CAMPAIGN: "ALMOST HERE - for secure access to refugee protection"
Since the beginning of 2022, the Legal Aid Center – Voice in Bulgaria (LAC) and our partner organization Mission Wings have received hundreds of reports of illegal practices of forcibly repelling asylum seekers from the territory of Bulgaria, the so-called push-backs.
The issue of forcibly repelling asylum seekers from the border is not new. Legal mechanisms
The issue of forcibly repelling asylum seekers from the border is not new. This phenomenon is observed not only in Bulgaria, but also along the entire land and sea borders of the EU, as reported by numerous human rights organisations. It is not just the result of individual actions by officials abusing their power, but is unfortunately an extreme form of a long-term unbalanced migration policy, stigmatising migration as a whole as something dangerous and focusing on prevention, detention, return and enforcement measures rather than on managing and facilitating migration processes.
In the case of seeking protection, due to the exceptional nature of the situation in which the individuals find themselves (fleeing persecution or war), they are exempt from criminal liability for violations of our border and immigration regime - Art. 3 of the Bulgarian Penal Code.
Access to the territory of the host country is one of the fundamental principles of refugee law. Asylum seekers can only enjoy the rights provided for in international and European law once they have entered the territory of the country. Any public official – border guards, police officers, migration officers, officials in any other administration – to whom a foreigner who has entered our territory declares that he or she is seeking protection has the obligation under Article 58 of the Bulgarian Asylum and Refugee Act (ARA) to refer him or her to the competent institution in the country – the State Agency for Refugees. It does not matter whether the asylum seeker enters with or without a visa, with or without a regular travel document, through a checkpoint or across a green border. It does not matter whether they have entered our territory and are at the checkpoint itself, a few kilometres from the border or deep inside the country. In the case of seeking protection, because of the exceptional nature of the situation in which the persons find themselves (fleeing persecution or war), they are exempt from criminal liability for breaches of our border and immigration regime – Art. 279 para. 3 of the Bulgarian Penal Code.
At the same time, any official who fails to comply with his/her legal obligation to ensure access to the asylum seeker’s territory and to refer him/her to the competent institution shall be liable for violation of the administrative provisions laid down in the LAS and shall be subject to administrative liability. Furthermore, if the acts of repulsion are accompanied by the use of violence, bodily harm, threats, insults, robbery or acts degrading to human dignity, the perpetrator shall be criminally liable under the Criminal Code for an offence committed by an official within the scope of his official duties.
An initiative that tries to bring out the human in the tangle of politics
“HERE – for safe access to protection for refugees” is an initiative that tries to bring the human into the tangle of policies. It was launched as part of the project “Effective Legal Aid for Refugees and Migrants in Bulgaria – a continuation”, implemented within the framework of the Second Call for Strategic Projects of the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria under the EEA Grants 2014-2021 by the Legal Aid Centre – Voice in Bulgaria, Access to Rights Foundation – FAR and Mission Wings Foundation. The special VR event organized within the initiative was made possible in partnership with the experts from LENS2LENS production organization.
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Video testimonies of victims of violent reprisals
A small sample of collected accounts of survived forced rejection of asylum seekers that we, as organizations “Legal Aid Center – Voice in Bulgaria” and “Mission Wings” had the opportunity to meet in and outside Bulgaria. We are airing the material because we want the voice of these people to be heard and for this extremely grave violation of human rights, which is happening on the territory of Bulgaria, to be stopped.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The campaign HERE, funded by the Active Citizens Fund
“ALMOST HERE – for secure access to protection for refugees” is part of the project “Effective Legal Aid for Refugees and Migrants in Bulgaria – continuation”, implemented under the Second Call for Strategic Projects of the Active Citizens Fund (ACF) under the EEA Financial Framework 2014-2021 by the Legal Aid Centre – Voice in Bulgaria (LAC), Access to Rights Foundation – FAR (ARF) and Mission Wings Foundation (MW). The special VR event was realized in partnership with the experts from LES2LENS production organization. All responsibility for the content rests with the performers and can under no circumstances be assumed to reflect the official opinion of the EEA FM and the Operator of the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)