European Commission’s new proposals on asylum and resettlement of refugees are “a cynical attempt to strengthen the walls of fortress Europe,” Amnesty International has said.
The proposed EU-wide resettlement framework would use resettlement as a tool for migration control rather than to provide assistance to vulnerable refugees, Amnesty International pointed out. In addition, three proposed reforms of the EU asylum system would introduce measures intended to increase the number of refugees and asylum seekers returned to non-EU countries.
RELATED ARTICLE: Rights bodies: Why right of asylum is under threat in EU
The latest European Commission’s proposals “are not about improving refugee protection globally, but about reducing irregular arrivals to Europe. They take good tools, like resettlement, and put them to bad ends; they use fine words, but these mask some pretty cynical intentions,” said Iverna McGowan, Head of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office.
“What the Commission is really trying to do with these proposals is resettle some refugees, so they can return more. In the absence of any mention of the need to significantly increase resettlement numbers and heavily invest in conditions for refugees in third countries, the net impact of these proposals for refugee protection globally is very likely to be negative,” McGowan added.