MSF Says EU Violates Responsibilities by Signing Refugee Deal With Turkey

The international humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders) on Friday published an open letter to the European Union, saying the bloc has violated its moral and legal responsibilities, by signing a refugee swap deal with Ankara.

GENEVA (Sputnik) — According to the letter, the deal creates a dangerous precedent, showing that any country could "buy their way out of providing asylum" that poses a threat to the concept of refugee itself.

"The 'EU-Turkey deal' effectively outsources caring for these people to Turkey in exchange for, amongst other things, a multi-billion euro financial aid package. In an era of the greatest displacement of humanity in decades, this is a historic abdication of your moral and legal responsibilities," the letter reads.

It was added in the letter that the agreement threatened "the right of all people to seek asylum" and violated Brussels' obligation to assist each man asking for protection.

In mid-March, the European Union and Ankara agreed on a deal under which Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in the European Union through its territory in exchange for legal Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey, on a one-for-one basis. In return, the 28-member bloc pledged to accelerate the Turkish EU accession bid and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and the Schengen area.