In April, the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) shared 30 testimonies of pushbacks impacting 832 people-on-the-move across the Balkans and Greece. This report brings together first-hand testimonies from a range of countries in the region to look at the way European Union states and other actors are affecting systemic violence towards people crossing borders. In terms of trends in pushbacks observed in the last month, this report analyses systematic pushbacks perpetrated against people-on-the-move in Greece.

BVMN is a network of watchdog organisations active in Greece and the Western Balkans including No Name Kitchen, Rigardu, Are You Syrious, Mobile InfoTeam, Push-back Alarm Austria, Josoor, InfoKolpa, Centre for Peace Studies, BlindSpots, Mare Liberum, and Collective Aid. Combining insights from these different members, this month’s report covers:

• Dunja Mijatović’s statement urging EU Member states to stop pushbacks
• the eviction and closure of TRC Miral camp in Bihac, as well as squat eviction and forced relocation to a camp in Presev
• The European Court of Human Rights’ rejection of the Republic of Croatia’s request for a referral in the case of the family of Little Madina
• The Dutch District Court (NL) ruling to stop deportations to Croatia
• Push-back Alarm Austria’s commemoration of Algerian Workers Killed on Railway Tracks
• Broom operations in Thessaloniki

Read the full report for more information on these topics, as well as further updates from the region including: analysis of the “Samos 2” case and updates on ongoing difficulties in the Samos CCAC; the reduction of the public visibility of people-on-the-move as Bosnian authorities relocate hundreds of people with the support of the European Union; and an increase in people-on-the-move transiting through Piazza Libertà in Trieste, as well as continuing border closures in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

Download the Report Here