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UN urges human-rights based migration policy ahead of key EU discussion

Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Wednesday called on EU member states to ensure that all discussions of migration policy to be grounded firmly on the need to protect the human rights of all migrants.

Speaking ahead of the Oct. 8 meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, Zeid expressed concerns about the continued security-driven agenda that appears to dominate the EU's response.

He raised particular concerns about the nature of the "hotspot" approach, saying that they seem to be conceived not simply as a means of registering new arrivals, but also as a way of preventing them from moving further until it is decided whether they are in need of international protection or should be returned.

"While we welcome the efforts of the EU to offer support to the frontline member states receiving large numbers of migrants, states must ensure that these 'hotspots' are not, in effect, detention centers in disguise," he added.

The UN human rights chief also urged the EU and its individual member states to avoid the "ugly specter" of arbitrary or prolonged detention of people who are not criminals, and to ensure the adoption of human rights-based alternatives to detention.

According to him, the EU and its member states should move away from the flawed view of law enforcement as the main, or sole, panacea to contemporary migration challenges, especially when so many people are fleeing their countries of origin because of serious human rights violations or decaying or collapsing economies.

"Narrow exclusion-focused policies have clearly failed," Zeid said, adding that increased border control and surveillance have not reduced the number of new arrivals but only forced them to use more dangerous routes, leading to increased human rights abuses and loss of life. Endit