2 25,533 is the number of pushbacks recorded in 2022 at the southern European maritime borders, i.e. nearly 617 operations per day, reveals a recent survey by the Dutch platform 11.11.11. In January alone, 1,881 pushbacks were reported at sea between Greece and Turkey, an increase of 64% compared to January last year.
Illegal and Systematic Practices
According to this same survey, these illegal practices have become systematic in the management of the borders of all the Member States located at the external borders of Europe, and this for several years. The editors of the said survey point out, however, that the figures revealed are only the tip of the iceberg since most pushbacks go unnoticed at sea or in remote border regions. Also according to the 11.11.11 platform, these pushbacks cause human drama and violence as was the case, for example, of Maria, a 5-year-old Syrian girl, who was taken with her family from Greece. to an isolated island abandoned by border guards. “Without water, food or medical care, Maria died after being stung by a scorpion, despite multiple calls for medical help,” newspapers reported. “In addition to Maria, two other men from her group were killed. Our counts show that at least 77 people died as a result of illegal refoulements”, denounces the investigation in question.
Denial of international obligations
But what does “pushbacks” mean? According to the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Felipe González Morales, there is no international definition but these practices are considered “various measures taken by States which result in migrants, including asylum-seekers, are summarily forcibly returned to the country where they attempted to cross or have crossed an international border without having access to international protection or asylum procedures or without an individual assessment of their protection needs, which may lead to a violation of the principle of non-refoulement”. For him, these practices of “pushbacks” “demonstrate a denial of the international obligation of the State to protect the human rights of migrants at international borders by explaining that the “pushbacks” lead to violations of human rights. Human such as forced returns without individual assessment and often collective expulsions with a high risk of refoulement, including chain refoulement”.
In particular, he called on member states to put an end to the practice of refoulement, to fully respect the ban on collective expulsions and to uphold the principle of non-refoulement. Mr. González Morales has already noted in his report a number of worrying global trends, in particular the militarization of border patrols; the conclusion of bilateral and multilateral agreements which are sometimes used to circumvent State obligations in terms of human rights or to ratify the return of migrants without individual guarantees; as well as the delegation of border governance and entry procedures to cooperating states. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur pointed out that migrants detained in extraterritorial treatment centers have difficulty accessing the guarantees of an individualized procedure and judicial remedy. Mr. González Morales further warned against pushbacks at sea, which endanger the lives of thousands of migrants and have led to the tragic deaths of many, including women and children.
EU, accomplice
But these illegal and anti-migrant rights practices are not the panache of member states alone, they are also seen in EU migration policy. According to a UN fact-finding mission, the EU “aiding and abetting” the crimes of the Libyan authorities against migrants. A new UN report will be published and presented to the Human Rights Council this week. It reveals that crimes against humanity have allegedly been perpetrated against migrants in detention centres.
According to the fact-finding mission, the EU and Member States have supported and trained the Libyan Coast Guard, which sends migrants back to detention centres. They have also funded Libyan border management programs.
The UN mission said militias carried out murders, rapes, acts of enslavement, judicial executions and enforced disappearances. “The violations and abuses investigated by the mission were primarily related to the consolidation of power and wealth by militias and other state-affiliated groups,” the report said. And to clarify that “trafficking, slavery, forced labor, imprisonment, extortion and smuggling of vulnerable migrants have generated significant income for individuals, groups and state institutions”.
According to middleeasteye.net, the EU was criticized in 2022 for using a drone to help Libyan forces intercept boats carrying migrants in the Mediterranean. The drone, which operated from EU member Malta, played a ‘crucial role’ in detecting boats leaving Libya, information which the EU border agency Frontex then relays to guards Libyan coasts, HRW said. And to add that “Frontex claims that the surveillance is intended to help rescue, but the information facilitates interceptions and returns to Libya… [malgré] overwhelming evidence of torture and exploitation of migrants and refugees in Libya,” HRW said in a statement.