Brussels, Belgium, October 15, 2024 — As the first people are being transferred to Italy’s new detention centres in Albania, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that this marks a “dark day for the EU’s asylum and migration policies”.
The first people to arrive, reported to be from Bangladesh and Egypt, are currently traveling from Lampedusa and are expected to reach the facilities in Albania tomorrow (Wednesday 16th October).
This dangerous model is not a sustainable solution, and must never become a blueprint for the EU’s approach to asylum and migration.
Susanna Zanfrini, IRC Italy Country Director, says:
“The first people to arrive in Italy’s new detention centres deserve better than to be subject to this dangerous political experiment. Even as the doors open on these new facilities, some huge questions remain unanswered about how Italy will ensure that people’s rights are safeguarded outside of the EU’s jurisdiction, how people in the centres will access legal advice, and how it can guarantee that children or people with vulnerabilities are not sent there.
Every single person seeking protection in Italy has the fundamental right to apply for asylum on its territory - regardless of how they arrived, or where they come from. These centres are costly, cruel and counterproductive, and have no place in a humane and sustainable asylum system.”
Marta Welander, IRC EU Advocacy Director, adds:
“This is a dark day for the EU’s asylum and migration policies. Keeping people trapped behind barbed wire, deliberately out of sight and out of mind, is not a sustainable solution to Europe’s migration challenges. While the number of people arriving in Italy has diminished in recent months, the number attempting the treacherous crossing to Spain has soared. These approaches do not prevent people risking their lives to reach Europe, they simply drive them onto ever more dangerous routes.
It’s alarming that Commission President von der Leyen is seeking to “draw lessons” from this dangerous model which must never become a blueprint for the EU’s approach to asylum and migration.
We will continue calling on the EU to uphold people’s legal right to apply for asylum, invest in welcoming them with dignity and respect, and scale up safe routes so people are not forced to risk their lives on such dangerous journeys to begin with.”