On 11 March, the District Court of The Hague will determine the admissibility of a court case brought by Amnesty International, Boat Refugee Foundation and Defence for Children Netherlands to hold the Dutch government responsible for its role in endorsing and implementing the EU-Türkiye deal. The three organizations hold the Dutch state responsible for the consequences of the deal with Türkiye which trapped thousands of people, including children, in dire conditions on the Greek islands.
The NGOs argue that as the member state holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union at the time the deal was agreed in 2016, the Dutch government was
well aware the deal would lead to violations of refugees and migrants’ rights on the Greek islands but nevertheless gave its stamp of approval and oversaw its implementation.
Migration deals without human rights guarantees should not become the norm. The organizations want the Netherlands to be held accountable for violating Dutch, international and EU legislation and for the persistent substandard and dire conditions over the years on the Greek islands. Deals with such consequences should never be made again.
Dagmar Oudshoorn, director of Amnesty International Netherlands, and Esther Vonk, director of Boat Refugee Foundation, will be at the hearing and available for interviews.
“The Netherlands calls itself the architect of the EU-Turkey deal but does not want to take responsibility for the consequences. To ensure accountability for the human rights violations refugees and migrants were exposed to, it is essential that we are allowed to bring this case to court. To this day, no one has been held responsible for the unnecessary suffering endured by tens of thousands of refugees. That is unacceptable,” said Dagmar Oudshoorn, director of Amnesty International Netherlands.
“In 2017 the Court of Justice of the EU concluded that it did not have jurisdiction because the negotiations were not carried out by the EU or EU institutions, but by EU member states. This lawsuit sends an important message to member states: you cannot simply get away with making deals violating the human rights of migrants and refugees.”
Esther Vonk, director of the Boat Refugee Foundation, said: “The Dutch authorities claim a leading role in negotiating and implementing the deal, but reject any responsibility for the consequences. That same deal led to indescribable suffering. While governments look the other way, the Boat Refugee Foundation continues to provide people on the move with essential medical and psychological care.”
Mirjam Blaak, director of Defence for Children Netherlands, said: “Among the refugees were many children who have suffered greatly from the injustice done to them. They were exposed to traumatic circumstances: structural insecurity, physical and sexual violence, insufficient food and no access to education.”
Background
Following the 2016 EU-Türkiye deal, people arriving irregularly on the Greek islands were forced to apply for asylum on the islands and remain there pending a decision on their case. Greece was struggling with a dysfunctional asylum system, which in practice left people, including thousands of children, trapped for long periods in appalling conditions, sometimes for years while they awaited an asylum decision or relocation to another EU member state.
The camps were squalid and unsafe, and people lacked access to adequate food, shelter, sanitation facilities and medical care.
NGOs, UN and EU bodies consistently warned of the emergency situation on the islands. The Netherlands knew exactly how dire the situation was but, for example, opposed the transfer of people to mainland Greece so as not to undermine the deal.
Note to editors:
For more information on the case, see here.
For interview requests, please contact Amnesty International Netherlands, Marjon Rozema [email protected] and Boat Refugee Foundation, Nick van der Steenhoven [email protected]