After yesterday’s EU summit on the refugee crisis, it is clear that the EU has adopted a short-sighted and restrictive strategy of defending and protecting its outer border between Turkey and Greece, far from its heart. The focus of the entire debate at the summit was on finding the most efficient model for deterring refugees from entering Europe, rather than finding a solution to the root causes driving their flight.

Reflecting the current context of the humanitarian refugee crisis, we would like to invite you to attend the lecture and conversation with dr. Mbongiseni Buthelezi who is a senior researcher in the Research Initiative in Archive and Public Culture at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. 

This National shadow observation has been prepared by experts for asylum policies, human rights and peace-building policies, gathered in the Initiative “Welcome”, which is coordinated by the Centre for Peace Studies. 

“Welcome” initiative gathers individuals and civil society organizations with the aim to support refugees on the ground, but also to make political pressure on the Croatian and EU institutions to change restrictive migration policies.

Researchers from the Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Citizenship and Migration (CEDIM), Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) and individual members of academic community appeal to the Government of the Republic of Croatia and Ministry of Interior (MUP) to recall the decision on closure of border crossings and allow refugees to enter Croatia, as previously done.

Dear activists and citizens in Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Greece, Spain, Germany, Serbia, Macedonia and all around Europe, as you know, the refugees wave has reached Croatia. Upon initial proactive and open approach, last night our Government closed down the border with Serbia, due to the decision of the Slovenian government also to close the borders. 

The current unacceptable situation of asylum seekers calls for a robust strategy at EU level in cooperation with Member States, social partners and other stakeholders to immediately address the multiple issues refugees are facing.

Activists of several non-governmental organisations on Saturday staged a rally in Europe Square in downtown Zagreb to protest against the current asylum policy of the European Union accusing the EU of giving a slow and inadequate repose to the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by a larger influx of migrants fleeing war-hit areas in Asia and northern Africa.

As also highlighted in this morning’s President Juncker’s speech, the migration and refugee crisis is one of the most pressing issues for the EU at the moment. Although the tragedies in the Mediterranean involving people trying to reach the EU in search of protection and a better life have become a recurring horror in the last years, the phenomenon increased tremendously in the last month and involved also countries at the land borders of the EU and the Western Balkan region. EU coordinated human rights-based political responses are urgently needed and some of the points mentioned by President Juncker today represent important steps on which we can build.

The Centre for Peace Studies is a civil society organization dealing with, among other issues, protection of human rights of refugees. We are advocating prevention of further persecution of refugees by their country of origin. INTERPOL’s Red Notices and Diffusions are at the disposal of refugees’ countries of origin, in the same way they are at the disposal of any other Interpol’s member state. These mechanisms can and have been used by refugees’ countries of origin with the view of further persecuting these people for political or any other illicit reason.