Equal Rights Beyond Borders

10 years in 10 months: throwback to 2017 & the origins of Equal Rights‘ work for the right to family reunification.

This month, we are focusing on a topic that has shaped our work from the very beginning: family reunification. Since the early years, Equal Rights has been deeply engaged with this right. Shortly after starting our work on the Greek “hotspot” island of Chios, where we opened our first office in 2017, we realized that one of the biggest problems was that people were stuck on the island, with no way forward and no way back. At the same time, many of those arriving in Greece have family members in Germany or other EU Member States, and therefore have the right to be reunited with them under the Dublin III Regulation.

In this way, we have been able to help ensure that people seeking protection, who are often separated from their families involuntarily and through violence, can be reunited. In many cases, this was also the only way to leave the inhumane conditions on the islands.
For a long time, the procedure between the Greek and German authorities took place without any oversight, which led to a rejection rate of almost 90% in 2017/2018: most of these decisions were unlawful. We began supporting affected individuals throughout the entire process, collecting and submitting documents, assisting the Greek authorities, and taking on a watchdog role. In 2018, we brought the first rejection in Germany before a court and succeeded in having it declared unlawful, obliging Germany to approve the family reunification.
Since then, we have supported thousands of families and successfully litigated hundreds of cases. To this day, restoring family unity for people seeking protection remains a key focus of our work.

In the coming months, up until December, we will present one milestone from each year since Equal Rights was founded.

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10 years ago today, EU heads of states and governments met and concluded on the EU-Turkey Deal. All newcomers were to be deported from Greece to Turkey – and almost overnight, registration centres became deportation centres. 40,000 on the islands, 20,000 in Moria alone, human beings living in the dirt in inhumane, unsafe conditions. Because islands became dead ends. A deal that never worked – but is still celebrated as a “model of success”.

10 years of the EU-Turkey Deal means 10 years of Equal Rights Beyond Borders. European migration policy is still shaped by externalization today: Albania Deal, Tunisia Deal, Return Hubs. We will continue intervening. We are not going anywhere.

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