Pushbacks: illegal and unacceptable

European law guarantees everyone the right to seek asylum. However, illegal pushbacks have become a common part of European migration enforcement. Countries on the EU's borders, such as Greece, use violence to push asylum seekers back by land and sea. Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, not only turns a blind eye to these violations, but is often complicit in them. 

The strict migration policies of northern EU member states, including the Netherlands, contribute to these illegal pushbacks. Proposals for a fair distribution of asylum seekers across the EU are repeatedly blocked, and human rights violations are met with silence. We consider this unacceptable and inhumane. 

In addition to pushbacks, we also hear about pullbacks and driftbacks. But what do these terms mean? 

• Pushback: The act of forcing refugees back across European borders, often through the use of force. This happens in countries such as Greece. 
• Pullback: The practice of returning refugees from a Europe to a different country, such as Türkiye or Libya, where they face widespread violence.
• Driftback: The abandonment of refugees at sea, often in unpowered rubber boats. In some instances, these boats are deliberately sabotaged, or people are forcibly thrown overboard.

In all these situations, people are being denied their legal right to seek asylum in Europe, which makes these actions illegal.

• In 2023, 346,004 pushbacks were reported, up from 225,533 in 2022 - a worrying increase
• On average, 947 migrants are pushed back illegally in Europe every day.
• Every year, hundreds of people suffer violence or serious neglect as a result. 

These figures are likely to underestimate the true scale, as many pushbacks take place at sea or in remote border areas, where phones containing evidence are often destroyed.