Abstract
The financial crisis in Greece has dramatic consequences on citizens’ lives as well as the state’s function. Delayed pension payments, abrogation of social benefits, and unbearable tax burdens constitute examples of the acute problems that citizens face. Under these extraordinary conditions, the life of vulnerable social groups worsens while citizens’ rights are violated. The increased risk of women’s dismissals (particularly during the period of maternity), the acute tension at schools between students of different race or origin, the deterioration in the conditions of life of the disabled, are some of the examples that show that mediation on various levels is sought by the Greek society in order to cast off its strong feeling of insecurity.
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Notes
- 1.
About antidiscrimination legislation, see below Question 7.
- 2.
About the authorities charged with the enforcement of antidiscrimination legislation, see below Question 4.
- 3.
The ESCs as an institution began to develop in the 1950s on a national level and were adopted by the Treaty of Rome for the European Economic Community. Since then, they have rapidly grown in most countries of the Community. More recently ESCs were also established in the countries of Eastern Europe as part of the enlargement process, as well as in third Mediterranean countries, for which they have been an important mechanism for direct cooperation with the European Union.
- 4.
This body, in order to meet the requirements of its role is divided in various departments: The Department of Human Rights is concerned with the defence of individual, political and social rights protected by the Constitution, by international agreements, or by national law. In particular, it deals with cases regarding: violations of personal freedom; freedom of religious belief and worship; discrimination on grounds of nationality or ethnic origin; violations of the rights of immigrants; equal access to public education; recognition of foreign academic titles; protection of professional rights; infringements of the right to appeal to the administrative authorities and access to judicial protection; as well as the right to political asylum and aliens’ rights to entry and residence. The Department of social protection health and welfare focuses on the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and the physically and mentally ill, in the fields of social policy, social security and welfare. The Department of Quality of Life is concerned with violations of environmental and urban planning legislation affecting the natural and cultural environment and public health, whereas the State-Citizen Relation Department is concerned with a wide range of issues such as transport and communications, agriculture, employment, trade and industry, energy, taxation and customs, public procurement and public contracts, etc. Particular focus is laid upon the quality of public services, organization and procedures, as well as citizens’ access to information. The Department of Children’s Rights is concerned with the protection and promotion of children’s rights, while the Department of Gender Equality is concerned with the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in access to employment, vocational training and promotion, as well as working conditions both in the public and the private sector, including employment, self employment, work and pay. It also deals with discrimination based on gender in the area of access to and supply of goods and services in the public sector.
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Papadelli, A. (2018). Greece. In: Mercat-Bruns, M., Oppenheimer, D., Sartorius, C. (eds) Comparative Perspectives on the Enforcement and Effectiveness of Antidiscrimination Law. Ius Comparatum - Global Studies in Comparative Law, vol 28. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90068-1_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90068-1_15
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