- Thread starter
- Staff
- #1
Dadparvar
Staff member
- Nov 11, 2016
- 11,231
- 0
- 6
Amnesty International warned Wednesday that plans by five European Union governments for migrant return hubs in Rwanda and Uganda risk becoming what it called “cruel black holes for human rights”, two days before the governments meet to review progress on the plans.
In commenting on the human rights risks that these migrant return hubs pose and the potentially deplorable living conditions that they will be expected to endure, Eve Geddie, Director of the European Institutions Office of Amnesty International stated:
These negotiations, and the EU’s broader so-called ‘migration diplomacy’ approach, are based on deep power asymmetries reflecting an unabashed attempt by the EU to shirk its migration responsibilities and shift them on to countries in the Global South that are already doing far more than Europe to receive refugees and with fewer resources.
The warning comes as the EU Return Regulation, approved by the European Parliament in June but still awaiting final approval by the Council, is set to supply the legal basis for such hubs once it takes effect. Under the Regulation, the European Commission has said such arrangements can only be made with a third country “that respects international human rights standards and principles in accordance with international law, including the principle of non-refoulement.” The principle of non-refoulement, which is codified under Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, remains a fundamental principle of international law and prohibits nations from expelling refugees to a country where their life or freedom would be at stake.
In 2023, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom unanimously found substantial grounds to believe that asylum seekers transferred to Rwanda would face a real risk of refoulement, making the UK’s own Rwanda removal policy unlawful. The court’s reasoning also drew on Rwanda’s broader human rights record, including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Uganda, meanwhile, criminalizes consensual same-sex conduct under its Anti-Homosexuality Act, which makes aggravated homosexuality a capital offense.
Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said in August that the discussions remained preliminary and that no agreement had been reached. A European Commission spokesperson said separately that the EU executive is “not involved in the discussions on the hubs.” The Uganda talks specifically are understood to be bilateral negotiations between the five states and Kampala.
Migration ministers from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands are set to meet in Copenhagen on September 4 to review progress on the plans, which reports indicate could produce a Ugandan center accommodating up to 10,000 rejected asylum seekers by 2027. Amnesty raised similar alarm in March, when it criticized the European Parliament’s adoption of its negotiating position on the Return Regulation as punitive in nature.
The post Amnesty International warns EU migrant return hub plans risk human rights abuses in Rwanda and Uganda appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.
In commenting on the human rights risks that these migrant return hubs pose and the potentially deplorable living conditions that they will be expected to endure, Eve Geddie, Director of the European Institutions Office of Amnesty International stated:
These negotiations, and the EU’s broader so-called ‘migration diplomacy’ approach, are based on deep power asymmetries reflecting an unabashed attempt by the EU to shirk its migration responsibilities and shift them on to countries in the Global South that are already doing far more than Europe to receive refugees and with fewer resources.
The warning comes as the EU Return Regulation, approved by the European Parliament in June but still awaiting final approval by the Council, is set to supply the legal basis for such hubs once it takes effect. Under the Regulation, the European Commission has said such arrangements can only be made with a third country “that respects international human rights standards and principles in accordance with international law, including the principle of non-refoulement.” The principle of non-refoulement, which is codified under Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, remains a fundamental principle of international law and prohibits nations from expelling refugees to a country where their life or freedom would be at stake.
In 2023, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom unanimously found substantial grounds to believe that asylum seekers transferred to Rwanda would face a real risk of refoulement, making the UK’s own Rwanda removal policy unlawful. The court’s reasoning also drew on Rwanda’s broader human rights record, including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Uganda, meanwhile, criminalizes consensual same-sex conduct under its Anti-Homosexuality Act, which makes aggravated homosexuality a capital offense.
Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said in August that the discussions remained preliminary and that no agreement had been reached. A European Commission spokesperson said separately that the EU executive is “not involved in the discussions on the hubs.” The Uganda talks specifically are understood to be bilateral negotiations between the five states and Kampala.
Migration ministers from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands are set to meet in Copenhagen on September 4 to review progress on the plans, which reports indicate could produce a Ugandan center accommodating up to 10,000 rejected asylum seekers by 2027. Amnesty raised similar alarm in March, when it criticized the European Parliament’s adoption of its negotiating position on the Return Regulation as punitive in nature.
The post Amnesty International warns EU migrant return hub plans risk human rights abuses in Rwanda and Uganda appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.