secondTroublesome years forwardThe 1951 UN Refugee Convention established the right of refugees to seek asylum and the obligation of countries to protect them. More and more European countries seem to choose to commemorate the anniversary by tearing up some of the core principles of the convention.
So far this year, close 1,000 migrants died while trying to cross the Mediterranean, more than four times the number of deaths in the same period in 2020. Many people will be economic immigrants. Others will always escape persecution. Europe cares less and less. All are “abnormal”. And brutal tactics must be adopted to stop and deter everyone.
The most recent tragedy happened last week, when at least 57 dead A ship capsized in a strong wind off the coast of Libya. The maritime patrols of both Italian and European agencies have been greatly reduced, which makes such disasters more likely. The owner of the NGO rescue ship was arrested in court and their ship was impounded. With Europe in trouble, Libyan security forces are returning thousands of desperate seafarers to detention centers, which are full of sexual violence, torture and ill-treatment.
In Greece, a large number of people are in despair LimboMany people live in dirty and crowded camps. After the devastating fire in Camp Moria on Lesbos Island in September last year, the European Commission hurriedly formulated a new “Immigration and Asylum Agreement” that emphasized the need to balance border protection and humanitarian issues. However, EU member states have not yet reached agreement on resettlement quotas and procedures that can resolve the crisis. At the same time deafening “Sound cannon“It has been deployed on the Greek-Turkish border to deport migrants, and a Trump-style steel wall has been erected to stop the border crossing. Its next task may be to prevent thousands of people fleeing the Taliban who are currently crossing Turkey. Afghan.
There are multiple accounts in Greece and elsewhere about refugees being expelled without hearing their asylum applications. This so-called “fight back“Violation of the 1951 Convention. Politicians are also having fun on other principles signed 70 years ago. In Northern Europe, the Danish Social Democratic government passed a law that allows asylum seekers to move thousands of miles away. Places, and their applications are processed in a third country. Target Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Denmark should no longer apply for asylum. Her government is seeking to forcibly repatriate hundreds of refugees to Syria-a move that is likely to be challenged in the European Court of Human Rights. The UK criminalizes immigrants arriving via irregular routes, hoping to force them to apply for asylum elsewhere.
Ruthlessly and immorally, Europe defaults to a cruel “fortress” strategy based on brute force and deterrence. However, refugees only account for 0.6% of the EU population. The number of irregular migrants seeking to enter Europe is not comparable to six years ago, when the Syrian Civil War reached its peak, and Angela Merkel famously insisted “US create This“(“We can do it”). With effective leadership and solidarity between nations, it is possible to solve complex problems in a humane way. But there is a lack of political will. Since the 2015 immigration crisis, populist rights Allowed to decide the terms of the debate. Frightened by the rise Matteo Salvini, Victor Orban, and Marina Le Pen — and in the United Kingdom, Nigel Farage’s influence — mainstream politicians across the African continent have hardened their hearts and suppressed their consciences. Give potential refugees a fair hearing. This lack of moral ambition deviates from the spirit of the great humanitarian breakthrough made 70 years ago.
