SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF PUSHBACKS AND INTERNAL VIOLENCE DOCUMENTED BY BVMN DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL

In May, the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) shared 17 testimonies of pushbacks impacting 439 people on the move (POM) 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. It also includes general updates and insights from advocacy actions taken by members of the network.

BVMN is a network of watchdog organisations active in the Balkans and Greece including Rigardu, Are You Syrious!, Mobile Info Team, InfoKolpa, Collective Aid, Blindspots, Pushback Alarmphone Austria, I Have Rights and PIC. Combining insights from these different members, this month’s report covers, among other things:

New York Times released a report including video footage of an entire pushback of 12 people from Greece to Turkey contributing to the ever-growing body of evidence on human rights violations perpetrated by the Greek authorities which many grassroot groups, activists and organisations have been reporting on for years;
Updates from Samos, Greece, outlining violations experienced by asylum seekers in the Closed Controlled Access Centre, as well as the delays and discrimination of the asylum procedure;
Testimonies describing pushbacks from Germany to Austria;
Updates comes from Turkey, where the elections have been marked by a stark increase in the nationalist reactionary voices both from the government and the opposition sides;
Feedback on the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive submitted by BVMN partners to the EU Commission;
An analysis on the expanding body of evidence on Frontex violations in its different areas of operations.