Ago 18, 2021

Argos – International Observatory for Migration and Human Rights expresses its concern about the actions of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, known as Frontex, as it has developed actions that represent serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights of people in human mobility approaching the external borders of the European Union.

Frontex is the main instrument through which the European Union criminalizes the human mobility of poor and racialized migrants. There have been numerous and verified complaints, investigated by entities such as the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) of the Council of Europe or the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), about mistreatment or torture by Frontex agents of people who are only seeking asylum in a safe country or who are forcibly returned to their countries of origin or transit, as a form of externalization of the European borders.

Frontex’s practice has included damaging boats on the high seas, leaving migrants adrift at mortal risk, to prevent their passage to European Union member countries. In this regard, it should be recalled that in 2021 alone, more than 750 people drowned in the Mediterranean Sea due to lack of maritime rescue means. It is estimated that some 45,000 people have drowned trying to reach European coasts. In this regard, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has expressed its concern about the persistence of the practice of informal (“hot”) returns at land and sea borders, with no guarantee of respect for the principle of non-refoulement.

We express our great concern about the European Union’s migration policy and its practices that violate both European law and international human rights law, as has been repeatedly pointed out by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe.

In the face of this serious expulsion policy:

1) We strongly support the campaign being carried out by the Abolish Frontex network, before the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament, for the immediate abolition of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the total restructuring of the common migration policy.

2) We request the opening of the necessary judicial investigations to punish human rights violations against migrants in transit to Europe.

3) We demand that fair and humane treatment be guaranteed for migrants, regardless of their migratory status, and that people arriving at the border be treated fairly, efficiently and with respect for their rights, and that public health measures be implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19.

4) We demand that measures be put in place against the expulsion and return of migrants, providing them with medical treatment or asylum services, and translation where necessary, the use of personal protective equipment, frequent testing and social distancing, and ensuring that asylum seekers and migrants have adequate shelter, prioritizing family and small group care.

5) We demand that basic human rights be guaranteed, abolishing the detention of migrants in all its forms, and providing basic standards of care to ensure their physical safety, access to legal services information and access to emergency clinical services; adapting border facilities to their specific vulnerabilities and needs, with adequately trained personnel.