Copyright: Amnesty International
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
NEWSFLASH
Brussels – 18 March 2016
Spokespeople available in Brussels and London.
European leaders’ collective ‘double-speak’ fails to hide the myriad of contradictions of the deal sealed between the EU and Turkey on how to handle the refugee crisis, said Amnesty International today.
“The ‘double-speak’ this deal is cloaked in fails to hide the European Union’s dogged determination to turn its back on a global refugee crisis, and wilfully ignore its international obligations”, said John Dalhuisen, Director for Europe and Central Asia.
“Promises to respect international and European law appear suspiciously like sugar-coating the cyanide pill that refugee protection in Europe has just been forced to swallow.”
“Guarantees to scrupulously respect international law are incompatible with the touted return to Turkey of all irregular migrants arriving on the Greek islands as of Sunday. Turkey is not a safe country for refugees and migrants, and any return process predicated on its being so will be flawed, illegal and immoral – whatever phantom guarantees precede this pre-declared outcome,” he added.
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