Council of Europe Condemns EU's Refugee Deal With Turkey
Categories: Articles:Asylum & Refugees |
Published: 18/04/2016 |
Views: 1623
Europe’s leading human rights body has issued a stinging indictment of the EU’s refugee deal with Turkey, which it said at worst exceeds the limits of what is permissible under international law. A report from the Council of Europe’s assembly listed numerous concerns on human rights, from keeping migrants in overcrowded and insanitary detention centres on the Greek islands to inadequate legal protection for people seeking to appeal against rejection of an asylum claim. (Jennifer Rankin, Guardian, 20/04/2016)
The report also condemned Europe’s 'shamefully slow' progress on relocating refugees from Greece to other countries. Only 937 out of a promised 160,000 had been found homes as of March. The EU-Turkey agreement “at best strains and at worst exceeds the limits of what is permissible under European and international law”, states the report by the Dutch parliamentarian Tineke Strik.
The EU-Turkey agreement “at best strains and at worst exceeds the limits of what is permissible under European and international law”, states the report by the Dutch parliamentarian Tineke Strik.
“Even on paper, it raises many serious questions of compatibility with basic norms on refugees’ and migrants’ rights. It has so far given every indication of being even more problematic in practice.”
The EU has faced a barrage of criticism about the bargain it struck with Turkey at a summit in March. Turkey, already hosting 3.1 million refugees, agreed to take back irregular migrants from Europe, in exchange for an end to visa restrictions, as well as progress on EU accession talks. European leaders also promised to resettle up to 72,000 Syrian refugees living in Turkey and provide €3bn (£2.3bn) in humanitarian funding.
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