Today, @ec.europa.eu will announce new return proposals – paving the way for ‘return hubs’ or deportation centres outside the EU & widescale detention in Europe.
Unworkable, expensive and inhumane – here's why these proposals won’t work & what the EU should do instead🧵
Unworkable, expensive and inhumane – here's why these proposals won’t work & what the EU should do instead🧵
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From Australia’s offshore detention scheme to Italy’s deal with Albania, or the UK’s aborted Rwanda plans, we've seen these tried-and-failed policies before. ‘Offshoring’ consistently results in arbitrary detention & other grave violations.
Every past externalization scheme has been inhumane & futile, mired in diplomatic & legal challenges, cost millions to taxpayers, and placed countless lives in limbo. The UK-Rwanda scheme cost £700M before being abandoned. Italy-Albania will cost €1bn over 5 years.
The EU’s lack of commitment to international solidarity & responsibility-sharing will not be lost on other countries. It risks undermining global refugee protection - at a time when the EU should be building partnerships, not burning bridges.
Instead of caving to the demands of a few anti-migration governments, the EU should be promoting a rights-based approach. This means improving asylum systems at home, prioritizing voluntary returns, ensuring support for inclusion & other residence options.