Migrants disembark at Palermo harbour after being rescued at sea. Alessandro Fucarini/PA images. All rights reserved.The letter sent by Prime Minister Renzi to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, together with the "Migration Compact" attached to it, shows a striking disregard for the objections recently raised by the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, by Human Rights Watch and by Amnesty International concerning the European policies promoted in this field.
It completely neglects the alleged illegitimacy of the agreement signed by the EU and Ankara and the true conditions of the migrants returned to Turkey, which the Erdogan's government is repatriating in large numbers (about a thousand in the past 6-7 months, including unaccompanied minors) sending them back to the war zones from where they originally ran away.
It keeps talking about a "migrant crisis" while, instead, it is clear that we are facing a refugees' crisis, and have been for many years. The letter of the Prime Minister, as well as the "non-paper" attached to it, completely omits any specific reference to the obligation of European Member States and Third countries to respect human rights and the principle of non-refoulement.
