Riyadh's PSU tops Saudi universities in research quality    Historic Jeddah hosts 'Ramadan Season 2025' with diverse cultural events    Project launched to evaluate degraded sites in Saudi regions    Bevatel leads the WhatsApp Business API and Meta Solutions for GCC businesses    Aramco reports $106.2 billion net income for 2024    Trump's tariffs risk economic turbulence and voter backlash    Two dead after car plows into crowd in Germany    Pope Francis 'alert' after respiratory failure    Trump pauses US military aid to Ukraine following disastrous Oval Office meeting    In-person school classes will remain suspended in some parts of Makkah region on Tuesday    Al-Ahli CEO Ron Gourlay to step down in April    HONOR unveils New Corporate Strategy to Transition to an AI Device Ecosystem Company Illuminating a three-step roadmap underpinned by openness and collaboration    MEPCO lays the Foundation for PM5: A Groundbreaking Leap in Paper Production, doubling Supply Capacity and introducing Superior-Quality Paper to the Region    Secure 2030 by Seclore strengthens Data Sovereignty, Cybersecurity and Regulations in Saudi Arabia    UK death rate 'reaches record low'    Anora sweeps Oscars with best picture, best director and best actress for Mikey Madison    Bassogog stuns Al-Ittihad with last-minute equalizer as Al-Okhdood snatches a dramatic draw    Cristiano Ronaldo left out of Al-Nassr squad for AFC Champions League clash against Esteghlal in Iran    Toney's hat-trick stuns Al Hilal as Al Ahli claims thrilling victory in Saudi Clasico    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    SFDA warns against Maragatty chicken broth for containing banned colorants    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



'Culture of impunity' across EU over violence against migrants, NGO warns
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 08 - 12 - 2022

Migrants attempting to reach Europe are now almost always subjected to some form of violence at the hands of authorities, according to a new NGO report.
The second edition of the "Black Book of Pushbacks" compiled by the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) documents more than 1,635 testimonies of human rights violations affecting almost 25,000 people over the past six years.
Nearly half of these testimonies — 44% — were collected since the first edition was released in December 2020 but they account for over 16,100 of the people affected or nearly two-thirds.
They recount being beaten, kicked, humiliated through forced undressing, threatened with a firearm, arbitrarily detained and subjected to inhuman treatment inside a police station before being illegally pushed back both at the EU's external borders and from deep within the territory of the bloc's member states.
Only 5.6% of the people surveyed by the various NGOs who participated in the report said they did not recall excessive force being used.
The testimonies were collected in 15 countries: the EU's Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Slovenia; Western Balkan nations Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia; as well as in Belarus and Turkey.
"In 2020 we published the first Black Book, with over 900 testimonies, and called for an end to the culture of impunity that surrounds human rights violations in Europe. Two years later and illegal pushbacks continue unabated in spite of an increased evidence base, videos of perpetrators committing these crimes, and hundreds more testimonies," Hope Barker, co-author of the report and BVMN senior policy analyst, said in a statement.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg, there are hundreds of thousands of stories that we have not heard. We at BVMN again call for an end to this practice, for perpetrators to be held accountable, and for the human rights of all individuals to be respected," she also said.
Excessive and disproportional force by police was reported in all 15 countries of reporting, with officers using batons, fists, kicking, police dogs or improvised weapons such as metal poles or tree branches.
BVMN meanwhile described itself as "concerned with the growing number of countries using disputed border regions, and so-called 'neutral zones' or 'no-mans lands' as a location of torture and inhuman treatment against people-on-the-move."
At least 17 people died between September and New Year's Eve 2021 at the border between Belarus and Poland after being stranded in one such no man's land by authorities on both sides of the border.
The report also accuses authorities to turn a blind eye to the evidence of human rights violations recorded by NGOs and failing to launch investigations or hold individuals accountable.
It said for instance that public prosecutors in Greece close such cases citing lack of evidence whilst refusing to interview witnesses or rejecting other evidence while journalists and NGOs are increasingly being monitored via different forms of surveillance technologies.
According to data from the EU's external border agency, Frontex, there were almost 200,000 irregular arrivals into the EU in 2021 — the highest number since 2017. The central Mediterranean — largely via Grece and Italy — and Western Balkan routes were the most popular, accounting for over 125,000 such arrivals.
But this number was shattered this year with 281,000 irregular entries recorded in the first ten months of 2022. More than 128,000 of them came via the Western Balkans.
The European Commission has responded to the surge by releasing two action plans that aim to bolster cooperation between EU countries and with the bloc's neighbors and that would also see Frontex staff deployed in Western Balkan countries, rather than just at EU borders.
But Frontex was itself at the centre of a scandal that forced its chief out earlier this year. Senior staff at the agency were found by the EU's anti-fraud watchdog, OLAF, to have covered up illegal pushbacks from Greece to Turkey.
The European Parliament refused to approve Frontex's 2020 budget in October over the human rights abuses and the process to appoint a new head is still ongoing.
Left MEP Cornelia Ernst (Die Linke, Germany) commented on the "Black book" by describing the European Commission as "inactive" on the issue, and "not starting infringement procedures against Member States who are pushing people back and denying them the right to asylum."
"Frontex is still operating in Greece, although its complicity in human rights violations there is no secret. We see that the right to asylum is seriously under attack: the EU is funding more and more border forces perpetrating violence and Member States like Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are adopting laws aiming at legalising push-backs, legislation that violates the EU and international law."
"As Members of the European Parliament we have to thank the activists and NGOs that have been documenting border violence, gathering testimonies and locations at the high risk of being criminalised by European governments, without whom this book would not exist," she said.
Migration is a matter of national competence within the EU. The Commission has however repeatedly called on member states to respect international and maritime laws and to thoroughly investigate allegations of human rights violations.
It has also put forward a New Pact on Migration and Asylum but the proposal has languished for more than two years.
Some member states were vehemently opposed to a mechanism that would require them to show solidarity in times of "force majeure" either by taking in migrants and asylum seekers or by providing other types of assistance, including financial. —Euronews


Clic here to read the story from its source.