Reaction to the New Pact on Migration and Asylum

On 23 September 2020, the European Commission released on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum; which includes a number of welcomed aspects. While some proposals go in the right direction to protect the rights of people on the move, others are not aligned with development cooperation objectives, or human rights’ standards.While we understand that the European Commission’s priority is to rebuild trust among EU Member States on migration policy, we would like to stress that a credible migration policy can only be achieved if it also respects international conventions on human rights.

In many cases, forced migration is a response to problems to which Europe contributes – such as conflicts exacerbated by arms trade and the competition for natural resources, unjust macroeconomic relations and climate change. Addressing the root causes of forced migration should therefore mean that the EU looks at the impact of its policies on partner countries’ capacity to implement Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.