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EU-Turkey refugee deal: The West has trodden on its fundamental values
EU-Turkey refugee deal: The West has trodden on its fundamental values
7/5/16
The EU and Turkey have now reached an agreement on
refugee issues, which has aroused considerable legal and political controversy.
To examine the arguments about the deal, I present here the main text with my
legal assessment of each point annotated.
According to this agreement, all new irregular
migrants crossing from Turkey into Greek islands as from 20 March 2016 will be
returned to Turkey. This will take place in full compliance with EU and
international law, thus excluding any kind of collective expulsion. All
migrants will be protected in accordance with the relevant international standards
and in respect of the principle of non-refoulement. It will be a temporary and extraordinary measure
which is necessary to end the human suffering and restore public order, migrants
arriving in the Greek islands will be duly registered and any application for
asylum will be processed individually by the Greek authorities
in accordance with the Asylum Procedures Directive , in cooperation with UNHCR. Migrants not applying for asylum or
whose application has been found unfounded or inadmissible in accordance
with the said directive will be returned to Turkey. Turkey and Greece, assisted by EU institutions and agencies, will take
the necessary steps and agree any necessary bilateral arrangements, including
the presence of Turkish officials on Greek islands and Greek officials in
Turkey as from 20 March 2016, to ensure liaison and thereby facilitate the
smooth functioning of these arrangements. The costs of the return operations of
irregular migrants will be covered by the EU.
The newly added first sentence is a flagrant breach of EU and
international law – but the rest of the paragraph then completely contradicts
it. To be frank, anyone with a legal qualification who signed off on this first
sentence should hang their head in shame. Returning ‘all’ persons who cross
from Turkey to the Greek islands would contradict the ban on
collective expulsion in the EU Charter and the ECHR, as well as EU asylum
legislation.
Proposals to send back refugees en masse from the European Union
to Turkey would contravene their right to protection under European and
international law, agencies and rights groups say.
The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, has criticized the
plans drawn up by Turkey and the EU, saying they would amount
to a violation of human rights.
Filippo
Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, questioned the
legality of the deal
struck by the EU and Turkey. “As a first reaction I am deeply concerned
about any arrangement that would involve the blanket return of anyone from one
country to another, without spelling out the refugee protection safeguards
under international law,” he said on Tuesday.
"The collective expulsion of foreigners is prohibited
under the European Convention of Human Rights," Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR's
Europe regional director, said in Geneva on Tuesday. "An agreement that
would be tantamount to a blanket return of any foreigners to a third country,
is not consistent with European law, is not consistent with international
law."
“EU and Turkish leaders have today sunk to a new low,
effectively horse trading away the rights and dignity of some of the world’s
most vulnerable people. The idea of bartering refugees for refugees is not only
dangerously dehumanizing, but also offers no sustainable long term solution to
the ongoing humanitarian crisis,” said Iverna McGowan, Head of Amnesty
International’s European Institutions Office.
Amnesty International
strongly contests the concept of a ‘safe third country’ in general, as this
undermines the individual right to have asylum claims fully and fairly
processed and may result in individuals being subsequently deported to their
country of origin – in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.
Several other groups have also voiced deep concerns about the plan intended to stem the flow.
Save the Children, the UK-based
charity, said that in Europe, one in four asylum applicants is a child. "Any
returns of individuals who have not had their asylum applications properly
considered, or who are returned to a country where they do not have the right
to international protection, would be illegal under international refugee
law," it said in a statement.
For
its part, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said European
leaders had "lost track of reality". Aurelie Ponthieu, MSF
humanitarian affairs adviser on displacement, said "Europe is willing to
do anything, including compromising essential human rights and refugee law
principles, to stem the flow of refugees and migrants.
"It is time European
leaders stopped fuelling the policy-created European migration crisis and
provide the only realistic and humane response: safe and legal passage and
humanitarian assistance and protection to those in need."
In the case of Turkey
in particular, there is huge cause for concern given the current situation and
treatment of migrants and refugees. Turkey has signed deportation agreements
with countries including Afghanistan, which have poor human rights records.
That could breach laws that forbid refugees being sent back to war zones.
“Turkey has forcibly
returned refugees to Syria and many refugees in the country live in desperate
conditions without adequate housing. Hundreds of thousands of refugee children
cannot access formal education. By no stretch of imagination can Turkey be
considered a ‘safe third country’ that the EU can cowardly outsource its
obligations to,” she added.
Although it was
claimed that those needing international protection that are not Syrian would
not be returned to Turkey, it has not been made clear how those individual
rights could be guaranteed in the context of a system of mass returns. The
reality is that not all asylum seekers are coming from Syria, and Turkey does
not have a fully functioning asylum system.
The deal makes a
mockery of the EU’s obligation to provide access to asylum at its borders. Any
returns system not built on the principle of an individual’s right to access a
fair and robust asylum process is deeply problematic.
“Iraqi and Afghan
nationals, along with Syrians, make up around 90 percent of arrivals to Greece.
Sending them back to Turkey knowing their strong claim to international
protection will most likely never be heard reveals EU claims to respect refugees’
human rights as hollow words,” said Iverna McGowan.
It was also stated by
President Tusk that the Western Balkans route would be closed. Closure of this
route would lead to thousands of vulnerable people being left in the cold with
no clear plan on how their urgent humanitarian needs and rights to
international protection would be dealt with.
It is urgent that the European Union and the
international community as a whole urgently step up their commitment to solving
this crisis, both in terms of humanitarian and other financial assistance and
by resettling far greater numbers of refugees./.
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All comments [ 11 ]
The plans violate fundamental human rights and is a direct assault on the right of asylum.
The collective expulsion of foreigners is prohibited under the European Convention of Human Rights," said Vincent Cochetel, a senior UNHCR official.
An agreement that would be tantamount to a blanket return of any foreigners to a third country is not consistent with European law, is not consistent with international law.
Doctors Without Borders said the European leaders had “completely lost track of reality”, while Human Rights Watch accused the summit of “using refugees as bargaining chips”.
Reports ahead of the deal suggest authorities in the country are forcing those fleeing the conflict back into Syria, a violation of international human rights law.
Turkish law forbids Iraqis and Afghans from obtaining refugee status, which means if citizens of those countries are sent to Turkey they could be deported to their home countries, where they are likely to face persecution and possibly even death.
Aid organizations warned that it is likely to push refugees into opting for riskier and more dangerous routes to make their way into Europe.
Those excluded from the deal will continue to try different, more dangerous routes if the border between Turkey and Greece is shut to them.
It is unclear how the funds allocated to the Turkish government by the EU will be used or how much oversight the European authorities have over them.
It is also unclear what will happen when the money runs out, further emphasizing the short-sightedness of a plan European officials have described as the worst refugee “crisis” since World War II.
This is not a matter purely of numbers but of humanitarian need and decisions should be made on that basis. This is in no-one’s interests except the smugglers.
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