New report: “They started beating us, used a stun gun and pepper spray on us and then threw us into the forest. We couldn’t walk for three days because of the pain, and we had vision problems.”

Migrants seeking to cross European borders are systematically being pushed back. The eighth report from Protecting Rights at Borders (PRAB) once again documents how illegal pushbacks and rights violations continue to be widespread and have evolved into an accepted tool for border management. Read it yourself: PRAB VIII “Pushbacks at Europe’s Border”. 

PRAB VIII “Pushbacks at Europe’s borders” in key figures: 

• Illegal pushbacks and rights violations continue to be widespread and have evolved into an accepted tool for border management
• 8 403 pushbacks documented in 8 EU countries over the past 4 months
• 1 out of every 4 pushbacks includes a child
• Majority of the people pushed back are from Afghanistan (47%)
• Pushbacks leave individuals stranded and stripped of their belongings
• Reports of violence, beatings, and being held in crammed places, for hours and days, without access to their basic needs

You can read the full PRAB report here.

Previous reports are available here https://pro.drc.ngo/resources/documents/prab-reports/  

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The Protecting Rights at Borders (PRAB) initiative is formed by protection and legal aid organisations focusing on human rights compliance at the EU’s external and internal borders. The PRAB partners have solid field presence in the countries of operation enabling direct access to victims of pushbacks, as well as longstanding experience in strategic litigation. More information and previous reports are available at: https://pro.drc.ngo/resources/news/protecting-rights-at-borders-prab/  

The PRAB project has been supported by the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM), a collaborative initiative of the Network of European Foundations (NEF). The sole responsibility for the project lies with the organisers and the content may not necessarily reflect the positions of EPIM, NEF or EPIM’s Partner Foundations.

PRAB is also supported, in part, by a grant from the Foundation Open Society Institute in cooperation with the Europe and Eurasia Programme of the Open Society Foundations.