Joint Statement: New EU leadership must uphold the right to asylum in Europe

The organizations, which include Amnesty International, the Danish Refugee Council, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam, are alarmed by recent attempts from several EU countries to evade or ‘externalize’ their international legal responsibilities, by shifting asylum processing and refugee protection to countries outside the EU.These controversial proposals seek to dismantle the core tenet of international protection: that people under a jurisdiction have a right to seek asylum in that jurisdiction and have that claim fairly examined.

“Externalising asylum processing and refugee protection has serious consequences for refugees’ rights. The EU needs a reality check: the majority of refugees – indeed 75% - are hosted in low- and middle-income countries. Equitable responsibility-sharing and safeguarding people’s right to seek asylum in the EU are necessary to ensure refugee protection globally.” said Céline Mias, DRC Brussels, EU Director.

Wherever these schemes have been attempted, they have been rife with rights violations, placing countless people in prolonged arbitrary detention and an unbearable legal limbo, denying them crucial legal safeguards and guarantees, while costing taxpayers inordinate sums.

At a time when 75% of refugees worldwide are hosted by low and middle-income countries, these proposals send a dangerous signal about EU countries’ lack of commitment to the rule of law, international treaties, and the global refugee protection system. 

In a public statement issued today, the organizations call on the EU to abandon these proposals which stand in stark contrast to existing EU law and the recently agreed EU Migration Pact.

Instead, the EU must support humane, sustainable and realistic migration and asylum policies that benefit both people seeking safety and the communities that welcome them. 

Read the statement here