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Europe’s Migration Crisis
Border restrictions in the Western Balkans and a deal with Turkey led to a significant decline in arrivals by sea to Greece of asylum seekers and other migrants, while boat migration from North Africa to Italy remains steady. By March, over 28,000 people had made the crossing in 2017, while more than 900 died or went missing in the attempt. European Union countries failed to take collective action to share responsibility equitably for asylum seekers or to create safe and legal channels to Europe. The European Commission failed to hold to account member states that violate EU asylum standards.
Over 55 percent of those taking the dangerous journey originate from countries beset by war or generalized violence, or having repressive governments, such as Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Eritrea, and Iraq. Thousands of asylum seekers, including vulnerable people, are stranded in abysmal conditions on the Greek islands and along the Western Balkan route, with limited access to asylum. The EU continues to emphasize preventing departures and combating smuggling over a coordinated approach based on access to protection and respect for human rights, including through problematic cooperation with Turkey, Libya, and other transit countries.
The EU should sustain robust search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean and expand safe and legal channels into the EU. EU states should step up refugee resettlement from countries bordering Syria, notably Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, and other refugee-producing countries, to reduce the need for dangerous journeys, facilitate integration and allow for screening and more orderly processing. EU countries should ensure more equitable responsibility sharing for asylum seekers, and enforce common EU standards on reception conditions and asylum procedures.
- Europe/Central Asia
- Europe/Central AsiaDispatches
Playing Politics with People’s Lives
- Europe/Central AsiaDispatches
‘My Brother is Being Deported Today’
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News
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Commentary
Letting People Drown is not an EU Value
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Commentary
Lost Opportunity In Hungary
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News Release
Greece: Reject EU Pressure on Asylum Seekers
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Hungary: Draft Law Tramples Asylum Seekers’ Rights
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Dispatches
Death and Despair in Lesbos
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EU: Put Rights Above Politics
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Greece: Dire Refugee Conditions on Islands
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Croatia: Asylum Seekers Forced Back to Serbia
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EU: Inward Turn Puts Rights at Risk
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Dispatches
Asylum Seekers Left in the Cold
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EU: Restore Rights Values to Migration Policy
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EU: Returns to Greece Put Refugees at Risk
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Dispatches
Walid Taleb’s Path to Justice in Greece
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EU: Show Leadership in Global Displacement Crisis
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EU Policies Put Refugees At Risk
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EU/US: Obama Should Remind Europe to Defend Rights
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Commentary
Relocation Farce Brings Shame On Europe
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Dispatches
World Refugee Summits Fail Refugees
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Hungary: Failing to Protect Vulnerable Refugees
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Commentary
Hungary’s War on Refugees
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Provide Genuine Refuge to World’s Displaced
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Dispatches
Hungary’s Xenophobic Anti-Migrant Campaign
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Commentary
The tragedy of Greece's refugee children
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Dispatches
The Death of a Small Syrian Boy
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News Release
Greece: Migrant Children in Police Cells
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Hungary: Migrants Abused at the Border
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EU/NATO: Europe’s Plan Endangers Foreigners in Libya
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Italy: Children Stuck in Unsafe Migrant Hotspot
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Sweden: Restrictive Asylum Bill
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Dispatches
Dispatches: Deadly Week in the Mediterranean
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UN: Press Turkey to Open Border
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Commentary
Open Hotspots Again
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News Release
EU: Asylum Proposals Go in Wrong Direction
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UN Meeting Ducks Syria Refugee Responsibility
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EU: Turkey Mass-Return Deal Threatens Rights
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EU/Turkey: Mass, Fast-Track Returns Threaten Rights
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EU/Turkey: Don’t Negotiate Away Refugee Rights
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EU/Balkans/Greece: Border Curbs Threaten Rights
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Commentary
Fear and Loathing of Refugees in Europe
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Norway/Russia: Don’t Jeopardize Asylum Seekers
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News Release
EU/Greece: Share Responsibility for Asylum Seekers
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European Union: Refugee Response Falls Short
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Macedonia: New Move to Lock up Asylum Seekers
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Amid Insecurity, Protect Refugees
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EU: Steps to Address Refugee Crisis
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EU/AU: Put Rights at Heart of Migration Efforts
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Turkey: 400,000 Syrian Children Not in School
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EU/Balkans: Contradictory Migration Plan
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EU: Human Toll of Border Closures
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Commentary
No, EU, Turkey Is Not Safe for Everyone
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News Release
EU: Leaders Duck Responsibilities on Refugees
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Macedonia: Unchecked Police Abuse of Migrants
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Hungary: New Border Regime Threatens Asylum Seekers
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EU: Deflecting Responsibility to Protect Refugees
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Dispatches
Dispatches: Let Refugees on Buses, Greece
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Hungary: Abysmal Conditions in Border Detention
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Commentary
Time to Ditch ‘Dublin’
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Dispatches
Dispatches: Refugees March out of Hungary
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News Release
EU: Five Steps to Tackle Refugee Crisis
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Commentary
The Refugee Crisis That Isn't
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Commentary
Grim crisis within EU borders
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News Release
Macedonia: Stop Police Violence Against Migrants
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Dispatches
Dispatches: ‘We Want to Live Like Humans’
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Commentary
Mediterranean Crisis: The Big Haggle
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EU: Rights Abuses at Home Drive Mediterranean Crisis
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EU: Don’t Endanger Lives at Sea or Deny Protection
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Commentary
Migrant smuggling: What are the EU options?
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Commentary
Brussels’ Personae Non Gratae
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News Release
EU: Mixed Messages on Boat Migration
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Commentary
Will Europe make migrant crisis worse?
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EU: Mediterranean Deaths Warrant Crisis Response
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EU: Intolerable Inaction Costs Lives at Sea
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Reports More Reports
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EU: Shifting Rescue to Libya Risks Lives
Italy Should Direct Safe Rescues
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Greece: A Year of Suffering for Asylum Seekers
EU-Turkey Deal Traps People in Abuse and Denies Them Refuge
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EU: Don’t Send Syrians Back to Turkey
Lack of Jobs, School, Health Care Spurs Poverty, Exploitation
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An Agenda to Restore Protection
EU Policies Put Refugees At Risk. Read HRW’s Recommendations for Reform
Interactives More Interactives
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Exodus: Asylum Seekers Flee Into Europe
“What will happen to us?” “Will they fingerprint us?” was the constant refrain as we watched a human wave of asylum seekers and migrants from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan crossing the Serbia-Hungary border.
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Fleeing Syria and Stranded in Hungary
Interactive Photo Feature: Thousands of asylum-seekers, including many from war-torn Syria, arrive daily in Hungary, seeking a path to Germany and other Western European countries. Hungary has detained and at times refused to allow people to continue onwards to Western Europe, citing an EU regulation. As a result, thousands have been stranded at Budapest's Keleti train station. Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed scores. Here are their stories. >>