UN rights chief expresses concerns over EU-Turkey refugee agreement

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Thursday expressed serious concerns about the recent refugee agreement between the EU and Turkey, terming it as "a contradiction at the heart of the agreement".

In a statement issued Thursday, the UN rights chief stressed that the agreement raised concerns regarding arbitrary detention of refugees and migrants.

"The declared aim to return all refugees and migrants contrasts with the assurances about individual assessments," the High Commissioner said, adding that if the safeguards are to be considered real, then the individual assessments must allow for the possibility that the persons in question will not in fact be returned.

"Otherwise it could still qualify as a collective expulsion," he noted.

The EU-Turkey agreement calls for cases to be processed under the EU's Asylum Procedures Directive, and goes on to state that "Migrants not applying for asylum or whose application has been found unfounded or inadmissible in accordance with the said directive will be returned to Turkey."

Zeid expressed concern that this language presents a real risk of overlooking human rights law obligations, which require States to examine arguments against return beyond those found in refugee law.

According to him, such needs could arise, for example, in the case of children, victims of violence, rape, trauma and torture, individuals with specific sexual orientation, persons with disabilities, and a range of others with legitimate individual protection needs.

The UN Human Rights Chief urged Greece to handle all individual cases with genuine attention to all protection grounds required under international human rights law, including at the appeals stage.

He said he has particular concerns about returns being carried out on the basis of asylum claims in Greece being found "inadmissible" because Turkey is a "safe third country" or a "first country of asylum".

"Even if Turkey does expand its refugee definition to include non-Europeans, or passes laws qualifying certain nationalities for 'temporary protection,' it may not be considered fully safe for all returns in the near future," he noted.

"Refugee and migrant protection systems are not simply words on paper, but require trained personnel, tailored policies, infrastructure and other concrete practical measures that take time to establish," the High Commissioner said. Enditem