Published : 04-01-2022
AGPS has launched a campaign in solidarity with the families of the victims of the tragic boat accident which occurred off a Greek coast on Friday, December 24, claiming the lives of 17 migrants, among them eight Palestinian refugees displaced from Syria.
The campaign seeks to pressurize EU Member-States to reconsider migration policies and family reunification laws. Delays in family reunion procedures often lead to tragic consequences as migrants are forced to seek alternative routes to meet their families.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about the fact that protection of the family unit is a fundamental human right. Separation of families are of particular concern when they lead to migrant boys and girls being separated from their legal guardians or left unaccompanied. The longer-term separation of families due to migration, in particular when children grow up in a host country without one or both parents, can also have a range of psychological, social and other adverse repercussions.
While EU States have the right to determine the conditions of entry, stay and the status of family members in their territories, EU governments should remember that the importance of family unity and its potential benefits for both migrants and their host communities should form a key part of migration policy considerations in Europe.
The EU should urgently reconsider its migration policy and family reunion red tape at embassies, migration departments, and consulates in host countries and to work on protecting the lives of migrants, among them hundreds of children, who are the victims of displacement, poverty, and economic marginalization.
Activists, CSOs, and human rights groups speaking up for the Palestinian refugee plight can support the campaign through the hashtag #RawandAlayedi #VictimsofBoatTragedy #DeathBoats
AGPS has launched a campaign in solidarity with the families of the victims of the tragic boat accident which occurred off a Greek coast on Friday, December 24, claiming the lives of 17 migrants, among them eight Palestinian refugees displaced from Syria.
The campaign seeks to pressurize EU Member-States to reconsider migration policies and family reunification laws. Delays in family reunion procedures often lead to tragic consequences as migrants are forced to seek alternative routes to meet their families.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about the fact that protection of the family unit is a fundamental human right. Separation of families are of particular concern when they lead to migrant boys and girls being separated from their legal guardians or left unaccompanied. The longer-term separation of families due to migration, in particular when children grow up in a host country without one or both parents, can also have a range of psychological, social and other adverse repercussions.
While EU States have the right to determine the conditions of entry, stay and the status of family members in their territories, EU governments should remember that the importance of family unity and its potential benefits for both migrants and their host communities should form a key part of migration policy considerations in Europe.
The EU should urgently reconsider its migration policy and family reunion red tape at embassies, migration departments, and consulates in host countries and to work on protecting the lives of migrants, among them hundreds of children, who are the victims of displacement, poverty, and economic marginalization.
Activists, CSOs, and human rights groups speaking up for the Palestinian refugee plight can support the campaign through the hashtag #RawandAlayedi #VictimsofBoatTragedy #DeathBoats
