Members of the European Parliament have been discussing the proposed EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. The Commission presented the Pact last September as a “fresh start,” promising to create a comprehensive, regional approach to asylum and migration. Eight months later, negotiations continue with agreement far from sight.
The EU is long overdue to establish an effective, humane, and rights-based regional approach to equitably sharing responsibility for migration and asylum. But the proposed Pact focuses disproportionately on keeping people out of Europe rather than on realizing the right to seek protection. And it risks institutionalizing an approach by which states have undermined asylum and cooperation.
On Wednesday, June 2, Refugees International released, Undermining Protection in the EU: What Nine Trends Tells Us About the Proposed Pact on Migration and Asylum.
The report examines the proposed Pact in the broader European context. It highlights nine key trends that help understand the EU approach, foretell its impact, and identify issues that need attention. The report also recommends steps EU institutions and Member States should take now as negotiations continue to improve the lives of people seeking safety and reverse course on harmful policies.
The report is authored by Daphne Panayotatos, Europe Advocate at Refugees International.
Here is it:
Introduction: An effective approach to asylum looks holistically at the experience of displacement and the extent of the individuals' protection needs, from life-savingaid at the moment of crisis to community support for building a new life. The European Union has a range of laws, policies, financial resources, and technical capacity to realize such an approach. Nevertheless, undermined by political dissonance, it has maintained an ad hoc, crisis-driven response. This leaves few Member States bearing most of the pressure and many displaced people without adequate protection. .... read further by clicking report below ...
Caveat: Posted by Melanie Nathan, Executive Director, African Human Rights Coalition. All Views and recommendations expressed in this report have yet to be analyzed by AHRC in the context of impact on LGBTQI migrants, asylum seekers, refugees.