The EU is weighing whether to deport migrants to countries they have no obvious connection to
Rights groups say the 'safe third country' plans unveiled Tuesday contravene EU values and will burden poorer nations. Under the bloc's rules, people can be sent to countries deemed safe, but not to those where they face the risk of physical harm or persecution.
'We can expect families being separated and people being deported without appropriate judicial review to places they don't even know,' said Silvia Carta, Advocacy Officer at PICUM, a collective of organizations that defends migrants' rights.
The EU's executive branch, the European Commission, proposed that the 27 member countries should no longer feel bound to ensure that migrants have a link to a place they might be sent to.
The commission, which proposes EU laws and ensures they are respected, said that unauthorized migrants could also be deemed to have a connection to a country if they crossed it safely on their way to Europe. This wouldn't apply to children traveling alone.
Under the plans, people could be forcibly taken to one of these countries before their cases are heard, even if they appeal.
The new draft rules, which must be endorsed by EU nations and the European Parliament to enter force, were unveiled as a number of countries including Britain and Italy seek to set up 'return hubs' in third countries where rejected asylum seekers can be held until they can be deported.
The commission said its plans will speed up asylum procedures and ease pressure on European administrations and facilities. EU law currently requires authorities to prove a link between applicants and the safe third country they might be sent to.
'Instead of spending endless time and resources offloading its responsibilities to other countries, the EU should invest in its own asylum systems,' said Amnesty International's EU Advocate on Migration and Asylum, Olivia Sundberg Diez.
'Sending people to countries to which they have no connection, no support and no prospects, or may have only briefly transited through, is not only chaotic and arbitrary, but also devastating on a human level,' Diez said.
More than 1 million people entered Europe a decade ago, sparking a political crisis over who should take responsibility for them. Tensions between European neighbors remain palpable. Migration laws have been constantly tightened ever since.
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Last month, the commission said that seven countries – Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco and Tunisia – should be designated 'safe third countries.'
It said that migrants from those countries are unlikely to be granted asylum in Europe and should have their applications processed in 3 months rather than the usual 6 months so they can be sent home more quickly.
Asylum applications by people coming from countries that are candidates to join the EU – Albania, Bosnia, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey – would also be fast-tracked.
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