Over 120,000 illegal pushbacks at EU borders in 2024, say European NGOs
A new report by the Flemish international solidarity NGO 11.11.11, based on research conducted with human rights organisations in Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, and other countries, reveals that 120,457 illegal pushbacks took place in 2024. Many of these involved violence, with migrants being denied access to asylum procedures.
Bulgaria recorded the highest number of pushbacks, with 52,534 cases. The report highlights widespread violence, including beatings, the use of police dogs, and forced strip searches. Men, women, and children - even those in critical medical conditions - were reportedly robbed and pushed back into Turkey, sometimes with fatal consequences.
In Greece, 14,482 people were pushed back at sea, often left adrift in small rescue boats in Turkish waters. Dozens did not survive. Meanwhile, in Poland (13,600 pushbacks), border guards allegedly used firearms, attack dogs, metal rods, and chains to intimidate migrants. Possessions, such as telephones, were systematically destroyed to erase evidence of abuse.
Violations
Pushbacks are illegal under both European and international law. They violate the principle of non-refoulement, enshrined in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which states that nations cannot send migrants back to a country when they could be at risk there.
“Member states, including Finland, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, are increasingly adopting national legislation to legalise pushbacks”
However, according to the report, the European Commission and the European Council are turning a blind eye to the mass human rights violations. “Member states, including Finland, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, are increasingly adopting national legislation to legalise pushbacks”, said Flor Didden, migration expert at 11.11.11.
Change
11.11.11 and its international partners are calling for an immediate freeze on funding, the withdrawal of support for the EU’s border agency Frontex, and legal action against EU member states that continue to violate fundamental rights.
Alternative migration policies, however, in the form of legal migration or partnership agreements with third countries, are hardly being considered. That is also unlikely to happen: the success of the far-right and growing resistance to irregular migration is rather indicating a continuation of the current border policies.
The right to seek asylum is protected by international and European law. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) prohibits collective expulsion. The principle of non-refoulement bans the return of individuals to countries where they might face danger and is enshrined in the UN Refugee Convention, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the ECHR.
The EU Schengen Border Code also requires member states to comply with European law, including obligations on access to international protection and non-refoulement. All EU states must uphold these treaties and ensure that each case is individually assessed before expulsion.
#FlandersNewsService | Migrants walk behind the metal fence near the border village Roszke, at the Hungarian-Serbian border © AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK