The reform of the Dublin system will be debated in the upcoming months. The EU Commission plans a massive tightening of the current Dublin system. It wants to remove the provisions which at the moment allow for a humanitarian correction of the Dublin system.

Today the European heads of state or government are meeting in Brussels. Besides the Brexit, new plans for outsourcing border controls into countries of origin and transit are on the agenda. PRO ASYL, medico international and Bread for the World present a position paper: a plea for refugee policy that is humane and expresses solidarity.

The Human Rights Organisation Multeci-DER is part of the PRO ASYL project »Refugee Support Program Aegean« (RSPA). Multeci-Der is monitoring the situation of refugees along the westcoast of Turkey, especially in Izmir. Fritz Rickert interviewed Irem Somer, RSPA - project coordinator of Multeci-Der about their work and occuring problems.

Since 4 April, protection seekers are returned from Greece to Turkey, presuming they would have access to protection there. Our partner organization Mülteci-DER follows the developments closely. Their report “Observations on the Situation of Refugees in Turkey” gives a detailed account of the reality on the ground.

On Wednesday in Brussels the European Commission specified the plans for the EU-Turkey deal. Criticism voiced by the UN, the Council of Europe and human rights organizations beforehand did have some effect. However, the plans still violate fundamental human rights. The “Turkish solution” is a direct assault on the right of asylum.

The meeting between EU and Turkey sends a devastating signal: Human rights and the rights of refugees are being sacrificed to brutal interest-driven politics. The European heads of state or government are ready to shut their eyes regarding all matters of human rights in Turkey, as long as Turkey's government does its part in stopping refugees.

Since the route through the Balkans has, in effect, been closed, thousands of migrants have become stuck in Greece. The humanitarian crisis is intensifying – with unforeseeable consequences. Salinia Stroux und Chrissi Wilkens, members of PRO ASYL’s project RSPA, have sent this report.

Thousands of boat people are currently arriving at the Greek Aegean islands. Most of them end up homeless and destitute because there is no governmental support at all. Greece and the European Union have the responsibility to receive and accommodate the stranded refugees in a humane way.

On 20 January 2015 a Greek lawyer’s team on behalf of the survivors filed a complaint against the Greek authorities to the European Court of Human Rights. Three woman and eight children from Afghanistan died one year ago when their vessel sank near the Greek island Farmakonisi while being towed by the Greek Coast Guard. Since 24 January 2014, PRO ASYL supports the survivors with legal and humanitarian aid. There are conflicting accounts of what happened that night. Here is the analysis of PRO ASYL: