THE EUROPEAN – SECURITY AND DEFENCE UNION
In the Spotlight
+++ Refugees Protection +++
APPEAL FOR HUMANITY
photo: ©2022 Ruslan Lytvyn/Shutterstock
The Ukrainian tragedy and the future of refugee protection
by Gerald Knaus, Founding Chairman of the European Stability Initiative (ESI), Berlin
T
he Russian invasion of Ukraine represents a turning point in European history. The leader of a nuclear power justifies the use of force and attacks a neighbouring democracy by arguing that the national identity of its people is artificial and deserves to be destroyed. Civilians in peaceful suburbs are executed. Hospitals and theatres are bombed. Mariupol, a city the size of Liverpool or Dresden, is destroyed within weeks. After only two months of war, an estimated 4 million Ukrainians have fled to the European Union alone. While a few are already returning to join husbands and fathers, following the failure of the first Russian offensive, many more remain at risk of further displacement as the next Russian offensive gets underway. While the war continues, an even larger number is likely to reach the European Union in search of protection.
Stop violating the Geneva Refugee Convention This Ukrainian refugee crisis takes place against the backdrop of a deep crisis in international refugee protection. The 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention introduced a radical idea: states should give protection to anyone, regardless of nationality, who has “a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons
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of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” And yet, for many years, even democratic governments around the world, from Australia to the USA, from Greece and Croatia to Poland at its border with Belarus, have been violating the non-refoulement (no pushback) principle enshrined in the 1951 Convention. All governments are entitled to control their borders. They are also allowed to return people who have no right to stay. However, democracies decided decades ago that they would only do so by following legal procedures. Thus, democracies need humane ways of controlling borders without breaching fundamental rights; ways to reduce irregular migration without pushbacks and human-rights breaches; and ways to admit legally those in need of protection. This requires a positive vision of global refugee protection in the 21st century. Discouraging irregular migration through agreements with third countries can be legitimate if it respects the Refugee Convention. But protection must also be offered. Democracies should commit to resettling more refugees and they should keep borders open for those who can find no other place of safety. And they should cooperate in doing so. The response to Ukrainian refugees in Europe today matters hugely. All European countries, except the United Kingdom, already allow Ukrainians to enter visa free. The EU’s reaction to
