Brussels, Belgium, 8 June 2023 — Statement from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) as the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) meets to discuss the New Pact on Asylum and Migration on 8 and 9 June 2023.
Imogen Sudbery, Senior Director of Europe Advocacy, says:
“The EU’s interior ministers have a golden opportunity to finally overcome the paralysis preventing Europe from putting in place the fair, humane migration system Europe desperately needs. But in order to ensure these reforms effectively address the devastating protection crisis at Europe’s borders and avoid entrenching some of the worst elements of the current system, EU leaders must prioritise three key issues.
“First, they must ensure that the New Pact creates a concrete, predictable system for states to share responsibility with countries of first arrival. This should be centred on relocations - a tried and tested way of standing in solidarity with both people seeking asylum and the states hosting them. Any other ‘flexible’ forms of solidarity, such as financial support, should only be used to welcome people with respect and dignity, rather than yet more efforts to deter or detain new arrivals.
“Second, they must ensure refugees are treated with dignity and humanity by avoiding the use of accelerated border procedures that reduce important safeguards. In its current state, there is a real risk that the New Pact could lead to more people - including children - being trapped at Europe’s borders in prison-like conditions. The IRC’s experience from countries including Greece shows that keeping people in remote facilities, under constant surveillance and behind barbed wire fences, prevents their inclusion into local communities and has a devastating impact on people’s mental health. Given the traumas that many refugees have experienced on their journey to Europe, it’s time to shift the focus from walls to welcome.
“Lastly, EU leaders must seize this chance to address the worrying backsliding on access to asylum rights in Europe. It should be unthinkable for people in need of protection to be welcomed at Europe’s borders with violent pushbacks. The Pact must include a commitment to robust independent border monitoring mechanisms, empowered to hold those responsible to account.”
About the EU's Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting
The EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) will meet in Luxembourg today and tomorrow (Thurs 8 and Fri 9 June 2023). On Thursday, they will aim to reach an agreement on two key files that are part of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum:
- The Migration Management System Regulation (AMMR) seeks to establish a common procedure across the EU for granting and withdrawing international protection.
- The Asylum Procedure Regulation (APR) seeks to replace the current Dublin Regulation that sets out the rules determining which member state is responsible for the examination of an asylum application.