Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR) President George Stavropoulos has resigned from his post and has denounced the government for forcing the appointment of five members of the LGBTQ community and two more from the Roma community. These members will now serve on the GNCHR giving greater representation to their respective communities.
In his resignation letter, Mr Stavropoulos stressed that the government had acted in an arbitrary fashion by showing preferential treatment for the LGBTQ and Roma communities as opposed to other groups.
He wrote: “The government wants to alter its (body’s) composition but also make it dysfunctional, practically inactive, proceeds unilaterally to a pervasive and uncritical addition of 5 members from a single Community, that of the LGBTQ, and two other members, apart from the existing member, from another, that of the Roma community, in violation of any principle of equality with other rights-protection bodies already members of the NCHR and having only one vote in the Plenary of the Commission.”
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He alleged that there is a greater representation of specific groups in the body as opposed to the portion of members of other communities that also defended human rights. He states that this compromises the integrity and independence of the commission.
He said the overrepresentation of a specific group in the body would compromise the integrity and independence of the GNCHR.