EU

Responding to President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker’s State of the Union address, Oxfam said there is no way to end irregular migration if there are no legal and safe channels, and tax dodging must become a thing of the past.

Rape, torture and slave labor are among the horrendous daily realities for people stuck in Libya who are desperately trying to escape war, persecution and poverty in African countries, according to a new report by Oxfam and Italian partners MEDU and Borderline Sicilia.

France is unlikely to be able to guarantee safety and human rights for asylum seekers in Libya, Oxfam said in reaction to French plans to set up a processing centre in Libya for asylum seekers in the North-African country.

While EU governments are meeting in Tallinn today to approve plans for more cooperation with Libya in order to stop people from entering Europe, Oxfam and its partners are hearing new accounts of murder, torture and other horrific abuses being suffered by refugees and other people who have fled through Libya - a place they call “hell”.

The EU's partnership approach for working with African countries on managing migration has to date failed to provide safe and regular channels for migration or offer long-term solutions that improve the lives of people on the move.

A touring exhibition by Oxfam and Amnesty International promoting solidarity with refugees and other migrants has received a prestigious European Excellence Award in Brussels today. The “Museum without a Home”, which showcases items donated by Greeks to migrants, was awarded the best European NGO campaign in 2016.

Plans for next year's EU budget mean that not the actual needs of people in developing countries will be addressed, but money will be spent on border security to stop migration, Oxfam deplores.

EU governments have today furthered the recent trend of using development aid to advance their own short-sighted interests. They have adopted a new framework for the European Union’s development policy that neither listens to EU citizens nor focuses on eradicating poverty.

Already more than 1,000 migrants have been reported dead or missing in 2017 while trying to cross the Mediterranean. EU leaders must expand safe and regular routes so migrants are not forced to risk their lives in search of safety and dignity, Oxfam said in response.