Background information
Violence, Resistance and Memories - Between the two Shores of the Mediterranean’
During the summer months of 2024, the Mediterranean Sea continued to witness violence against people on the move, repression targeting those who show solidarity with them, and widespread violations of fundamental rights. This report focuses specifically on events that occurred along the Central Mediterranean route from June to September 2024. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Italien / Malta, Nordafrika
Challenging the Securitization of Migration in Italy: A De-securitization Strategy
We are pleased to publish the abstract of the work by Ludovica Mancini, who conducted an interview with the Palermo office of borderline-europe, which is incorporated in chapter three of her work.
Since 1975, the year corresponding to the turning of Italy into a country of immigration, the Italian border and migration management appears rooted in the migration-security nexus. Discursive and non-discursive practices performed by the Italian political élite have shifted migration from a non-political topic, to a political one, to a security issue. However, is securitization of migration desirable? What are its human rights implications and spill over effects? After reconstructing the Italian securitization process and providing an overview of its main consequences, this article proposes a disarticulation of the migration-security nexus through the development of a de-securitization strategy suitable for the Italian context. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Interview on Iranian public sentiment towards Afghan refugees
The interview with Ghamar Takavaran, an expert on Afghan migrants in Iran, provides a deep insight into Iranian society today. The migration of Afghan citizens to Iran was particularly high after the US invasion and the return of the Taliban. It is estimated that there are between 3 and 10 million Afghan migrants in Iran. The lack of proper immigration laws has led to mixed reactions among Iranians, with some advocating the deportation of immigrants and others supporting the admission of Afghans due to the difficult situation in their country. Iran's economic hardship and sanctions have exacerbated tensions, and the media sometimes fuels anti-immigrant sentiment. read more
Language(s): Sonstige
Region(s): Naher Osten
Iuventa-Crew frei von allen Anklagen!
Nach einer siebenjährigen Odyssee halten wir nun mit einem Wechselbad der Gefühle die Abschlussdokumente unseres Gerichtsverfahrens in den Händen. Die Zustellung der Übersetzung der Urteilsbegründung markiert den Schlussakt des längsten, teuersten und umfangreichsten Strafverfahrens, das je gegen Seenotrettungsorganisationen eingeleitet wurde – und es endete mit mehr als nur einem Freispruch! read more
Language(s): Deutsch / German
Region(s): Italien / Malta
Denial of rescue: 85 people left to die in March 2024
Open letter to IMRCC Rome, JRCC Malta, Frontex, and the UNHCR
On the 13th of March 2024 the rescue vessel Ocean Viking rescued 25 people on a black rubber boat in international waters. According to the survivors, they had spent nearly one week at sea – adrift and without orientation.
During that time many people perished and are now missing. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Italien / Malta, Nordafrika, Europäische Union
Sudan Media Forum: Migrant’s desperate act of survival ‘I drank my own urine to escape death’
“My throat was parched, and in desperation, I found only urine… so I drank it to escape death.” These were the words of 20-year-old Mukhtar Ahmed, one of the many victims of irregular migration, as he recounted his ordeal, a tragedy shared by thousands of Sudanese forced to flee their country due to the war that erupted on 15 April 2023. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Nordafrika
Increasing calls from boats in distress between Crete, Libya and Egypt
Europe tries hard and uses a lot of violence to stop people from moving and crossing its’ borders. As Alarm Phone, over the years we have observed that the increased use of violence and surveillance only forces people to take more dangerous and deadly routes. One of the more recent results of the ever increasing violence of the European border regime is that boats start in the far East of Libya, aiming to drive the very long distance towards Italy. Only a few weeks ago we commemorated the deadliest shipwreck on this route, the massacre of Pylos, where 650 people died. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Italien / Malta, Griechenland / Türkei, Nordafrika, Naher Osten
Frontex Covering Up Greek Pushbacks
Frontex involvement in illegal pushbacks in Greece, are ones again proven, this time in a newly released serious Incident Report(SIR) by Frontex own Fundamental Rights Office, from a pushback performed by Greek coast guard outside Lesvos, assisted by Latvian Frontex.
In the afternoon of 25 January, a boat carrying 38 people, all Afghans, had almost reached land in the north of Lesvos, when they were stopped by Latvian Frontex and two vessels from the Greek Coast guard, and illegally pushed back to Turkey. The boat was in Greek waters, they were intercepted, their lives were put at risk on several occasions by the Greek coast guard, they were subjected to a prohibited collective expulsion, and both Frontex and the Greek coast guard deliberately covered up the crime by putting incorrect and incomplete information in their mission reports. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Europäische Union
Out of Sight; Pushing Beyond the Limits of Humanity
The new report covers the main activities of Klikaktiv, trends and needs observed in the field, legal obstacles for people on the move in Serbia, and legal analysis of EU and Serbia’s migration policies in the first three months of 2024. Increased violence of the police and smuggling groups has put people on the move in grave danger of different types of exploitation (labor and sexual exploitation, human trafficking, etc) and made them even more vulnerable. The report includes testimonies of people on the move and their experiences while residing in Serbia, including detention and limited access to accommodation facilities and asylum system. This forced people on the move to be less visible both to the state authorities and NGOs on the ground and to turn to smugglers for the accommodation, transportation and other necessities. The migration route has shifted from the previously dominant route of Hungary to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Balkanstaaten
Chains of Solidarity at Sea!
In this analysis, we provide a comprehensive chronology of the first six months of 2024, offering in great detail an account of developments as they unfolded. As nobody else is doing so, we need to create our own archive of migrant struggles, acts of solidarity, and forms of border violence at sea. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Italien / Malta
Samos: “We feel in prison on the island”: Unlawful detention and sub-standard conditions in an EU-funded refugee centre
Although the European Commission funded new reception centres for asylum seekers on the Aegean islands promising “better conditions”, racialized people on the move living in the Samos ‘Closed Controlled Access Centre’ face obstacles accessing basic services and experience systematic, arbitrary de facto detention. The EU must ensure that the implementation of the new EU Migration and Asylum Pact does not result in similar abuses. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Griechenland / Türkei, Europäische Union
FRA Report: Guidance on investigating alleged ill-treatment at borders
Fundamental rights violations on the EU’s land and sea borders often go unreported. Investigations into these violations need to be more effective. This report gathers examples of alleged rights violations of migrants and refugees between 2020 and 2023. It sets out 10 steps to promote prompt and effective national investigations into incidents of ill-treatment at borders. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Europäische Union
Greece: Asylum procedure statistics 2023
In 2023 the asylum process in Greece was marked by significant activity, with a high number of asylum applications and an even higher recognition rate, highlighting the clear need for international protection for asylum seekers. This report looks at the monthly statistics published by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, alongside figures provided in response to parliamentary questions. It is published by Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and gives an overview of key figures and trends within the Greek asylum system, focusing on initial and subsequent applications, procedural outcomes, and judicial reviews. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Griechenland / Türkei, Europäische Union
oices from the Camps: Living Conditions and Access to Services in Refugee Camps on the Greek Mainland; Evidence of the failure to provide adequate material reception conditions to asylum seekers in Greece
This report looks at living conditions and access to services for asylum seekers in Greece, drawing on interviews with people living in nine migration camps on the mainland: Corinth, Katsikas, Kavala, Koutsochero, Lagkadikia, Malakasa, Oinofyta, Ritsona and Serres. With attention often directed to the inhumane, EU-funded Closed Controlled Access Centres on the Aegean islands, the findings of this research reveal a troubling picture of neglect and mismanagement on the mainland as well.
The only accommodation that the Greek state provides asylum seekers is in camps. Many of these facilities are located on former military bases in industrial or agricultural areas, far from cities and with limited or non-existent public transport connections. The isolated locations of most camps and the lack of services provided inside them, has resulted in severe limitations on asylum seekers’ access to social services, legal support, and healthcare. Gaps in the provision of interpretation and transportation are fundamental and create additional barriers to accessing essential services.
Meanwhile, daily lives in the camps are characterised by constant surveillance, restricted movement and a fundamental lack of opportunities for learning, community-building and joy. Many people wait months or years in these conditions, struggling to meet their basic human needs, move on with their lives or integrate into society. This report provides strong evidence that conditions in the mainland camps fall far short of Greece’s legal obligation to provide reception conditions which protect the physical and mental health of people seeking international protection. Based on the findings of this report, we call on the Greek State to reintroduce housing programmes which accommodate applicants in apartments and houses in cities. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Griechenland / Türkei
How the New EU Facilitation Directive Furthers the Criminalisation of Migrants and Human Rights Defenders
PICUM’s new briefing includes a comprehensive analysis of how and why the EU commission facilitation directive has failed and how the new proposal means that people on the move will still risk years of prison for steering boats or having to undertake perilous journeys with their children. Human rights defenders will continue facing harassment and persecution and new provisions will have a significant effect on the provision of information and services to people on the move, and facilitate censorship. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Europäische Union
Outsourcing of borders. Observation of EU externalisation policy. Bulletin 02
The project, carried out by Statewatch and migration-control.info and funded by Bread for the World, Misereor, medico international and Pro Asyl, aims to publicise the EU's externalisation policies, plans and practices. In this way, the impact on the rights of refugees as well as on democratic standards, transparency and accountability will be highlighted. It addresses the lack of public information by publishing relevant EU documents, at this stage mainly those produced or discussed by the Council of the EU. In addition, the information overload resulting from a multitude of EU institutions, working groups and national governments involved in the externalisation agenda is addressed through a summary of thematic and regional developments and an in-depth analysis of key issues. read more
Language(s): Deutsch / German
Region(s): Europäische Union
On this Journey no one care if you live or die: Abuse, Protection and Justice along Routes between East and West Africa and Africa’s Mediterranean Coast
The UNHCR, IOM, and MMC's report highlights the extreme violence and human rights violations faced by people on the move on land routes across the African continent, particularly towards the Mediterranean coast. The report reveals that more people cross the Sahara Desert than the Mediterranean Sea, with deaths in the desert estimated to be twice those at sea. Over three years of data collection, the report emphasizes the rising number of individuals attempting these hazardous land crossings, driven by deteriorating conditions in their home and host countries, such as new conflicts in the Sahel and Sudan, climate change, and widespread racism and xenophobia.
The report details the severe risks and abuses people endure, including torture, physical violence, arbitrary detention, death, kidnapping for ransom, sexual violence, enslavement, human trafficking, and forced labor. These abuses are primarily perpetrated by criminal gangs, armed groups, and even security forces and border guards. Despite international commitments to protect and assist these individuals, significant gaps in protection and assistance persist along the Central Mediterranean route, exacerbated by inadequate funding and restrictions on humanitarian access. This situation forces people on the move to undertake even more perilous journeys.
The report calls for comprehensive, route-based protection strategies to save lives and alleviate suffering, addressing the root causes of displacement and irregular movements through measures like peacebuilding, human rights protection, improved governance, and climate change mitigation. The organizations urge for the creation of safe pathways for migrants across all stages of their journeys, hoping the findings will spur increased action to fill the existing gaps in the international response to this crisis. read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Nordafrika, Afrika
Italy: Abuse of migration-related detention in punitive conditions deprives people of liberty and dignity
In Italy, migrants and people seeking asylum are being unlawfully deprived of their liberty in detention centres that fall below international standards, Amnesty International said today in its new public statement, “Liberty and Dignity: Amnesty International’s observations on the administrative detention of migrant and asylum-seeking people in Italy.’
“Detention should be exceptional and a measure of last resort. However, in the centres we visited we encountered racialized people who should never have been detained." read more
Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Italien / Malta
FACTSHEET. Development of migration routes to Europe
The routes that migrants and asylum seekers take to reach Europe are constantly changing. What do migration movements currently look like? What data do we have? An overview. read more
Language(s): Deutsch / German
Region(s): Europa, Weltweit
Deciphering the European Pact on Migration and Asylum
The European Pact on Migration and Asylum is a set of legislative and operational measures designed to bring about a comprehensive reform of European policy in this area. Adopted by the European Parliament on 10 April 2024 and then by the Council of the European Union (EU) on 14 May 2024, it is presented as "a set of rules which will contribute to managing arrivals in an orderly manner, creating efficient and uniform procedures and sharing the burden fairly between Member States". read more
Language(s): Französisch / Français
Region(s): Europäische Union