UNHCR objects to Greece's new asylum regulations
20/07/2009
ATHENS, Greece -- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday (July 17th) it is suspending its participation in advisory committees examining asylum requests in Greece to protest newly adopted rules on granting asylum. The agency said the new regulations will compromise the efficiency and fairness of the procedure to determine refugee status in Greece, as required by international and European legislation. New processing rules would only make the application system more protracted, it warned. Last year, Greece granted asylum to 379 people out of nearly 20,000 requests, one of the lowest acceptance rates in the EU. (Kathimerini, AFP, AP - 18/07/09)