strengthened. In 2023, Samos saw a 300% increase in the number of [...]

November, 30th 2023 - The European Commission’s Proposal for the Screening Regulation in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum introduces a screening procedure for Third Country Nationals (TCNs) arriving at external European borders in what the Commission announced as a “more efficient, seamless and harmonised migration management system”. The Regulation lays out [...]

The European Court of Human Rights again condemns the living conditions of asylum seekers in the Greek “hotspot” on Samos as inhumane and degrading treatment. Press ReleaseSamos, 24th November 2023 - Yesterday, in the cases of M.L. v. Greece (Application No. 8386/20) and M.B. v. Greece (Application No. 8389/20), the European Court of Human Rights [...]