A number of non-governmental organisations are urging for the swift reform of the Dublin Regulation, which helps assign asylum demands to a certain state, the Austrian branch of the Red Cross said on Tuesday.

“The signatories are extremely worried that the current asylum policy in Austria and in Europe serves to protect not refugees, but borders.

“A reform of the Dublin system is needed urgently,’’ the statement, co-signed by Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International and several organisations, read.

The groups urged for a joint policy that would lessen the burden on the southern borders of the EU, rather than unilateral measures at the national level.

The signatories urged against denying refugees entry at the European border without determining a responsible state first and against deportation or temporary detention in third countries.

In late June, EU countries agreed on several aspects of the bloc’s migration policy, including the establishment of “regional disembarkation platforms in close cooperation with relevant third countries’’ and control centres in the EU member states.

The resettlement or relocation of migrants across the bloc is expected to be done on voluntary basis. (Sputnik/NAN)

– Jul. 17, 2018 @ 17:35 GMT |