NGO Coalition Seeks EU Ban on Refugee Deals With Africa, Mid-East Nations

Some 104 human rights signed on to the appeal which warns that striking ‘migration management’ agreements with countries where grave human rights violations are committed will be counter-productive in the longer term.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — More than 100 human rights groups are warning the European Union to reject bilateral deals with rights-abusing nations in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and keep refugees from fleeing to Europe, Amnesty International said in a press release on Monday.

"The organizations warn that striking ‘migration management’ agreements with countries where grave human rights violations are committed will be counter-productive in the longer term," the release explained. "Such deals will be undermining human rights around the globe and perpetuating the cycle of abuse and repression that causes people to flee."

The warning came in response to a June 7 call by the European Commission for a series of migration agreements between the European Union and a range of countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Some 104 human rights signed on to the appeal as the EU prepares to take up the proposal later this week.

The European Commission recommendation is modeled after a recent EU deal with Turkey that has left thousands of people stranded in Greece.

Under the agreement with Turkey, migrants from Syria who arrive in Greece are sent to Turkey if they fail to apply for asylum in Europe or of their applications are rejected. For every migrant sent to Turkey, Turkey is to send a Syrian migrant to Greece.

The deal is intended to discourage refugees from making the dangerous sea voyage from Turkey to the European Union. Since January 2015, more than a million migrants have entered Greece by boat.