Rights groups criticize EU Commission funding for automatic detention at Samos migrant center News
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Rights groups criticize EU Commission funding for automatic detention at Samos migrant center

Rights organizations on Tuesday called on the European Commission to fulfill its legal obligation to monitor EU-funded migration facilities to ensure that human rights are respected, criticizing the automatic detention of migrants upon arrival at the Greece-operated Samos Closed Controlled Access Center (CCAC), including children traveling alone.

Authorities at Samos CCAC allegedly subject migrants to unlawful detention through the systematic use of arbitrary restriction of freedom orders which effectively imprison migrants at the facility with inadequate living conditions, according to research conducted by Amnesty International. In particular, rights groups allege that Greek law number 4939 has allowed the authorities to implement a system of detention that does not process migrants individually according to circumstance, which is required under the EU Reception Conditions Directive.

The directive also requires that migrants are given access to adequate “housing, food, clothing, health care, education for minors and access to employment within a maximum period of 9 months.” Rights groups claim that the facility is unhygienic, overcrowded, lacks proper sleeping accommodation, lacks adequate medical care, and that detainees routinely suffer from diseases due to conditions.

The Samos CCAC receives funding through the EU’s Task Force Migration Management, which coordinates a unified EU approach to migration management. Actions funded by the European Commission are obliged to “comply with the EU’s commitment to upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms”.

A 2022 Ombudsman’s report noted, “It is questionable how respect for human dignity and protection of the best interests of the child and of vulnerable individuals can be ensured if residents are forced to stay in such an environment”. The report highlighted that there was significant room for improvement at the facility.

Samos CCAC was designated by the European Commission as a migrant processing center for the region in 2021 as a part of the EU Migration Pact, adopted in 2024.

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