Stop the pushbacks at Europe’s borders!

If you ask them for asylum they start laughing at you. When they started laughing at me I thought that asylum does not exist in this country. I felt like a joke.

31-year-old Algerian man, pushed back from Albania to Greece in December 2020 [1]

Illegal mass expulsions of refugees are taking place at sea and land right here in Europe, every day – with the assistance of the EU border agency Frontex.

After having endured unconscionable suffering in countries of origin and transit such as Libya, Turkey or Morocco, people on the move risk their lives at sea or land seeking safety in Europe. But once arrived, they are regularly intercepted, pushed back and delivered to the same abuses they sought to escape, and often are subject to arbitrary detention, inhumane living conditions or even death.

These are people seeking refuge for themselves and their families because their lives are threatened at home. Yet, EU Member States and EU agencies such as Frontex are doing everything they can to stop them and send them back to where they came from, without even giving them a chance to claim asylum. Collective expulsions are a human rights violation and they are illegal under both EU and international law, including the Geneva convention on the protection of refugees. That’s why they must stop now!

While Member States use illegal tactics ranging from aggression and violence to mistreating people seeking protection during detention and transport operations, European citizens are clearly showing solidarity towards refugees and asylum seekers! It is time for EU policies to reflect that.

Therefore, we call on the European Commission to:

• Effectively enforce Member State compliance with EU laws and Fundamental Rights standards, putting an end to the collective and illegal expulsions through e.g. infringement procedures;
• Ensure effective and independent fundamental rights monitoring systems to be put in place at the EU external borders, with involvement and oversight of the Fundamental Rights Agency and international organisations;
• Ensure that people fleeing war or prosecution, especially persons in vulnerable situations, are given the opportunity to apply for asylum and, where necessary, appeal against the authorities’ decisions;
• Include local initiatives of voluntary solidarity into the Pact on Asylum and Migration and enhance their role in relocations;
• Support a system of fair and effective responsibility sharing as part of the New Pact on asylum and migration and appoint an EU relocation coordinator to create a more coordinated approach.

Will you join our call?