Rights commissioner slams EU, western Balkans over migration
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 5 November 2013 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Rights commissioner slams EU, western Balkans over migration, 5 November 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/528b689211.html [accessed 21 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
November 05, 2013
By RFE/RL
A Croatian border police officer looks through an infrared camera near the Croatia-Serbia border.
BRUSSELS – The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner, Nils Muiznieks, has published a research paper severely criticizing the migration policies of the European Union and the countries in the Western Balkans.
The paper highlights human rights abuses such as ethnic profiling at border crossings and the confiscation of travel documents.
It finds that such measures are particularly evident in the Western Balkans, where countries are under pressure to reduce the number of citizens applying for asylum in the EU under the penalty of seeing all citizens subjected to visa requirements.
The vast majority of the people restricted from leaving are Roma, with Muiznieks' text pointing out that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia prevented 7,000 Roma from leaving the country between 2009 and 2012.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
