Women’s Link Worldwide has launched a report Trapped in Europe: Dignity Denied that includes testimonials of women refugees. The women’s stories, many of them traveling alone with small children, describe months or years of difficult, often dangers journeys, and now, daily life in makeshift camps without access to basics like adequate food, sanitation, water or safety. They tell of pregnant women terrified for their health because there is no medical care.
Direct Link to Full 52-Page 2016 Report: Trapped in Europe-WEB
Women’s Link Worldwide also filed a complaint with the European Ombudsman in which it denounced the European Commission’s failure to protect the human rights of migrants and refugees attempting to enter EU territory or already within EU territory, specifically women and children.
The European Commission has not taken into account the right to dignity of migrants and refugee seekers, nor has it taken measures to ensure this right. Women’s Link has observed the deplorable lodging, food, hygiene, lighting, and security conditions that people in the detention centers and informal settlements, particularly women and children, must deal with. Access to health care is minimal, pregnant women are not receiving adequate care, and there is no medical assistance available for newborns and infants, who are exposed to multiple diseases.
This is the first time a complaint has been filed with the European Ombudsman including a differential analysis of the consequences of the Agreement on refugee women and children. The complaint, filed in June 21, states that if the Commission had carried out an analysis of the human rights impact of its policies and actions, particularly the EU-Turkey Agreement, it could have prevented the grim situation that thousands of refugees are facing in European territory, particularly women and children.
The complaint argues that the European Commission violated the EU’s legal framework, as well as its principles and values, by failing to carry out an analysis of the impact of the EU-Turkey Agreement on women and children. The failure to carry out such an analysis is resulting in the systematic violation of the rights of the most vulnerable groups, as documented by Women’s Link on two recent missions to Greece and Turkey.
Извор: WUNRN – 16.08.2016
