A deportation stop “is definitely not coming. That will not happen with us,” the two emphasized in a statement submitted to the APA. Austria will continue to carry out both voluntary and compulsory returns.
Deportations to Afghanistan are an EU-wide practice and are necessary at the end of a negative asylum procedure in order to represent a credible asylum policy. In addition, around 40 percent of Afghans deported in Austria are convicted criminals, according to the Chancellor and Minister of the Interior.
On Friday, Zadic was very critical of the return of Afghan asylum seekers. Without addressing the Ministry of the Interior directly, she asked for an evaluation and consideration of the relevant statements of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In the past, human rights organizations and NGOs have repeatedly called for a deportation stop in the country. On the occasion of a collective deportation, the Vienna Institute for Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC) recently presented a study according to which deportees are confronted with economic and psychological problems as well as increasing violence after their return to Afghanistan.
Kurz and Nehammer also reiterated their line for a “more consistent approach to returns already at the gates of the EU”. On Friday, after a summit in Vienna, the two announced that they would work even more closely with the Western Balkans in the fight against illegal migration. Nehammer recently agreed on a project with Bosnia, among others, with the aim of returning third-country nationals from countries with no likelihood of staying in the EU directly from Bosnia to their countries of origin. “There needs to be a clear separation between asylum and migration – our focus on the subject of returns is all the more important – because a migrant from Bangladesh cannot even come to Austria to find out that he has no right to asylum . ”
With a view to the European Council next week, Kurz also emphasized again that there would be no EU asylum reform that would generate more migration with him. Austria has achieved more in recent years than most EU countries. Consistent protection of the external borders is now necessary in order to reduce pressure on Austria and its social system. “I will consistently oppose any form of politics that creates incentives for illegal migration and worsens the already high burden.”
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