The European Parliament has approved the European Pact on Asylum and Migration, but the focus shifted to implementation. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) asks all European Union (EU) Member States to guarantee humane conditions for asylum seekers and migrants affected, never losing their focus on human dignity and human rights.
The IFRC has concerns. The Pact focuses on the normalization of detention and speedier processes at borders. Both are worrying. Detention damages people. Quick decisions can risk returning people who should be granted asylum. In the Pact’s implementation, EU countries must ensure the systemic use of detention is avoided at all costs, and that individuals are always treated as individuals.
Effective collaboration and solidarity between EU states will be vital too. The Pact maintains the principle that asylum seekers remain in the country where their application was first registered to be entitled to accommodation and other services. This will not encourage other Member States to help relocate asylum seekers and share responsibilities. A tougher regime will not reduce the number of migrants coming to Europe, as the Pact assumes.
As the EU and its Member States begin to implement the Pact, migrants must continue to get assistance, support, and humanitarian aid. The organizations need to ensure the Pact is operationalized in a way that upholds the welfare, rights, and dignity of all migrants. This is why humanitarian organizations such as the IFRC National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies must be part of the dialogue on the implementation.
Appealing to the European Union and its Member States, Ezekiel Simperingham, the IFRC’s migration and displacement manager says: “The IFRC is calling on the European Union and its Member States to remember that at the heart of these decisions are real people with hopes and fears. We need to treat everyone with kindness and respect, no matter where they come from. This is how we can make sure everyone’s rights and dignity are protected.”
