Judith Sunderland Profile picture
Jun 20, 2019 14 tweets 12 min read Read on X
On #worldrefugeeday, it’s worth repeating the facts. Thread 1/14 @hrw Image
@hrw Over 70 million people are forcibly displaced in the world today. A tiny, tiny fraction seek to reach Europe. unhcr.org/globaltrends20… 2/14 Image
@hrw A surge in arrivals to the EU of refugees and migrants in 2015 was grossly mismanaged, leading to a humanitarian and political crisis that set the bloc on a race to adopt every harsher and cynical policies. hrw.org/news/2018/06/1… 3/14 Image
@hrw Most shocking is willingness to let people die at sea. The Mediterranean is the deadliest migration route in the world – almost 15,000 have died since 2014. Just yesterday terrible news of 22 people presumed dead in waters between Morocco and Spain. euronews.com/2019/06/19/20-…
@hrw Instead of doing everything they can to save lives at sea, EU countries have 1) struck deals with countries like Libya to stop the boats; 2) launched legal and administrative attacks on rescue NGOs; and 3) dithered and squabbled over disembarkations 5/14 hrw.org/news/2019/01/2…
@hrw The EU Fundamental Rights Agency just published analysis showing that more EU countries opened legal cases against NGOs but many ended in acquittals or were dropped for lack of evidence. Others are still pending fra.europa.eu/en/news/2019/n… 6/14 Image
@hrw #Italy, for a time a leader on sea rescue, has completely abdicated its obligations by handing responsibility to the Libyan Coast Guard, knowing they are unreliable, sometimes dangerous, and that everyone picked up will be taken back to horrific abuses in Libya. 7/14 Image
@hrw Deputy PM Matteo Salvini has led a smear campaign vs rescue NGOs & “closed Italian ports.”Now, Salvini has rammed through a decree that imposes fines of up to 50,000 euros on ships that bring rescued migrants to Italy. 8/14 theguardian.com/world/2019/jun…
@hrw Outrage over these policies and EU indifference is growing. UN experts urged the Italian government to reject a previous version of the decree ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/… (So did @hrw hrw.org/news/2019/05/1…) 9/14 Image
@hrw The Council of Europe @CommissionerHR slammed “laws, policies & practices contrary to ...legal obligations to ensure effective search and rescue operations, swift & safe disembarkation & treatment of rescued people..[and] the prevention of torture” coe.int/it/web/commiss… 10/14 Image
@hrw @CommissionerHR The OSCE human rights head said, “Saving lives of those in danger is an obligation and not a crime, or even a favor” osce.org/odihr/423428 11/14
@hrw @CommissionerHR Yet right now, @seawatch_intl has 43 people on board its ship with Italy refusing to allow the ship to dock and disembark. Libyan authorities had told them to disembark in Tripoli; they rightly refused because Libya cannot be considered a safe port sea-watch.org/en/sea-watch-d… Image
@hrw @CommissionerHR @seawatch_intl The EU should live up to its founding human rights values & promise of the 1951 refugee convention. This means proactive rescue ops; cooperation with, rather than obstruction/criminalization, rescue NGOs; swift disembarkation & shared responsibility hrw.org/sites/default/… 13/14 Image
@hrw @CommissionerHR @seawatch_intl And EU govts should create more safe and legal channels, notably refugee resettlement, so people don’t have to undertake these perilous journeys. They should address the human rights abuses that drive forced migration, & improve protection in countries of first refuge 14/14 Image

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More from @sunderland_jude

Sep 23, 2020
From what I can tell so far, the vaguely newish ideas in the #MigrationPact presented today are products of the same wishful thinking that created hellholes like Moria.
It is wrong to think that chance of drowning at sea, or prospect of detention upon arrival, or possibility of quick deportation will deter people from trying to reach Europe. People take dangerous, risky migration journeys because they have to, not on a lark.
The #MigrationPact proposes pre-screening and then accelerated border procedures for people coming from certain countries. These kinds of procedures are usually unfair and rarely that quick. Think #Moria
Read 5 tweets
Sep 22, 2020
And now for a positive on the Migration Pact due out tomorrow. It would be really great if laid out a sensible and humane approach to border governance, with human rights as the starting point. A thread on what that could involve (A lot is here hrw.org/news/2018/06/1…) 1/X
Commission Prez von der Leyen said recently “sea rescue is compulsory and not optional.” Yes! Hopefully the Pact lays out what exactly this looks like: EU rescue missions, support (not obstruction) for NGO rescue groups, timely disembarkation in places of safety. Yes? 2/X
Commissioner Johansson acknowledged in July abuses against migrants & refugees at EU borders (there’s an awful lot of evidence of violent pushbacks) & opened the door to meaningful border monitoring. Great! Let’s make sure there's real accountability euobserver.com/migration/1488… 3/X
Read 8 tweets
Sep 22, 2020
I don’t know about you, but I’m on pins and needles over the Pact on Migration & Asylum coming out tomorrow. The European Commission has kept the draft under wraps, but they seem awfully excited about it. Thread 1/X
I’m a little worried though. Starting with the imagery. We’ve gone From Fortress Europe to Heavily Guarded House. Commissioner Schinas said the proposal is like a 3-story house. euobserver.com/migration/1494… 2/X
On the 1st floor deals with countries like Turkey & Libya block the stairs. If you manage to get to the 2nd floor, Frontex is there to march you back outside. If you make it to the 3rd floor you’ll probably be locked in a closet until Mandatory Solidarity comes to say hi. 3/X
Read 10 tweets
Oct 30, 2019
It sounds like the Italian government will tweak but not scrap or even fundamentally change its 2017 agreement with Libya's Government of National Accord on migration. Here's a thread (not sure yet how long) on why this matters internazionale.it/bloc-notes/ann…
The Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding was signed on February 2, 2017. It will renew automatically on February 2, 2020 for another three years unless either country notifies of changes by November 2, 2019 - this coming Saturday.
It's a terribly written accord that has served as the framework for technical, financial and training support Italy gives Libya's GNA, in particular support that enables the Libyan Coast Guard to intercept migrants at sea and return them to abusive, arbitrary detention in Libya.
Read 11 tweets
Oct 24, 2019
I struggle to understand how 290 MEPs could vote against saving lives at sea. The EP rejected today a statement in favor of European compassion, fairness and responsibility. Image
Meanwhile, 104 people rescued by @SOSMedIntl and @MSF_Sea #OceanViking on Oct 18 are still waiting for a safe port where they can disembark Image
@SOSMedIntl @MSF_Sea And it seems Malta asked the Libyan Coast Guard to act in the Maltese search-and-rescue area on Oct 18, intercepting a boat and taking everyone back to nightmarish detention in Libya maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/…
Read 4 tweets
Sep 23, 2019
Il massimo che possiamo dire del vertice di oggi a Malta sullo sbarco e il trasferimento delle persone salvate nel Mediterraneo? Sembra un passo nella giusta direzione. Image
@annalisacamilli @gadlernertweet @alessandrazinit @scandura @emavalenti @emmevilla Un accordo per garantire uno sbarco tempestivo di persone salvate in mare in un luogo sicuro è una buona cosa. Ma non conosciamo abbastanza dettagli per valutare se quello che si prevede sia un sistema equo e rispettoso dei diritti delle persone.
@annalisacamilli @gadlernertweet @alessandrazinit @scandura @emavalenti @emmevilla Un sistema equo dovrebbe includere:
-Registrazione efficiente seguita da un rapido ricollocamento.
-Nessuna detenzione automatica, nessuna detenzione per i bambini, e per gli adulti solo se strettamente necessario, per il tempo più breve necessario e in condizioni decenti.
Read 5 tweets

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