EU agency finds 'widespread rights violations' at borders
July 30, 2024
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) issued a scathing report on Tuesday decrying the situation on the bloc's borders.
The report found that migrants and refugees were often subject to degrading treatment by member states' border security forces. It also revealed that national governments rarely investigated such violations.
The study focused on border countries in the Balkans and the Mediterranean, saying that Greece, Hungary, and Croatia, in particular, did "not effectively investigate incidents of ill-treatment and loss of life during border management."
FRA said that these countries, despite "credible allegations" of mistreatment, made "insufficient efforts to locate and hear victims and witnesses, hindering lawyers in their work and not having access to key evidence [such as footage from border surveillance]."
Refugees subjected to beatings, prolonged detention
The report noted that more and more cases were coming before the European Court of Human Rights, which has ruled five times so far that credible cases of abuse were not properly investigated.
Last year, a similar report from the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) highlighted stories of migrants being stripped, beaten, and subjected to prolonged detentions that violate European law.
In June, an investigation by the BBC found that the Greek coastguard was responsible for at least 40 deaths over three years by forcing refugees back out to sea, including nine who were "deliberately thrown into the water."
Fear, intimidation prevent reports of abuse
FRA's latest study found that intimidation and fear of retaliation against their asylum procedures kept many migrants from reporting abuse. In some countries, such as Cyprus, there are financial penalties for making an allegation that authorities deem to be false, discouraging them from speaking out.
The report also noted that, after speaking to refugees from Africa in 13 member states, racist incidents were rarely registered because the migrants believed "nothing would change."
FRA conducted its report by analyzing documents and conducting interviews with prosecutors, migration ministries, NGOs, and law enforcement in 14 EU member states.
Edited by: Richard Connor