Europe/Africa: EU countries compromising global refugee protection by abandoning their responsibilities at EU borders

European Union countries are increasingly abandoning their responsibilities to protect refugees in an effort to combat "illegal immigration", as the recent tragic events near the Spanish enclaves in North Africa show, Amnesty International has said. "Shamefully, EU Member States are shifting the burden of refugee protection to other countries which may be ill-equipped to deal with the ever increasing numbers of displaced people. In the process, international commitments to humane treatment and the principle of 'non-refoulement' are being violated. The overall effect is not only to strain the EU's own credibility, but to threaten the very integrity of the international refugee protection system, " said Dick Oosting, Director of Amnesty International's EU Office.