Before the vote in the European Parliament
Osnabrück/Berlin, April 9, 2024 – Ahead of the European Parliament's vote next Wednesday on the proposed reforms to EU asylum law, the children's rights organization terre des hommes is warning of the anticipated impact on refugee children and young people. terre des hommes is appealing to all members of the European Parliament not to support the reform and the violations of children's rights it envisages.
From a child rights perspective, the introduction of border procedures for children of all ages, the expansion of the concept of safe third countries, and the weakening of procedural safeguards are particularly problematic. "Should the reform be adopted as expected, this will mean that numerous children and young people fleeing persecution will face detention behind barbed wire and camp walls, as well as the risk of being returned to countries where they are not safe," says Joshua Hofert, spokesperson for the board of terre des hommes . "In particular, detention for migration control contradicts the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and demonstrably inflicts physical and psychological harm on children. Reports from our project partners at the European external borders already confirm this, and it is feared that this practice will expand."
terre des hommes sees the EU asylum law reform as a rejection of the numerous children and young people seeking protection in Europe. "Their rights will continue to be ignored in the European Union," says Joshua Hofert. "Ahead of the European elections in June of this year, the EU institutions are sending exactly the wrong signal: Instead of a Europe of isolation, we demand that the Members of the European Parliament have the courage to stand up again for a Europe of human and children's rights."
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Contact: Teresa Wilmes, Tel. +49 30 246 495 90, Email: t.wilmes@tdh.de (
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