A/HRC/35/25/Add.2 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants on his mission to Greece* I. Introduction 1. From 12 to 16 May 2016, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants conducted an official follow-up visit to Greece, at the invitation of the Government. The mission was carried out in the context of follow-up to the Special Rapporteur’s year-long study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants (A/HRC/23/46), which included a mission to Greece (A/HRC/23/46/Add.4), and of his thematic report on European Union border management (A/HRC/29/36). 2. In September 2014, the Human Rights Council, through presidential statement 27/3, requested the Special Rapporteur to pay particular attention to the protection of migrants at sea. Consequently, the present report is focused on external border control and does not provide a comprehensive overview of the broader human rights situation of all migrants in Greece. The visit gave the Special Rapporteur the opportunity to assess the progress made, as well as the obstacles and challenges that remain, in protecting and promoting the rights of migrants in the Euro-Mediterranean region. 3. The Special Rapporteur visited Athens, Idomeni and Polykastro in Central Macedonia, as well as the Aegean islands of Samos and Lesvos. He met with State officials at the national and local levels, international organizations, European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) officials, civil society organizations and migrants themselves. He also visited several places of detention and official and unofficial camps, namely Polykastro Police Station, the unofficial camp in Idomeni, the Vathy Reception and Identification Centre in Samos, the Elliniko Pre-Removal Centre for Migrant Women at Elliniko Police Station, the camp in the Olympic stadium of Elliniko, and the Moria Reception and Identification Centre in Lesvos. 4. The Special Rapporteur expresses his sincere appreciation for the cooperation extended to him by the Government prior to, throughout and after the visit. He also thanks the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and civil society organizations for their valuable contributions. II. General background: migration and border management in Greece 5. In the past two years, Greece has been the main entry point for irregular migrants coming to Europe. More than 900,000 migrants arrived in Greece in 2015, of whom 93 per cent arrived by sea.1 6. Most of those migrants intended to transit through Greece and travel towards northern Europe. When the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia decided to close its border with Greece, more than 10,000 migrants got stuck at the border in Idomeni. Another 35,000 migrant women, men and children were living in open reception facilities or in unofficial camps throughout the Greek mainland. 2 7. The first reception and identification centre started operations in March 2013 at the Greek-Turkish border region in Evros. Greece built five additional reception and * Circulated in the language of submission only. 1 2 2 International Organization for Migration, “Global migration trends factsheet 2015”, available from https://publications.iom.int/system/files/global_migration_trends_2015_factsheet.pdf. UNHCR, “Daily map indicating capacity and occupancy, as of 16 May 2016”, available from https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/47586.