HUMANITARIAN groups have issued a warning over the crisis in European Union migration policies.

The warning ahead of World Refugee Day, comes in a joint statement from 275 German organisations, demanding “humanity, dignity and human rights for migrants and refugees.”

The organisations include SOS Humanity, Diakonie, Pro Asyl, Paritatischer Wohlfahrtsverband, Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Amnesty International und Handicap International.

The joint statement comes amid increasing concern over the Chisinau Declaration on Migration and Human Rights issued by all 46 member states of the Council of Europe on May 15 2026.

The activist groups say that the declaration further risks undermining the protection of refugees in Europe by “weighing fundamental rights granted by the European Convention on Human Rights against security interests.” 

Marie Michel of SOS Humanity said: “The Chisinau Declaration as well as the recent reform of the Common European Asylum System are accelerating what we experience as an erosion of the rule of law in the area of migration. 

“The crew onboard our rescue ship Humanity 1 has been witnessing violations of international law committed by EU-supported Libyan militias on the Mediterranean for many years — a direct consequence of externalisation of EU border management.

“The so-called Libyan Coast Guard illegally intercepts people fleeing and forces them back to Libya, the country they fled from — an act explicitly prohibited by the Geneva Refugee Convention.”

“Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Convention, we have to declare that individual right to asylum is under attack in Europe,” she said. 

The groups cited the experience of Raheem (not his real name) from Sudan.

He said: “In Libya, I was subjected to violence, to beatings and to every form of injustice and oppression in detention. I boarded another boat and headed out to the sea for a third time.” 

Since 2016, the European Union has been supporting the so-called Libyan Coast Guard in order to keep refugees away from European shores.