While the German government has long stood out at the EU level for its comparatively humanitarian-oriented positions on irregular migration, public pressure after terrorist attacks linked to rejected asylum-seekers has triggered radical measures.
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Aside from tightening border policies, the coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Liberals (FDP) wants to cut all benefits for some rejected ‘Dublin’ asylum-seekers and resume deportations to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
The trend has left human-rights-focused lawmakers feeling alienated.
Prominent colleagues speak up less in support of refugees’ human rights, as “talking about human matters is not expedient,” [the Green Party’s lead MP on migration Julian] Pahlke observed.
However, he does not want to keep a low profile after spending four years as a sea rescuer in the Mediterranean. “I saw [refugees] drown in front of my eyes because there weren’t enough emergency staff (…), that has left its mark on me,” he said.
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He wants to refocus the debate on more multipartisan concerns surrounding basic dignity, such as the drowning of migrants who are trying to reach Europe.
The pan-European human-rights organisation Council of Europe (CoE) offers a venue for this is, as it is shielded from the controversy of domestic politics and watches over the binding European Convention on Human Rights.
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