Stop funding Turkish deportation centers, NGOs tell EU

BRUSSELS — A group of 20 civil society organizations has called on the European Union to “immediately” suspend funding for Turkish removal centers implicated in forced deportations of refugees following an investigation by POLITICO and other media. 
The EU has poured more than €11 billion into helping Turkey support and manage refugees, an amount that includes about €1 billion for border security and asylum processing facilities. 
Last month, an investigation by POLITICO and eight other news outlets, in partnership with Lighthouse Reports, found that the Turkish government is using much of this EU-funded infrastructure to round up and forcibly deport Syrians, Afghans and others facing danger in their home countries.
In a letter published Wednesday, the 20 organizations — which includes the EuroMed Rights network of NGOs, several Turkish human rights groups and the French Human Rights League — demand the EU “immediately halt all funding for any Turkish facilities implicated … until a full, transparent and independent review is conducted.” 
They also demand “an independent international investigation” to “thoroughly examine the misuse of EU funds.”
Last month’s investigation also found widespread human rights abuses, such as beatings, occurring in EU-funded centers — and that the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, ignored warnings from NGOs, diplomats and its own staff. 
“The report’s revelations shed light on a disturbing shift in the European Union’s migration policies, where funding initially intended for humanitarian aid has been repurposed to facilitate deportations, resulting in severe abuses against refugees and migrants,” the civil society organizations wrote. 
The Commission’s reaction to the revelations was muted, asking Turkey to “thoroughly investigate allegations of wrongdoing.” But the civil society organizations insist that the EU “as a primary funder, has the primary responsibility of these operations” and must “ensure that any funding is fully aligned with EU human rights standards.” 
In October, European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly called the investigation’s findings “truly shocking.”