Council of Europe alarmed over human rights violations of refugees
The Council of Europe, the leading human-rights organization in the continent, expressed alarm on Monday over widespread violations against refugees and asylum seekers in Europe.
“I am struck by the alarming level of tolerance to serious human rights violations against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants that have developed across Europe,” Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, said in a statement today, ahead of World Refugee Day; falling on June 20.
“Last week’s shipwreck off the Greek coast is yet another reminder that, despite many warnings, the lives of people at sea remain at risk in the face of insufficient rescue capacity and coordination,” she noted.
“Elsewhere in Europe, pushbacks at land and sea borders, violence against refugees and migrants, denial of access to asylum, deprivation of humanitarian assistance and the harassment of refugee rights defenders, are widely documented,” said Mijatovic.
“Reports of human rights violations against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are now so frequent that they hardly register in the public consciousness,” she lamented.
The Strasbourg-based Council of Europe member states’ governments, “rather than holding each other accountable on the basis of commonly-agreed standards, have far too often silently tolerated or openly supported the adoption of laws and policies that have progressively stripped human rights protections from people on the move,” noted the Commissioner.
Meanwhile, the European Union on Monday called for an investigation into the shipwreck off the Greek coast last week, in which at least 78 migrants are known to have died but many more are feared to have drowned.
“We take note that the Greek Public Prosecutor has started an investigation on this incident,” EU spokesperson for interior affairs Anitta Hipper told a news conference in Brussels.
“It is important to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation. The EU agencies are present on the ground to provide all necessary support,” she said.
“Once again this tragedy emphasizes the need to work together with EU member states, EU agencies and third-country partners to fight the smugglers who put so many lives at stake,” she added.
According to media reports, many of the 750 people aboard the fishing boat that went down 90 kms off Pylos in southern Greece came from Pakistan.
“We have seen the reaction from the foreign ministry in Pakistan and on the need to enhance the fight against the smugglers,” added the EU spokesperson.
Source: Kuwait News Agency