Human rights in Greece

Human rights in Greece are observed by various organizations. The country is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the United Nations Convention Against Torture. The Greek constitution also guarantees fundamental human rights to all Greek citizens.

Amnesty International

Amnesty International and other human rights groups have accused the various governments of Greece of varying degrees of human rights abuses, which were highest during the periods of rule by dictatorship, most recently 1967 to 1974.

According to Amnesty International's 2007 report on Greece, there are problems in the following areas:

• Treatment of migrants and refugees.
• Treatment of conscientious objectors to military service.
• Failure to grant necessary protection to women victims of domestic violence or trafficking and forced prostitution.
• The report also highlights cases involving arbitrary arrests in the context of the 'war on terror' and Greece's conviction by the European Court of Human Rights for violating Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights by convicting an unofficial mufti of the for 'usurping the function of a minister of a "known religion"'.

US State Department

The US Department of State's 2007 report on human rights in Greece identified the following issues:

• Cases of abuse by security forces, particularly of illegal immigrants and Roma.
• Overcrowding and harsh conditions in some prisons.
• Detention of undocumented migrants in squalid conditions.
• Restrictions on freedom of speech.
• Restrictions and administrative obstacles faced by members of non‑Orthodox religions.
• Detention and deportation of unaccompanied or separated immigrant minors, including asylum seekers.
• Domestic violence against women.
• Trafficking in persons.
• Limits on the ability of ethnic minority groups to self-identify, and discrimination against and social exclusion of ethnic minorities, particularly Roma.

International rankings

• Democracy Index, 2007: 22 out of 167
• Worldwide Press Freedom Index, 2006: 32 out of 168.
• Worldwide Privacy Index, 2006: 5 out of 26.
• Worldwide Quality-of-life Index, 2005: 22 out of 111.

See also

• Conscription in Greece
• Minorities in Greece
• Gay rights in Greece

External links

• NCHR - National Committee for Human Rights
• Human Rights Watch - Greece
• Censorship in Greece - IFEX
• United Nations Committee against Torture
• European Council on Refugees and Exiles
• Amnesty International Report for 2007
• US Department of State: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007: Greece
• Freedom House