Asylum and Migration | All in the same leaky boat

Whether they are scrambling over barbed wire fences, taking to sea in leaky boats or stowing away in airless containers, every year thousands of refugees and migrants risk their lives to find safety or a better life in Europe. Some cross by sea from West Africa to the Spanish Canary Islands. Others cross from Morocco to southern Spain or from Libya to the islands of Malta.

Many more enter by land, entering the EU from Turkey, the Balkans, or the Ukraine, and through Belarus in case of Poland.

Many of these people come without required documentation through unauthorized border crossings. Others are delivered by smugglers. Countries usually regard such acts as a threat to their sovereignty and security.

But people entering countries in this way do so for a variety of reasons. Some are economic migrants trying to escape poverty and unemployment. Others are fleeing persecution, human rights violations, or armed conflict. In many cases, irregular entry may be their only way of escape.

Refugees and migrants often travel together using the same route and riding the same ship or truck. Yet, they have very different protection needs. Migrants choose to move while refugees must move. UNHCR is working to help countries distinguish between migrants and asylum-seekers when carrying out border management activities.

In June 2006, UNHCR issued a 10-Point Plan of Action on Refugee Protection and Mixed Migration for countries along the eastern and south-eastern borders of the EU. The plan offers a framework for handling mixed migration in a way that allows the protection needs of vulnerable people to be identified, even when traveling with migrants. The 10-Point Plan describes when and where protection should be offered, and offers a regional approach to the issue.

In May 2011, UNHCR released a Protection Training Manual for European Border and Entry Officials. The manual is designed to educate EU border personnel and entry officers on the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers, particularly in the context of mixed migration. The manual is a resource for European border authorities, the EU border agency Frontex, UNHCR staff, and national partners, including NGOs.