STATEMENT - COMMUNIQUE

The consequences of the political pact between the EU and Turkey on the destinies of refugees hosted in Greece and Turkey
Acts that are contrary to international law and that do not respect human dignity

By this statement, the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe expresses its indignation with the treatment of refugees[1] hosted in Greece and Turkey. The principle set out[2] in the Agreement between the EU and Turkey signed on 18 March 2016, which underlines that for each Syrian refugee returned from the Greek islands to Turkey, another refugee staying in Turkey will be sent to a European country, transforms these individuals into objects of commodification. We denounce the signature of this agreement, whose status remains controversial and contested by experts[3] and which was signed before examining its feasibility and the implications. Its first immediate effect is a displacement of migratory flows to Italy, across the Mediterranean Sea.

The Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe demands that every asylum claim be considered in the light of the International Convention of 1951 on the Status of Refugees and its Protocol of 1967and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Any categorisation which prioritises a national of one country over another, is discriminatory under Article 1 of this Convention.

Fundamental rights of vulnerable persons 

The degrading and humiliating conditions in the camps located in Greece and Turkey show that these two countries are currently not able to provide adequate conditions that satisfy the basic needs of refugees (physical protection, access to care and adequate accommodation). No special consideration is given to different experiences and migration conditions of women and men who are the victims of armed conflict, despite the fact that women and girls are exposed to greater danger when crossing borders. As the testimonies collected by Amnesty International show (Amnesty International, 18 January 2016), the sexual exploitation of women and human trafficking begins on the road to the Balkans and continues in refugee camps in countries that are considered "safe". The Conference of INGOs expresses its great astonishment that these fundamental elements of protection of individuals are not stated in the previously mentioned Agreement. We call on the authorities to thoroughly investigate whether crimes have taken place in the respective camps.

The reception centres in the camps are not adequately equipped and adapted to ensure protected areas for women and girls and to meet their specific needs. Pregnant women do not receive any care and have no rights in some member States. The interpretation of the Geneva Convention, the European Convention on Human Rights and other treaties in national laws is done too often at the detriment of these women.

Refugee children (unaccompanied minors or children separated from their parents) should be the subject of specific consideration by policy makers. Migration policies should not under any circumstances incite the separation of children from their families, but should, on the contrary, privilege family reunification. The Conference of INGOs calls on all EU governments to make the necessary efforts to ensure decent conditions in the camps so that they do not turn "into an open cemetery", an expression used by French parliamentarians during their visit to camps in Athens (Le Monde, 23 April 2016).

The right to asylum

Access to asylum procedures must be in line with international standards and applications must be processed while respecting the right of applicants to legal recourse. Currently, the number of applications exceeds administrative capacity which does not guarantee reliable decision-making processes. Professionals, sent by the national authorities to examine asylum cases, are not only insufficient in number but also risk finding themselves in a situation that puts them in conflict with international law.

Together with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Resolution 2109 (2016) on “the situation of refugees and migrants under the EU-Turkey Agreement of 18 March 2016”), we emphasise that "the return of Syrian refugees to Turkey as a "country of first asylum" could be contrary to European Union law and/or international law." The Conference of INGOs calls on the Greek and Turkish governments to implement the legal considerations made by UNHCR on 23 March 2016 on the return of asylum seekers and refugees from Greece to Turkey and to take this legal interpretation of the concept of a "safe third country" and "the first host country" into account in the asylum procedure[4].

Transparency and no criminalisation

Governments have an obligation and the media a moral duty to act against hate speech and its dehumanising rhetoric which confuses refugees with terrorists. The Conference of INGOs calls on the authorities to conduct activities within the camps in all transparency and to give access to the camps to journalists and INGOs so that they may transmit reliable information, as close as possible to the reality. INGOs must be allowed to conduct information campaigns among refugees, provide care, psychological and social assistance and legal aid, without the risk of being criminalised by States.

Council of Europe member States’ commitments under international treaties

The Conference of INGOs, strengthened by the actions conducted by its members towards refugees, reminds member States of the Council of Europe of their commitments under international treaties.  International policy-makers have a duty to react against the walls of hate that are being erected in Europe.  The re-emergence of physical and symbolic barriers is going hand in hand with the introduction of ever-tighter security policies at national and international level, thereby strengthening a real or false sense of insecurity in society.The member States concerned should not forget that among those who seek to enter the European Union, there are persons who need international protection. Border controls should not violate the right to protection guaranteed by international treaties.

4 May 2016



[1] The term "refugee" is defined by Article 1 of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol. It is a"person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."

[2]http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18-eu-turkey-statement/

[3] Maarten den Heijer, Thomas Spijkerboer (Universiteit van Amsterdam)  (7 April 2016). Is the EU-Turkey refugee and migration deal a treaty? EU Law Analysis http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.fr/2016/04/is-eu-turkey-refugee-and-migration-deal.html?m=1

R. Marx (14 March 2016). Legal opinion on the admissibility under Union Law of the European Council’s plan to treat Turkey like a “safe third stat http://www.asylumineurope.org/sites/default/files/resources/160315_legal_opinion_by_dr_marx_turkey_is_no_safe_third_state.pdf

Anna Di Bartolomeo, Robert Schuman (April 2016). EU Migration Crisis Actions with a focus on the EU-Turkey Agreement, Issue 2016/04, Migration Policy Centre, www.migrationpolicycentre.eu

Heaven Crawley(04/04/2016). Future Europe Refugee crisis. The beginning of the end, or the start of something new? Web exclusive http://europesworld.org/2016/04/04/beginning-end-start-something-new/#.VwKZBXocqPB

Simon Cox(September 17, 2015). EU attempts to block migrants reaching its borders: do European human rights apply http://www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk/curbing-migrant-traffic-by-blocking-eu-borders-do-european-human-rights-apply/

Özlem Gürakar Skribeland (2016). Seeking Asylum in Turkey. A critical review of Turkey's asylum laws and practices. Norvegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers http://www.asylumineurope.org/sites/default/files/resources/noas-rapport-tyrkia-april-2016_0.pdf

[4] UN High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], Legal considerations on the return of asylum-seekers and refugees from Greece to Turkey as part of the EU-Turkey Cooperation in Tackling the Migration Crisis under the safe third country and first country of asylum concept, 23 March 2016, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/56f3ee3f4.html ).