Amnesty Calls out Europe for its Poor Response to the Refugee Crisis

Europe failed to properly deal with the refugee crisis in 2015, jeopardizing the human rights of millions of people, a new Amnesty International report said on Wednesday.

"The richest bloc in the world, which is Europe, has really not been able to come together and find a sensible, agreed, coherent, safe way in which people can access Europe at a time when they're fleeing from war and persecution," Salil Shetty, the Secretary General of the organization, said.

The report called out the members of the European Union, for turning away migrants by adopting quotas, creating border polices and enforcing other laws that made it difficult for migrants to resettle. The report cited at least 30 countries that illegally sent refugees who were seeking safety back to their respective countries, putting their lives in jeopardy. The group did name one exception: Germany. Germany has continued to take in thousands of migrants and has been pushing the EU to find a better solution for the migrant crisis.

Shetty also pointed out several countries that rejected human traffickers with boats full of migrants from entering via the sea. These migrants ended up being left in the sea with no water or food until they were rescued or died. Amnesty referred to this situation as countries playing "ping-pong in the sea" with asylum seekers.

In terms of the fight against extremist groups, Shetty specifically called out the United States, Russia and France as countries that have appeared to forgo human rights in order to combat terrorism. He also called out several countries, such as Saudi Arabia, for committing war crimes.

"The human rights of civilians cannot be sacrificed under some vague notions of combating terrorism," Shetty said. "Human rights are a necessity, not an accessory ...the stakes for humankind have never been higher."

The report did find a lot of improvements in 2015. The group said the removal of the death penalty in Madagascar, Fiji and Suriname represented steps toward the right direction.

The annual review included 160 countries and territories. Read the entire report here.