- EU report: Impunity for officials at the EU's external borders
Human rights violations by border guards against migrants and refugees are rarely pursued, according to an EU report. "There's an impression of impunity," the document from the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) in Vienna states. The report focused on EU external borders - from the English Channel to the Mediterranean, the Balkans, and the Aegean Sea.
Credible reports of violence, ill-treatment, failure to assist, or pushing back of asylum seekers - so-called pushbacks - are regularly made by UN and Council of Europe organizations, as well as human rights groups.
Many allegations, but few convictions
Between 2020 and 2023, the FRA found 118 disciplinary investigations against border guards in 16 countries. Only eight cases of sanctions against officials are known to the Fundamental Rights Agency - four in Croatia and four in Hungary. In the same period, there were at least 84 criminal investigations against border guards, but only three convictions. Despite having the largest number of suspected cases, Greece has not disciplined or criminally charged any officials, according to the FRA. Dozens of complaints are also received annually against the EU border agency Frontex.
Call for access to border guards' phone data
Due to insufficient or flawed investigations, victims tend to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights rather than national courts, the FRA found. The Strasbourg court has recently found shortcomings in investigations into a shipwreck with 11 deaths in Greece and a dead six-year-old Afghan child in Croatia.
The FRA now calls on EU member states to regularly disclose border law violations, more strongly involve victims in investigations, and access GPS and phone data from officials to follow up on allegations.
The Council of Europe, alongside UN organizations and human rights groups, regularly reports credible incidents of violence and pushbacks against asylum seekers at EU borders. In response to the FRA's findings of inadequate investigations and low conviction rates, the Council of Europe may advocate for EU member states to improve their disclosure of border law violations and consider granting access to border guards' phone and GPS data for thorough investigation.
