PRAB’s ninth report confirms the grim and ongoing rights violations and humanitarian toll at Europe’s borders, questioning the EU’s commitment to human dignity.

The latest report from the Protecting Rights at Borders (PRAB) initiative, The pushback – disconnect: current and anticipated practice, reveals a grim and ongoing crisis at Europe’s borders.

For years, pushbacks—the practice of forcibly returning migrants and asylum-seekers without due process—have been employed as a systematic border management tool. Despite international legal frameworks designed to safeguard human rights, these practices continue to flourish, often leaving vulnerable individuals in precarious and life-threatening situations. 

Between January and October 2024, PRAB documented thousands of pushbacks across Europe, adding to the staggering total of over 46,000 since 2021. These figures represent more than numbers; they encapsulate stories of hardship, desperation, and courage.

Migrants and refugees fleeing conflict, persecution, and poverty often find themselves trapped in a cycle of violence and neglect, their rights routinely disregarded by the very systems meant to protect them. 

The EU’s Pact on Asylum and Migration was expected to address such systemic issues. Yet, PRAB’s findings paint a different picture, suggesting that the Pact, while promising on paper, fails to tackle the root causes and consequences of pushbacks effectively.

Instead of being met with compassion and due process, many migrants are likely to continue encountering hostility, violence, and bureaucratic indifference at Europe’s borders. 

Read the full report here