The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated, yesterday evening, Thursday, that the operations of expelling refugees from European borders are illegal.
Yesterday, Thursday, the website of the “United Nations” confirmed that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had called for an end to the systematic expulsions of refugees and asylum seekers on the land and sea borders of Europe, especially since some European countries restrict access to asylum seekers.
Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs, stated that the countries whose name has not been revealed have returned refugees after their arrival in the territories or territorial waters, and used violence against them at the borders, while urging governments to end this illegal practice.
She explained that arrivals by land were detained informally, and forcibly returned to neighboring countries without any consideration of their need for international protection, noting that while states have the legitimate right to manage their borders in accordance with international law, they must also respect human rights.
The UN official pointed out that the asylum issue remained politicized and divisive despite the decrease in the number of refugees, while the number of arrivals to the European Union continues to decline year after year.
The website of the United Nations indicated that in 2020 95 thousand refugees arrived in the European Union countries by sea and land, a decrease of 23 percent compared to 2019 (from 123 thousand and 700 refugees) and by 33 percent compared to 2018 (from 141 thousand and 500 refugees). ).
