Brussels, Belgium, 18 December 2025 — Today, on International Migrants Day, the European Council and Parliament reached agreement on the countries considered to be ‘safe’ for people in the asylum system to be deported to.
Meron Ameha Knikman, IRC’s Senior EU Advocacy Advisor, says:
“International Migrants Day is meant to be a chance to celebrate migrants’ immense contributions to our communities. Instead, the EU has chosen to mark this day by further hollowing out the rights of people seeking protection in Europe.
"Nobody should ever be forced to go back to a country that is unsafe or where their rights cannot be guaranteed. However, this will become almost inevitable under the EU’s new ‘safe country’ rules.
"The reality of the new ‘safe third country’ agreement is that people can be deported to places they have never lived, and have no links whatsoever. They will face an increased chance of violence, abuse and exploitation - potentially even putting their lives at risk. What’s more, people who appeal their deportation decision could be forcibly sent to these countries before their case has even been heard before a court.
"It’s crystal clear that the countries deemed to be ‘safe’ on the new ‘safe country of origin’ list are not safe for everybody. Even the EU’s own explanatory documents on this file admit that people in each of these countries face grave human rights violations. One of them - Colombia - even features on the IRC’s 2026 Emergency Watchlist as one of the countries most at risk of worsening humanitarian crisis, with almost 7 million people in humanitarian need, and a 1,000% increase in child recruitment to armed groups in recent years.
"Labelling such countries as ‘safe’ does not make these risks magically disappear. It only serves to increase the chances of the EU acting in ways that are unlawful both under its own laws and the 1951 Geneva Convention.”
Instead, the IRC is calling for the EU and its member states to:
- Assess every application for protection on its own merits - regardless of where people are from, or how they arrive in Europe.
- Ensure an automatic suspensive effect, meaning that planned deportations must automatically be put on hold while a legal challenge is being considered. This is essential in order to prevent people being returned to potentially dangerous situations, and helps to guarantee their legal rights and protections, including legal assistance.
- Make the sources of information for countries’ ‘safe’ designation publicly available, so that people affected can appeal the decisions if necessary. Anyone applying for protection from one of these countries should have the chance to rebut the presumption that it is safe.
Notes to editors:
The ‘safe third country’ agreement outlines where people can be deported to - other than their country of origin - if their application for international protection is denied without being examined in full. It removes the previous need for there to be a personal connection between the applicant and that country, making it possible for people to be sent to a country they have only briefly traveled through, or never set foot in and have no connection with.
The ‘safe country of origin’ list deems certain countries, from which 20% or fewer applicants are granted international protection in the EU, to be safe. As a result, their asylum applications fast-tracked rather than processed on their individual merits, and likely denied. This could result in people with specific vulnerabilities slipping through the net, or not being able to access adequate legal support.