As the European Council sets to adopt strategic guidelines for further legislative and operational planning in the area of freedom, security, and justice. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) warns that the security approach so far adopted not only undermines the rights of migrants and refugees, but also endangers their lives.
The strategic guidelines which will be adopted by EU Heads of States and Ministers on 26 and 27 June will shape the EU’s Post-Stockholm Programme. Under consideration will also be the implementation of the recommendations presented by the Task Force for the Mediterranean, set up ‘to save lives’ in response to the tragic death of 366 migrants off the coast of Lampedusa on 3 October 2013.
On the eve of the EU’s new Post-Stockholm Programme, EMHRN urges the European Council and EU States to ensure that the EU’s forthcoming migration policies and legislative frameworks fully respect the rights of migrants and refugees on its territory as well as beyond its borders. This can only be achieved through a sincere commitment to human rights, the promotion of genuine solidarity amongst EU countries, the strengthening of protection systems in both Member States and non-EU countries, the creation of genuine legal avenues of entry into the EU, and the development of effective safeguards and mechanisms to monitor the impact and consequences of EU policies on human rights.
