Potential migrants stand on the Moroccan side of the fence that separates the Spanish enclave from Morocco, in Fnideq, Morocco, on May 18, 2021. The Spanish enclave of Ceuta is having to deal with an influx of immigrants after an estimated 6,000 people have entered the territory from Morocco, according to the central government's delegation in the city. Photo:Xinhua

The UN refugee chief voiced alarm Monday at increasing violence against refugees and migrants at European borders, warning that rights abuses and illegal pushbacks across frontiers risked becoming "normalized." 

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi criticized the growing number of incidents of abuse targeting people trying to cross borders into various European countries, including several that have cost lives.

"Violence, ill-treatment and pushbacks continue to be regularly reported at multiple entry points at land and sea borders, within and beyond the European Union despite repeated calls... to end such practices," he said in a statement.

He highlighted in particular the consistent reports coming from Greece's land and sea borders with Turkey, pointing out that the UN refugee agency UNHCR had recorded nearly 540 reported incidents of informal returns by Greece since the start of 2020.

Many incidents of illegal pushbacks and abuse are never reported, but the UN refugee chief said his agency had nonetheless spoken with thousands of people across Europe who had experienced such practices, revealing "a disturbing pattern of threats, intimidation, violence and humiliation."

"At sea, people report being left adrift in life rafts or sometimes even forced directly into the water, showing a callous lack of regard for human life," he said, pointing out that at least three people are reported to have died in such incidents since September 2021 in the Aegean Sea, including one in January. 

"Equally horrific practices are frequently reported at land borders, with consistent testimonies of people being stripped and brutally pushed back in harsh weather conditions," he said in a statement.

With few exceptions, European states have failed to investigate such reports, Grandi said, lamenting that instead of rectifying the problem, authorities are busy erecting walls and fences to make it even harder for refugees and migrants to cross.

UNHCR had also received reports  that "some refugees may have been returned to their country of origin, despite the risks they faced there," Grandi said.

He warned that such practices could violate the international legal principle of non-refoulement which forbids states from returning refugees to countries where they could be in danger.

The Greek government has always denied carrying out illegal pushbacks of migrants.

Greece's Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi, responding to the UN refugee chief's comments, said "Turkey is a not a country at war, and it has an obligation under the 2016 EU-Turkey joint statement to prevent illegal departures of migrants and accept return of those individuals that are deemed not to be entitled to international protection."

AFP