John Lannon: EU contributes to causes of migration, then shuts the door on those who flee
Exhausted, uncertain, distressed: This is the reality facing refugees fleeing disasters such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including this woman photographed in March 2022. File picture: Paul Zinken/DPA/AP
The Department of Integration is facing huge challenges as it struggles to meet the State’s obligations to international protection applicants and people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Two years and three months after the Government published its white paper to end direct provision and to establish a new international protection support service, a significant rethink is sorely needed.
The evidence is there for all to see that Ireland needs a fundamental overhaul on how we handle the reception, accommodation and integration of refugees. Involuntary migration is not a temporary phenomenon, and yet Ireland’s response has been a series of short-term measures that fail to meet the basic needs of people seeking protection here.
According to the UN’s Refugee Agency, the number of people forcibly displaced globally now exceeds 100m. More than 32m of these are refugees. This means 1.2% of the world’s population has been forced to leave their homes over persecution, conflict, human rights violations or other events.
The 14,000 new applications for asylum expected in Ireland this year is a tiny fraction of the world’s refugee population. Each of the applicants will be seeking international protection from persecution or serious harm, and if successful they will, for the most part, be recognised as refugees.
And yet, the response of many of our politicians and policymakers is to frame increasing refugee numbers as a crisis that needs to be managed. This is in line with the wider European response, as policing of migration at the borders, legal restrictions, and the development of return programmes all point to a reluctance to accept the inevitability of ongoing forced migration. A prime example of this is how EU policy focuses on stamping out smuggling and trafficking across the Mediterranean Sea while failing to ensure safe pathways for the people making often perilous journeys to find safety.
Even more worrying is the far right framing of refugees as an existential threat to our way of life. A small, disjointed collection of individuals and groups, many with links to international extremists, peddle misinformation and orchestrate opposition to their presence in our communities, seemingly intent on completely excluding refugees from our society.
Almost 75% of the world’s refugees and people in need of international protection are hosted in low- and middle-income countries. Ranked as one of the wealthiest countries in the OECD, Ireland can do more to protect the small numbers who arrive on our shores.
In the EU, measures to restrict migration flows — especially via the Mediterranean and western Balkans routes — are in stark contrast to the decision to allow displaced persons from Ukraine to avail of a range of rights in the EU. These include residence, access to the labour market, medical assistance, and access to education for children. Ireland quite rightly afforded beneficiaries of temporary protection these rights.
Notwithstanding the failure to put a sustainable, long-term strategy in place to meet the accommodation needs, the Government showed that where there is a willingness to respond to a humanitarian crisis, we can.
Despite this, people escaping war and persecution in Afghanistan, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other parts of the world face a different set of circumstances. Until such time as they are legally recognised as refugees, international protection applicants face years trying to survive on €38.80 per week. They also now face the prospect of street homelessness or living in tents, coupled with vitriol and violence fuelled by far-right extremists.
The problematisation of migration and the failure of the Government to clearly articulate its responsibilities to refugees has led to public uncertainty over their legitimacy and rights. Using fences and teargas to block migrants at the borders of Europe contributes to this undermining of efforts to welcome them into our communities. The same goes for language used by politicians and leaders that unintentionally constructs asylum seekers as a threat.
The European Commission has committed to creating a humane, comprehensive approach to migration that can help those in ‘clear’ need of protection while attracting migrants with the skills needed to contribute to Europe’s growth, innovation and social dynamism.
However, despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of the world’s refugees are hosted in developing countries, the EU has shown little commitment to global resettlement efforts. It continues to emphasise border controls while paying little attention to providing safe migration pathways. Just in the last month, the European Parliament endorsed new rules seeking to speed up the return of migrants who enter Europe without permission and to prevent them from travelling to other countries in the EU.
Attempting to identify and eliminate undesirable and irregular migration flows is an ongoing feature of our response to the displacement of people in our unequal world.
More needs to be done in Europe to respond positively to forced migration flows. However, we must also consider the glaring failure to address the root causes.
Extreme violence, environmental destruction, political instability and poverty all contribute to the involuntary movement of people. These are all exacerbated by ever increasing levels of militarisation that fuel wars and oppression, and by climate change. Europe’s military spending grew at a record pace last year , contributing to global military expenditures of €2.08tn. By increasing subsidies to the arms industry, the EU is feeding the global arms race, which in turn fuels conflicts and displaces people worldwide.
Militarising countries from which refugees come is one part of the problem. Another problem is involving the military in enforcing border controls, as is the case in the Mediterranean. We also see increasing militarisation of refugee camps, which leads to the perception of migrants and refugees as a security risk.
Ireland has an opportunity to put this right, at least and within its own borders. By focusing on the human rights of people seeking international protection, it can ensure they are afforded the dignity and respect they deserve while avoiding penalties such as the €1.5m payment to be made to the EU for breaching our legally binding humanitarian obligations.
It can also use its EU membership to help bring an end to the shameful practice of pushbacks at the EU’s external borders, particularly by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. Migration and asylum policies, no matter how harsh, will not stop people from seeking international protection. They just make it harder for them to find safety.
- John Lannon is the CEO of Doras, a national refugee and migrant rights charity. Also see: Doras.org.
