Msf Lashes Eu’s Role İn Keeping Out Eritrean Refugees

The report, Dying to Reach Europe: Eritreans in search of safety, noted that the European Union (EU) was increasingly collaborating with the governments of Eritrea, Libya, Sudan, and Ethiopia to keep refugees from Europe.

It also noted that these refugees - most of whom are fleeing indefinite, forced conscription in Eritrea that has been likened to slavery - had legitimate claims to asylum and that 90 percent of Eritreans who arrived in Europe were indeed granted asylum.

The report is based on the testimonies of more than 100 Eritrean refugees rescued by MSF from boats in the Mediterranean.

MSF general director Arjan Hehenkamp "European governments recognize their claims as genuine, but despite this are doing all they can to prevent them and others seeking asylum from reaching European shores."

The MSF called on EU member states to stop brokering migration agreements that do not offer adequate protection to Eritreans and other refugees and asylum seekers, and to stop making aid funds to African countries conditional on preventing migration.

"Efforts to manage migration should not externalize border controls to unsafe countries—wherever they may be—or make aid funds conditional on preventing migration. People seeking protection must not be abandoned or left trapped in unsafe places, with no option but to risk their lives on a perilous journey," Hehenkamp said.