The Cruelty of Containment: The Mental Health Toll of the EU’s ‘Hotspot’ Approach on the Greek Islands
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Recommendations The IRC, based on its experience working in 40 countries around the world, including its programming work in Europe, makes the following recommendations to address the mental health crisis on the Greek islands and the past, present and future dangers facing those seeking safety and protection in Europe.
Unsafe past
— Focus on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for vulnerable and displaced people Strengthening the resilience of people and communities in the places where they live is essential. Funding should be used to meet the long-term goal of achieving the SDGs, with an increased focus on the potential of human mobility to drive development outcomes.
The majority of the people who reach Greece have fled conflict or war. Many others have also experienced violence, abuse and deprivation on their journey. As the world’s largest humanitarian and development donor, the EU and its member states can contribute to addressing the root causes of conflict, poverty and insecurity. To do so they must:
— Evaluate the long-term impact of the EU’s external migration policies and ensure a ‘do no harm’ approach It is essential to evaluate the impact of EU policies on peace, rights and sustainable development to ensure they are conflict sensitive and do not inadvertently increase vulnerabilities or contribute to human rights violations in countries of origin or transit.
— Expand and coordinate safe and regular migration pathways for all migrants and asylum-seekers Focusing on preventing irregular migration without providing regular pathways for people in need of protection is neither fair nor effective. While people will always retain the right to request asylum at the border, expanding safe and legal pathways would reduce the number of people who feel they have no choice but to embark on perilous journeys. In particular, the EU must implement current resettlement commitments and increase targets across 2021 to resettle 250k people by 2025.
— Increase robust humanitarian diplomacy The EU has a key role to play in addressing the root causes of displacement. Robust diplomacy should address the promotion of human rights, trade, development, humanitarian aid and multilateral aid. The EU should prioritise humanitarian diplomacy to remove obstacles to humanitarian action. This includes increasing its role in leading and supporting peace talks to facilitate solutions in conflicts, and working multilaterally to break the cycle of impunity for civilian harm by restoring accountability for violations of International Humanitarian Law.
— Ensure comprehensive cooperation with third countries Guaranteeing that EU policy frameworks are coherent, rights-based and built on mutual trust. EU policy frameworks must also align with the interests of partner countries in order to address complex interrelated economic, development and displacement challenges.
