UN Concerned About 'Illegal' Migrant Expulsions Under EU-Turkey Deal

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) Zeid Ra'ad Hussein expressed concern on Thursday about the recent deal between Ankara and the European Union, as the agreement could potentially lead to illegal collective expulsions of migrants to Turkey.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Monday, Turkey and the European Union agreed a draft deal under which Ankara would be granted more money to support refugees in Turkey, in return for taking back all illegal migrants that arrive to the European Union through its border and in their place send legal Syrian refugees to the bloc on one-for-one basis. The final agreement is expected to be reached by the next summit on March 17-18.

"The EU's draft arrangement with Turkey earlier this week raises a number of very serious concerns…[including] the potential for collective and arbitrary expulsions, which are illegal," Hussein said in his annual speech at the 31st regular session of the Human Rights Council.

He also expressed concern over the restrictive measures introduced by some countries to counter the migrant crisis, for instance, erecting fences and seizing the belongings of people "who may have already suffered greatly," and restricting their reunification with family members.

Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their home countries to escape violence and poverty.