No to Vastria Closed Controlled Access Centre: An Open Letter to the Greek Government and EU Commissioners
Earlier today, Collective Aid and a number of other signatories from humanitarian organisations sent an open letter to Greek and EU authorities, warning them that they risk seriously violating the human rights of refugees and asylum seekers who will be accommodated in the soon-to-open Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) in Vastria, Lesvos.
The letter calls for freedom of movement for all people on the move, and demands the following:
Immediate cessation of the Vastria CCAC’s construction
The termination of all related plans for its opening
The immediate end to the unlawful practice of containing asylum seekers in inhuman conditions on the Greek islands in CCACs
The letter warns that conditions in the camp could lead to human rights breaches, with issues surrounding freedom, safety, and access to essential services, and urgently calls for an immediate halt to the construction of the Vastria CCAC on Lesvos, highlighting multiple issues surrounding the project. Despite delays due to a court-ordered revocation of the construction permit for its access road—stemming from the lack of an environmental study—the construction continues, with the contract extended until November 30, 2024.
Fire safety and emergency access
The camp's location in a zone designated as ‘high risk’ by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) raises serious fire safety concerns in addition to emergency evacuation difficulties created by the camp’s highly remote and isolated location. The right to life, enshrined in Article 5 of the Greek Constitution, Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), is a fundamental right essential for the enjoyment of all other human rights. Conditions caused by these risks, if left unaddressed, threaten to breach the Article 6 rights of those resident in the new Vastria CCAC.
The CCAC’s remote setting would also limit access to essential services like healthcare -both emergency and regular- and education. The significantly detrimental effects these factors are likely to have upon the mental and physical wellbeing and autonomy of people resident there should also be considered.
Isolation and surveillance
As evidenced in existing structures, the excessive use of control systems and surveillance technology in CCACs contributes to a prison-like atmosphere and, when combined with the movement restrictions imposed by the remote location of the camp, could amount to de-facto detention without legal grounds, in breach of article 5 of the ECHR. Restrictive and invasive two-factor access controls (identity and fingerprint) must be passed every time residents-including children-want to enter and exit the structure. Closed Monitoring System (CCTV) using "smart" software monitors the camp 24/7 with alerts and images shared beyond the islands; to a Control Centre in Athens and the Control Centres of other stakeholders (e.g. the Hellenic Police).
Rights for children
The access restrictions laid down by the location of the new CAAC are also likely to impede the access of children to an education similar to that of their Greek counterparts. Alongside the detrimental effects, this would have on their social development and assimilation into the society of the country in which they are living. This would also represent a breach of both Article 28 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Article 14 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which recognize the rights of children to receive an education. It would also be in contravention of Article 14 of the Reception Conditions Directive (“RCD”), which obliges EU member states to ensure that all minor children of asylum seekers, and asylum-seeking minors themselves, have access to the education system under similar conditions to nationals.
Lessons have not been learned
Over four years have passed since the infamous Mória camp-which preceded the arrival of the CCAC system - was destroyed by fire, and replaced with the current CCAC Mavrovouni. However, the critical issues that were exposed by Mória about safety, access to essential services, and the severe psychological impacts of confining people in prison-like conditions for indeterminate periods of time—are not only largely unacknowledged within the current CCAC structures, but, actually appear to have worsened in some instances. The letter concludes with a call to policymakers to heed the lessons of the past, and to be accountable in their public positions, so as not to condemn some of the most vulnerable people in Europe to suffer the impacts of their repetition.