EU: Oxfam exposes great abuse in EUs approach to migration
11 October 2017
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EU
Oxfam exposes ‘great abuse’ in EU’s approach to migration
11.10.17
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"Oxfam’s Brussels office has published a report saying that the European Union’s migration policy needs “an urgent shift in direction” in order to respect the EU’s founding values of human rights, in a lobbying effort ahead of the 19-20 October EU summit.
(...)
The 30-page report finds that the EU and its member states have made almost no effort to increase options for safe and regular migration, and show insufficient concern about the implications that their policies have on the human rights and living conditions of asylum seekers in the EU and at its borders."
See: Oxfam exposes ‘great abuse’ in EU’s approach to migration (EurActiv, link)
Oxfam press release: Oxfam: grave abuse shows urgent need for shift on EU Migration Agenda (pdf)
The report: Beyond 'Fortress Europe' - Principles for a humane EU migration policy (link to pdf)
And: Executive summary (pdf, emphasis added):
"In 2015, in response to the dramatic increase in the number of people crossing the Mediterranean in search of safety and a better life, the European Commission published the European Agenda on Migration. The policy, also known as the Migration Agenda, was adopted by European heads of state and government in the European Council meeting of 25–26 June 2015 and has since formed the basis of European actions on migration.
More than two years after the Migration Agenda was adopted, it is clear that EU institutions and member states have not taken a balanced approach to managing migration. Instead they have focused their efforts on reducing irregular migration and increasing border management, with very little attempt to increase options for safe and regular migration, and insufficient concern for the human rights and living conditions of asylum seekers.
Oxfam has seen first-hand the devastating impact of some of the Migration Agenda measures and other recent European policies on people moving across borders, and is calling on European decision makers to adopt a migration policy which is fair, protects human rights and is conducive to development. A better approach is both urgently needed, and possible. In the meantime, the current European approach is pushing people to take longer and more dangerous routes, increasing the hardship and risks they face, with women and children at particular risk of violence and trafficking."
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