Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes.

The EU-Turkey deal on migration agreed recently is unprecedented. There are no agreements similar to this. It is a play on and manipulation of existing agreements, both bilateral between the European Union and Turkey and within the European Union itself.

The European Union states:

People who do not have a right to international protection will be immediately returned to Turkey. The legal framework for these returns is the bilateral readmission agreement between Greece and Turkey. From 1 June 2016, this will be succeeded by the EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement, following the entry into force of the provisions on readmission of third country nationals of this agreement.

There are considerable legal ambiguities here, but even more disconcerting are the severe human rights issues that could be at play. How can the authorities decide so quickly that somebody is not entitled to international protection and to return them to Turkey again? We have seen in Ireland how long it takes to decide on the cases of asylum seekers.

I reiterate the view of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the Irish Refugee Council and other organisations that a humanitarian crisis needs a humanitarian response, with the needs of men, women and children central to any development. This is clearly not the case in the recently agreed EU-Turkey deal. There is supposedly an understanding that no decisions will be taken without being compliant with international and European law. How do we actually know that? We do not. We are relying on Turkey and Greece to satisfy us in this regard. How will part of the €3 billion dedicated to oversight in Turkey prevent potential mass deportations of people entering either Turkey or Greece, and how will the safety of these people be ensured, regardless the outcome of their application for asylum? There are significant problems in this regard.

The agreement asserts that if one has tried to get to the European Union illegally, one will be at the back of the line in the legal resettlement process. On the ground, this translates to a policy whereby anyone entering Greece from Turkey from now on will automatically be sent back to Turkey because, all of a sudden, Turkey is now classified as a safe third country despite its dismal human rights record. We have only to consider how Turkey has been treating its own Kurdish population in this regard.

Turkey provides to Syrians only temporary protection that falls short of full refugee status. Human rights groups deem Turkey’s sudden transition into what is termed a “safe third country” as ludicrous and highly improbable, meaning the European Union will overlook a certain amount of human rights abuses in order to push ahead with this deal. Even under the most generous interpretation of the rules, only Syrian asylum seekers, who currently make up half of those arriving in Greece, could be returned to Turkey.

The procedures Ireland has put in place are such that it has accepted only 5% of the agreed 4,000 refugees, which amounts to only 200 people. Only ten have actually accepted relocation in Ireland. Should we not address our own lack of engagement in this humanitarian crisis before we support others and before we support changes in EU rules and procedures that will have such a huge impact on this humanitarian crisis? The undignified attempt to swap one refugee for another is in itself an affront to the notions of human rights, dignity and respect for vulnerable people. Some 2,000 people are still attempting to reach Greece from Turkey every day despite this agreement last week. The agreement will only result in refugees taking even greater risks to trek across more treacherous ground or seas to enter Europe. This deal brings greater risk to already extremely vulnerable people and is again an affront to human rights.

Today I call on the caretaker Taoiseach to respond to these humanitarian concerns and express opposition to this EU deal. With only an acting Government in place there can be no opposition to tie the Taoiseach into such an agreement. Not only are there issues regarding international human rights breaches within this agreement, but there are also concerns regarding the legality and monitoring capacity of this agreement. Although there is no start date set, the European Union has been quick to implement this agreement in the hope of avoiding a “pull factor” before the new system takes effect. Real questions remain as to how everyone is going to monitor what is termed the “swapping” of Syrian refugees on the ground, and nobody seems to be able to explain this. The commitment by Turkey to overhaul its own asylum system so it adheres to Geneva standards and can carry the “safe third country” status is a non-legally binding one, and there are many questions as to how both Greece and Turkey will overhaul their systems overnight. We know the European Union is prepared to turn a blind eye to this in order to have a potential wall around the Union to prevent people coming in.

There are alternative channels for migration and legal pathways, including an important high-level meeting on global responsibility-sharing through pathways for the admission of Syrian refugees on 30 March, to be hosted by the UNHCR. This meeting will attempt to address commitments for over 170,000 resettlement and humanitarian admission places for Syrian refugees, with a target for admission for 10% of Syrian refugees over the next three years. The EU-Turkey deal attempts to overshadow and undermine this agreement, which would be international. That is where the European Union should be engaging.

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