Protection Unavailable: Dysfunctional Practices and Restrictions on the Right to Asylum

This report examines the impacts of policy changes in 2021 and 2022 which led to a new system for applying for asylum in mainland Greece, Crete and Rhodes, introduced in September 2022. Under the new procedure for applying for international protection, applicants who cannot prove their identity with a document issued by a Greek public authority must undergo reception and identification procedures within one of two screening facilities on the Greek mainland, located close to Athens (Malakasa) and Thessaloniki (Diavata). We argue that access to asylum continues to be highly restricted.