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A United Nations official warned on Tuesday that a tougher anti-immigration stance in Europe after upcoming elections could affect countries’ willingness to accept refugees and spark unrest.
Vincent Cochetel, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ special envoy for the Central and Western Mediterranean, expressed concern that Europe’s tougher stance on migrants and refugees could force countries that have long provided much-needed refuge to people fleeing crises to reassess their policies.
“Europe is setting a great example,” he told reporters in Geneva, calling for the continent to serve as a good example “to advance conservation in the rest of the world”.
“People are watching how Europe deals with refugees,” he noted.
“If European values on refugee protection erode, we will see the same trends elsewhere.”
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Cochetel warned that this would lead to “a lack of proper management of (migrant) movements and a surge in migration, not only towards Europe but in all directions”.
His comments came as opinion polls predicted nationalist, eurosceptic and far-right parties would perform well in the European Parliament elections, which run from June 6-9.
Many European countries have been focusing on tougher immigration policies for years, and the growing representation of the far-right on the continent will have an impact on EU immigration and refugee policies.
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Cochetel stressed the need to stress to Europeans that the numbers of refugees and migrants arriving in European countries are “totally manageable.”
He noted that when millions of Ukrainians fled their war-torn country, European countries handled the influx “without much difficulty.”
“Refugees from nearby areas always evoke more sympathy than those who come from far away and look different,” he acknowledged.
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That’s why it’s crucial to explain why people are coming from countries like Sudan, which has been ravaged by a brutal civil war for more than a year, he said.
He said European countries “should prepare but not panic.”
Cochetel also stressed that the majority of people moving around the world are not heading to Europe.
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He launched a new report on Tuesday highlighting the shocking needs and risks facing refugees and migrants along migration routes in Africa and beyond.
“The horrors faced by refugees and migrants on these routes are unimaginable,” he said, calling for efforts to identify the busiest and most dangerous routes and ensure that humanitarian protection and other services are provided.
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