Echoing the themes of this year’s International Migrants Day, Caritas Europa calls on European leaders to invest in human-rights based migration policies instead of pursuing the illusion that blocking human mobility is possible or desirable. Indeed, this year, International Migrants Day coincides with the final stages of a major reform of the EU asylum system. Caritas Europa fears that the new EU Pact on Asylum and Migration will erode access to asylum in Europe and EU countries at the external border of the Union. As these countries are likely to use widespread detention and have poor reception conditions, the suffering of people will only increase. In addition, the new screening mechanism risks increasing and legitimising discriminatory racial profiling. Regrettably, the Pact perpetuates the objective to shift the EU’s asylum responsibility to non-EU countries, prevent arrivals and speed up return, exposing migrants to human rights violations.
Caritas believes in a different approach. We would like to see decent reception conditions for people arriving in Europe instead of violence and pushbacks. We would like to see a welcoming Europe that brings people together and fosters social cohesion and inclusion instead of polarising societies. We would like to see solidarity instead of rejection and walls.
Read Caritas Europa’s full statement here.