“Last night’s violent attack once again throws into sharp relief the danger to them and activists who help them. Action must be taken now at all levels to ensure they are protected,”

In the glaring absence of sufficient safe and legal routes to Europe, people are left with little choice but to embark on irregular journeys fraught with risks either in the Mediterranean or now increasingly the western Balkans. It’s time to show the red card to Europe’s response to the refugee crisis and ensure an urgent rethink.

The world is seeing the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War. What Europe’s borders need is not fences but safe entry points for refugees, and facilities to receive them with dignity.

The Frontex report is yet more confirmation, as if any were needed, that Europe’s focus on keeping people out rather than managing an ever-growing global refugee crisis is failing

Whilst assistance measures to Greece, if correctly implemented, may take some pressure off the islands in the short term, what is urgently needed is a broader rethink of EU asylum responses to ensure that those in need of protection can access the wider European territory safely and securely.

Today’s fatal incident emphasizes how European governments must immediately put in place safe and legal routes for those in need of protection to reduce the numbers of people embarking on perilous sea journeys.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

The millions of fragments of information that we divulge online can be used to build an accurate picture of us. Credit: Amnesty International

A migrant ship graveyard in Lampedusa, Italy. © Giles Clarke/Getty Images Reportage.

17/07/2015 – Amnesty International is writing to share with you the call made by more than half a million people for European Union (EU) leaders to strengthen search and rescue (SAR) efforts to save lives of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.

Uzbekistan Stop Torture action, October 2014. © Amnesty International