联合国：停止移民涌入提案可能违反国际法

The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday it is concerned some parts of an EU-Turkey proposal to stem the flow of refugees and migrants into Greece, including a possible blanket return of individuals, may violate international law.

The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said aspects of the proposed agreement need to be clarified. However, it said it is concerned about any arrangement that involves the blanket return of all individuals from one country to another.

EU leaders and Ankara said Tuesday they had reached a possible deal that would return the thousands of migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey. The leaders are confident a full agreement can be reached at a summit next week.

After months of disagreements and increased bickering among the 28 EU nations, the leaders said they agreed to give Turkey more than $3 billion in additional funds to help with the nearly 3 million Syrian refugees it is hosting.

The EU leaders also agreed to swiftly ease visa requirements for Turks and speed up Ankara's EU accession talks in exchange for its help in stemming migration flows to Europe.

In addition, the deal calls for the EU to resettle one Syrian refugee from Turkey in return for every Syrian refugee Turkey takes back from Greece.

French President Francois Hollande said, "The summit has created hope that the refugee question can be dealt with through solidarity in Europe, and efficiency in cooperation with Turkey."

However, UNHCR refugee coordinator for Europe Vincent Cochetel, who said he is did not know the details of the proposed deal, told VOA he worries it may lack safeguards to protect asylum-seekers.

“Collective expulsion of foreigners is prohibited under the European Convention of Human Rights," Cochetel said. "An agreement that would be tantamount to a blanket return of any foreigners to a third country is not consistent with European law, is not consistent with international law.”