Continued Human Rights Violations Against Migrants at European Borders 

22-02-2022

Manon Picard

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

The migrant crisis that is facing Europe has led to the “increasing number of serious human rights violations against refugees and migrants at various European borders”. Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement that the UN Refugee Agency is: 

“alarmed by recurrent and consistent reports coming from Greece’s land and sea borders with Turkey, where UNHCR has recorded almost 540 reported incidents of informal returns by Greece since the beginning of 2020”.

Mr. Grandi further stated that even though not all incidents have been reported, migrants have illegally been pushed back and a pattern of “threat, intimidation, violence and humiliation” can be established. The UN Refugee Agency, the UNHCR, condemns European States’ infringing European and international laws which protect migrants from refoulement and who have the right to seek asylum. Filippo Grandi expresses his concern in regard to the increased reliance on walls and fences as borders and believes this will have unfair consequences on women and children. Moreover, these illegal practices occurring at European borders are becoming “normalized and policy based” which should be condemned as this goes against the fundamental values of human rights in Europe. 

The continued human rights violations and the increased violence against migrants at European borders transgresses the human rights of asylum seekers protected by European and international law. According to Mr. Grandi “what is happening at European borders is legally and morally unacceptable and must stop”.

Sources and further reading:

Filippo Grandi – UN High Commissioner for Refugees. (2022, February 21). News Comment: UNHCR Warns of Increasing Violence and Human Rights Violations at European Borders. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Retrieved February 22, 2022, from https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2022/2/62137a284/news-comment-unhcr-warns-increasing-violence-human-rights-violations-european.html

United Nations. (2022, February 21). Stop Violence at European Borders and Protect Refugees – UNHCR. UN News. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/02/1112342