UN refugee chief says ‘one in, one out’ deal breaches international law

The head of the UN refugee agency on Tuesday said he was “deeply concerned” by a proposed deal between the EU and Ankara to curb the migrant crisis that would involve people being sent back to Turkey. Filippo Grandi told the European Parliament the 'one in, one out’ deal brokered by Turkey and its European allies could breach international law. He said refugees should only be returned to a country if it could be proved that their asylum application would be properly processed and that they would “enjoy asylum in accordance with accepted international standards and have full access to education, work, health care and if necessary social assistance”.

The UNHCR has been calling on states to increase different legal routes for Syrian refugees so they do not have to resort to people smugglers and to dangerous journeys

UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi

At a summit in Brussels on Monday, European Union leaders in principle backed a Turkish proposal to take back all illegal migrants landing on the overstretched Greek islands. Turkey suggested a one-for-one deal under which the EU would resettle one Syrian refugee from camps in Turkey in exchange for every Syrian that Turkey takes from Greece, in a bid to reduce the incentive for people to board boats for Europe. Turkey’s Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, first tabled the proposal in return for specific demands from the EU, including €6bn (£4.6bn) in humanitarian aid for refugees currently in Turkey, accelerated talks on Turkey’s proposed membership of the EU and visa free travel to the EU for Turkish citizens.

There is now a very important understanding of principle, details will now be discussed, and you can be sure that the agreement that will come at the end of it will comply with both European and international law.

European Commission spokesman Alex Winterstein

EU migrants