EU Ministers : STOP the #EUCompacts

UPDATE: On the occasion of the World Refugee Day on June 20th, the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) wants to remind our politicians and leaders of their responsibility to protect, welcome and relocate refugees and asylum seekers within the European Union. Ahead of the European Council on June 22nd and 23rd, the EEA joined its voice to 18 other NGOs and associations to oppose the current discourse on migrations and propose alternatives to the Partnership Framework Agreements with third countries for efficient migration management.

Find the public statement HERE: Towards a migration policy that works

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Very discreetly and to our governments’ request, EU Member States and other countries are seeking to work with the European Union on establishing Partnership Framework Agreements, often called “Compacts.” We believe there is a fundamental danger with the ‘reductionist’ narrative, which says that we should seek to send back as many people as possible and at all costs, even if that may mean a disregard for human rights.

As the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) protection of displaced people policy chief Volker Türk stated recently, restrictive policies do not ultimately prevent people from crossing borders.

The worst of this is that the countries prioritised for these agreements which our government will sign, are places where human rights violations, including religious freedom, are widespread.

On June 19th, EU Foreign Affairs Ministers will gather in Luxembourg for a Foreign Affairs Council to discuss external policies and migrations, and we believe more of these Compacts agreements will be signed and planned on this occasion.

Help us make our governments aware ! Share the message on social media and participate to our advocacy actions:

Advocacy guide
Briefing note on EU Compacts
A Thunderclap campaign: http://thndr.me/iV1uJD (IMPORTANT: in your custom message, replace #EUCouncil #eucopresident by @EUCouncil @eucopresident for Twitter and by @eucouncil @europeancouncilpresident for Facebook to mention the EU Council and its president)
Send a postcard to the European Commission: version 1 and version 2
Send a letter to your government or Member of Parliament
Ask a parliamentary question

Visit our page for the Refugee Sunday: www.eearefugees.org/world-refugee-sunday

On this particular topic of religious freedom and refugees, the EEA organised an event in the European Parliament on May 31st. We discussed policy recommendations that would help the EU to strengthen its policy on refugees and their religious freedom. You can read the article here: www.eearefugees.org/d2uble-penalty-refugees-and-freedom-of-religion-or-belief