A new book has been published that claims to list “systematic violence” unfolding at Europe’s borders.
Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The Left in the European Parliament launched the second edition of the “Black Book of Pushbacks” which, at over 3,000 pages, is said to detail numerous cases of violence.
It is a collection of more than 1,000 testimonies of people on the move compiled by independent experts from the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN).
The book, which is on display in the parliament, claims to document how almost 25,000 thousand people “were beaten, kicked, humiliated and arbitrarily detained before being illegally pushed back, both at the EU’s external borders and from deep within the territory of its member states.”
It contains:
1,635 testimonies impacting 24,990 persons
4 volumes, consisting of more than 3,000 pages
15 countries covered: Austria, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania.
A Left group source said, “The sheer amount of horrors documented in these volumes leave no doubt regarding the systematic nature of pushback at Europe’s borders. These are not sporadic incidents caused by a “few bad apples”: this is a “rotten orchard” where violence, torture and humiliation are not only growing exponentially but also being normalised. While the Commission seeks an agreement on the Migration and Asylum Pact at all costs, including turning a blind eye to rights violations, it is failing in its duty as guardian of the treaties. The mounting evidence clearly shows that the legal case for an infringement action to be taken by the Commission is there.”
The source added, “Pushbacks are illegal under international law, but member state authorities have long ignored such breaches of human rights which are contrary to the EU’s international obligations. The Black Book contains only the testimonies recorded by BVMN, the real number of people being pushed back and experiencing violence at the borders is likely much higher.”
Further comment comes from Cornelia Ernst, a Left MEP (Die Linke, Germany), who said, “The new edition of the Black Book clearly shows the violence still experienced every day by women, men, children on the move at the EU’s external and internal borders. The EU Commission is still inactive, not starting infringement procedures against Member States who are pushing people back and denying them the right to asylum. Frontex is still operating in Greece, although its complicity in human rights violations there is no secret.”
The deputy went on, “We see that the right to asylum is seriously under attack: the EU is funding more and more border forces perpetrating violence and Member States like Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are adopting laws aiming at legalising push-backs, legislation that violates the EU and international law.
“This new edition aims at holding the EU and governments accountable for the tortures, the inhumane and degrading treatment and the violations of the right to life that people seeking safety in Europe face every day.”
She added,”As Members of the European Parliament we have to thank the activists and NGOs that have been documenting border violence, gathering testimonies and locations at the high risk of being criminalised by European governments, without whom this book would not exist. Many of them have been suffering attacks for speaking out against the violence and push-backs carried out by law enforcement authorities, and we would like to express our strong support to them.”
