PICUM and the Greens group at the European Parliament published new research about the criminalisation of solidarity with migrants, that shows at least 89 people have been criminalised for helping migrants in Europe between January 2021 and March 2022. People have been criminalised for providing food, shelter, medical assistance, transportation, assisting with asylum applications, and rescuing migrants at sea. In the vast majority of the cases (88%), human rights defenders were charged with facilitation of entry, transit or stay, or migrant smuggling.

These numbers are likely to only represent a very minimal percentage of the people who are criminalised in the EU for helping migrants. Some cases may not be detected, and most are likely to go unreported. This is because of fears that media attention could further endanger the relations with the authorities and limit access to border areas or reception centres; to preserve volunteers’ right to private life and not to put them and their families at risk; or because some human right defenders might prefer not to speak out while trials are ongoing. Many cases of harassment which do not amount to criminal prosecution might also not be picked up by the media.

The criminalisation of human rights defenders who are migrants themselves is even more underreported because of the particularly vulnerable situation of individuals who might risk deportation, pushbacks, arbitrary detention and loss of status as well as harsh financial, social and economic consequences.

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At least 23 migrants died as they tried to cross into Spanish enclave Melilla from Morocco, on 24 June. Video and photographs show Moroccan security forces kicking and beating people, while Spanish Guardia Civil launched teargas at men climbing the fences. While the Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez blamed “mafias” for the crossing attempt, Moroccan authorities prosecuted 65 migrants over accusations of facilitating “illegal crossings” and failed to carry out autopsies on the bodies of the victims. The UN Human Rights Office called on both Spain and Morocco to investigate the incident, while human rights groups are calling for a complete rethink of EU’s migration policies.

A new report from Caminando Fronteras, a collective that defends the rights of people and communities on the move, finds that 978 people lost their lives when trying to reach Europe through the Western Mediterranean during the first semester of 2022. Most of the victims were registered in the Canary route, which continues to be the deadliest. 800 people died in this route in a total of 28 shipwrecks. The victims came from 23 different countries, including Morocco, Algeria, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Syria. Most of the victims (88%) disappeared at sea, and their bodies were never recovered.

The EU border agency announced on 12 July its intentions to stop supporting Lithuania’s border surveillance and shift personnel to other destinations such as the Central Mediterranean. The decision arrived two weeks after a CJEU ruling finding that Lithuania’s national legislation on asylum was in breach of EU law. Frontex denied the decision being connected to the CJEU pronouncement. The agency’s interim Director also proposed to increase the presence of Frontex in EU states where human rights violations were taking place, such as Hungary, defending that the agency’s presence would lead to less violations. That affirmation was challenged by MEP Tineke Strik, reminding that it hasn’t been the case so far. The involvement of Frontex in illegal pushbacks at EU borders has put the agency under scrutiny and triggered the resignation of its director in April this year.

A recent report by the Border Violence Monitoring Network about illegal pushbacks in Greece looks into three cases where groups of migrants were left stranded on islets in the Evros river over May and June 2022. In all three cases, in response to calls from civil society organisations, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Greece to provide temporary access to its territory and material reception conditions for these groups. Despite the Court’s rulings and broad public documentation of the cases, all three groups were eventually pushed back to Turkey without food, water, or medical care.

A Rohingya child who faced multiple pushbacks from Croatia and a “chain” push back from Slovenia (in which he was forcibly removed from Slovenia to Croatia and then to Bosnia and Herzegovina), accompanied by violent beatings and inhumane treatment by Croatian border guards, has submitted complaints against Croatia and Slovenia at the UN Child Rights Committee for multiple violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The complaints are supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights and Blindspots. This is the first time complaints of this kind have been submitted against these two states.

At the end of May, British coastguard officials blocked a lifeboat from rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean, after it saved 85 people at sea off the north African coast on 29 May. Italian authorities gave the crew permission to take the rescued migrants to Lampedusa, where they were disembarked. Two days later, the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency sent the charity a prohibition notice preventing the boat from going back to sea, citing concerns over the boat’s certification.

During her visit to Greece in June, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, expressed concerns over the criminalisation of and smear campaigns against human rights activists who act in solidarity with migrants in need. This includes migrants themselves, who face particularly heightened risks when engaging in human rights work. UN expert urged Greek authorities to place human rights and support for its defenders at the heart of migration policies.

A joint media investigation has revealed that the European Commission and Frontex bypassed EU’s data protection rules in drafting a programme that would allow for mass data collection on migrants, including sensitive data such as DNA and sexual orientation, and for its transfer to Europol's crime databases. According to the programme, data would be collected in case of cross-border crimes, and would involve not only suspects but also witnesses and victims. Following media reports, the European Data Protection Supervisor asked Frontex to bring the programme in line with EU data protection rules.

The European Court of Justice ruled on 30 June that asylum-seekers cannot be put in detention for the sole reason that they do not hold a valid travel or residence permit. The case concerns Lithuanian emergency legislation, introduced in 2021 to address arrivals from the Belarus borders. The Court found that this legislation ran counter EU Directives on asylum reception conditions and asylum procedures.

Researchers from the European University Institute and the University of Geneva found a link between less inclusive policies on access to health care and poorer health outcomes among undocumented migrants in Switzerland. The researchers found that death from circulatory system diseases is twice as frequent among undocumented migrants compared to documented migrants and Swiss citizens. This difference is smaller in the Swiss cantons that have more inclusive health care policies towards undocumented migrants.

In its global report on the health of refugees and migrants, published in July 2022, the WHO finds poorer health outcomes among migrants are linked to various suboptimal health determinants, such as education, income, housing, access to services, compounded by linguistic, cultural, legal and other barriers and their interaction. The report finds that restrictive immigration policies and fears of deportation as a result of accessing health care lead to poorer health outcomes for undocumented migrants. The WHO calls on States to design inclusive health care systems and address health inequities.

In Germany, activists are taking legal action against the obligation for “welfare offices” to report undocumented patients to immigration authorities as they try to access health care. In May, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte, supported by Doctors of the World Germany, together with a plaintiff with a heart condition and no regular residence status, filed a lawsuit and an urgent application against the Social Welfare Office in Frankfurt to stop the transfer of his data to the Foreigners' Registration Office when applying for a treatment certificate. The Administrative Court of Frankfurt rejected the application as inadmissible on the ground that the applicant did not have a "summonable address". The activists are now filing an appeal to the Administrative Court of Kassel.

A recent investigation by newspaper The New Statesman, based on data obtained by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), revealed that police reported over 2,600 crime victims to the Home Office since May 2020. Advocates at JCWI underline that numbers may be higher since not everyone who reports a crime to the police is recognised as a crime victim. Advocates further highlight that fears over data-sharing keep many away from police and never report a crime.

The NATO Summit held in Madrid on 29 June agreed on a new Strategic Concept that mentions migration as a risk to monitor in the next decade. The Strategic Concept also explicitly includes Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish enclaves outside NATO territory, as areas where collective defense applies against threats to Spain’s sovereignty. Separately, NATO approved defence support for Mauritania “to address security concerns including irregular migration and border security”.

On 29 June, the Commission proposed new measures to ease the use of cohesion policy funds to support EU Member States in addressing humanitarian needs caused by the war in Ukraine. The proposal allows for the full financing of activities promoting the socio-economic inclusion of third-country nationals and stateless persons. Member States would also be required to channel at least 30% of the support to local authorities and civil society. The funds can cover both emergency and longer-term inclusion measures, such as the provision of food and accommodation, urgent healthcare, education and housing infrastructures. The Council and the European Parliament are expected to vote on the proposal after the summer.