World UN condemn direct rejections of refugees at EU borders

Medevac refugees freed from Vic hotel

More than 20 refugees who were medically transferred to Australia from Nauru or Papua New Guinea have been released from their Melbourne hotel detention centre.More than 20 refugees held in a Melbourne hotel for months after being transferred from offshore detention are being released, detainees and refugee advocates say.

For Vice-Commissioner for Refugees Triggs, pushbacks massively undermine the right to asylum. She did not name the responsible EU states - although they are well known.

© Emrah Gurel / AP / picture alliance Refugees in September 2020 in a Turkish Coast Guard ship. Ankara also accuses Greece of pushbacks

The UN expresses its alarm about an increase in deportations and violent rejections of refugees and asylum seekers at the European borders . The states concerned must end these attacks on the right to asylum, demanded the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Back to sea or to neighboring countries

UNHCR has received regular reports of some European countries restricting access to asylum and pushing people back after they have already reached their territory, said the UN's deputy high commissioner for refugees, Gillian Triggs, in Geneva.

Medevac detainees have been freed after years in Australia's immigration detention system. Here's why, and what may happen next

Refugee advocates say 46 people have been released from detention in a Melbourne hotel, but this does not mark the end of what has been years in Australia's immigration system. Here's what we know so far, and what still remains unanswered. Why were they in a hotel to begin with?The asylum seekers and refugees were flown into Australia from Manus and Nauru under the so-called Medevac laws, which gave doctors more power over whether refugees and asylum seekers should come to the country for medical treatment.The legislation was passed in February 2019 in a shock defeat for the Government. It was repealed in December of that year.

So-called pushbacks apparently took place systematically, Triggs continues. Boats with refugees would be towed back. People would be rounded up after landing and then brought back to sea. People arriving by land would be detained without any trial and forcibly returned to neighboring countries.

Video: Corona crisis in Kosovo (dw.com)

Focus on Greece, Croatia and Serbia

The High Commissioner did not mention any EU countries by name. In the past, however, refugees had reported such rejections at the borders from e.g. Greece , Croatia and also Serbia .

© Brendon Thorne / Getty Images Australian Gillian Triggs is Deputy UN High Commissioner for Refugees

"The right to seek asylum is a fundamental human right," continued Triggs. The corona pandemic is no reason for an exception. It is possible to protect yourself from the pandemic and still guarantee access to fair and expeditious asylum procedures. The authorities would have to carry out an individual assessment of the protection requirements, demanded Triggs: "Pushbacks are simply illegal."

Number of arrivals falling.

According to UNHCR, the number of arrivals of refugees and asylum seekers in the European Union has steadily decreased in recent years. In 2020, 95,000 people would have reached the EU by sea and land. In 2019 there were 123,700 people, in 2018 it was 141,500.

sti / fab (afp, dpa, epd)