International

That the Troika has taken charge in Greece and is following a strictly neoliberal policy, these things we already knew. That public and social services in Greece are being smashed up in rapid tempo, this too we already knew. What’s new is that the international community is going to intervene. The UN rapporteur this week expressed sharp criticism of the breakup of social and public services, which he sees as a violation of internationally recognised human rights. At the same time the Council of Europe in Strasbourg ruled that the reform of the pension system in Greece is in conflict with the European Social Charter, which Greece as a member state is obliged to respect. In short, the Troika is violating internationally agreed human rights. If the Troika remains oblivious to this sort of critique, it won’t be long until the European Union finds itself a pariah in international human rights circles. Hopefully things won’t be allowed to get that far and the Greeks will be able to count on their basic rights being defended.

The member states cooperate closely when it comes to international human rights law. Throughout the wold they attempt to improve the human rights situation and they do so via projects or, where needed, via sanctions. Now it appears that this role is slowly changing. Despite all the fine words about ‘European values’, Brussels is pursuing an extremely harsh set of policies in Greece, in which under the guise of ‘necessary spending cuts’ wages are being drastically lowered, pensions slashed and all sorts of public services privatised. None of these measures affects the wealthy, but people further down the pile are hit worse than ever. Many were shocked when the Dutch media showed pictures of schoolchildren fishing in bins in search of food. These were the real victims of the Troika’s harsh policies.

Statements by UN Rapporteur Cephas Lumina have been clear: it is as a result of privatisation that ordinary Greeks are being robbed of their basic rights, such as the right to food, to water, to housing and to work. Lumina is calling on the Greek government, together with the Troika, to review their austerity policies and find a balance between austerity and the protection of Greece’s people. Similarly, the Council of Europe’s Social Rights Committee has declared in favour of pensioners’ associations who lodged a complaint about the slashing of pension provision in the country. The Committee oversees compliance with the European Social Charter, which Greece, along with forty-two other member states of the 47-strong Council of Europe, has ratified.

If the European Union chooses to ignore this international criticism, it can send its own human rights policies straight to the scrapyard. Any country with which the human rights situation is raised can simply tell EU diplomats that they should first look to their own problems. Only then will you have the right to address ours. Evidently the neediness of so many Greeks is in itself insufficient argument to set aside hash austerity policies, but perhaps the European Commission will be more sensitive to the undermining of its own position in the world. That is to be hoped for, because children, the elderly and people in need of care in Greece can’t wait much longer.