A/HRC/35/25/Add.2 identification centres on five Greek Aegean islands between October 2015 and March 2016, four of which were functioning at the time of the visit. 8. Additionally, with the European Union-Turkey statement of 18 March 2016 (discussed in detail in paras. 28-30 below) having been implemented, migrants arriving on the islands after 20 March 2016 have had only two options: to apply for asylum or to be returned to Turkey. This has resulted in 90 per cent of migrants trying to apply for asylum in Greece. The situation has stretched the capacity of the Greek Asylum Service and has led to a complicated system of registration and pre-registration. 9. Following the European Union-Turkey statement, migrants were no longer transferred from the Greek islands to the mainland, resulting in overcrowded situations in the reception and identification centres on the islands, with migrants often lacking access to sanitary facilities, medicine, adequate shelter and food. 10. Even though the Greek system was not prepared to host and process such large numbers of migrants, it has shown real resolve — during a time of imposed financial austerity — in putting in place a principled response to assist all irregular migrants arriving. However, going forward, the country needs a strategic long-term plan to guide all response efforts: one that respects the international obligations of Greece and the human rights of all people in its territory. Despite the pressure on Greece to return all migrants arriving irregularly on the Greek islands after 20 March 2016, and with the exception of two incidents where an investigation has been ordered, the Special Rapporteur was informed that none of the approximatively 25,000 people who have arrived since have been returned to Turkey in violation of the principle of non-refoulement. A. Normative and institutional framework for the protection of the human rights of migrants 11. In this section, the Special Rapporteur discusses the legal framework that has been developed since his previous country visit to Greece. 1. International legal framework 12. On 11 February 2014, Greece ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, designating the Greek Ombudsperson as the national preventive mechanism. 2. Regional legal framework 13. The European Union’s acquis on migration and asylum is applicable to Greece as a European Union Member State, and Greece has undertaken the necessary legal reforms to transpose relevant European Union directives. Greece is also a part of the Schengen area, which provides for the strengthening of external border controls and eliminates internal border controls. As a Member State of the European Union, Greece has an obligation to respect the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union when implementing European Union law. As a member of the Council of Europe, Greece has ratified the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights). 14. Because of two judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice, 3 European Union Member States suspended transfers to Greece under the Dublin II Regulation. The Special Rapporteur welcomed the decision on the suspension of transfers and strongly urges the European Union Member States to refrain from returning any asylum seekers to Greece, as the procedural and capacity facilities are already stretched to their limit. 3 M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece, European Court of Human Rights, No. 30696/09, 21 January 2011, and N.S. and M.E. and others, C-411/10 and C-493/10, European Court of Justice, 21 December 2011. 3