Russia’s invasion of Ukraine precipitated one of the largest and most abrupt refugee movements in
Europe since the end of the Second World War. On March 2. Just seven days after the war began, 874,000 people were recorded to have fled to neighbouring countries. A month into the fighting, more than 3.7 million Ukrainians had fled to neighbouring countries, the sixth largest refugee flow in the past 60 years, according to a study.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has foretold that up to four million people could flee the country within the next few weeks. The European Union (EU) puts this figure even higher, reckoning that there may be seven million refugees in the long run. Regardless of the actual number, it is now rather clear that a phenomenal refugee challenge is unraveling in Europe.
While the EU calls this the biggest humanitarian catastrophe that Europe has witnessed, it is vital to recollect that it was not so long ago that the continent encountered a critical humanitarian challenge — the 2015 refugee “crisis” prompted by the war in Syria. But Europe’s varied responses to these two circumstances are a signal to those who expect a more humane and charitable Europe.
However, it is exhorting that Ukraine’s neighbours have responded with a wave of public and political backing for the refugees. Political leaders have said publicly that refugees from Ukraine are welcome and countries have been preparing to receive them on their borders with teams of volunteers handing out food, water, clothing, and medicines.
Slovakia and Poland have proclaimed that refugees exiting the war in Ukraine would be authorised to enter their country even without a passport, or any other valid travel document. Other EU countries, such as Ireland, have declared openly the immediate lifting of visa regulations for Ukrainian nationals. All over Europe, Ukrainian refugees have free access to public transport and telephone services.
The EU proposes to reactivate the Temporary Protection Directive, introduced in the 1990s to deal with large-scale refugee flows during the Balkan crisis. Under this scheme, refugees from Ukraine would be offered up to three years temporary protection in EU countries, without having to apply for asylum, with rights to a residence permit and access to education, housing, and the labour market.
The Union also recommends simplifying border controls and entry conditions for those fleeing from Ukraine. Ukrainian refugees can travel for 90 days without a visa through EU countries, and many have gone from neighbouring countries to meet their families and friends in other EU nations. People and politicians across Europe are mobilising to show solidarity and support for those fleeing from Ukraine.
That is how the international refugee protection system should work, especially in a crisis. In these times, countries keep their borders open for people running off wars and conflicts. Unnecessary identity and security checks are relaxed, while those who evade the war are not penalised for arriving without adequate identification and travel documents. Detention measures are not used and refugees are able to voluntarily reach their family members in other countries.
But we know that is not the way the international protection system works in Europe, especially in countries that are now hosting Ukrainian refugees. Public discourse in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania is often impaired by racist and xenophobic rhetoric about refugees and migrants, in particular those from the Middle East and African countries, and they have adopted hostile policies like border push-backs and draconian detention measures.
Sadly, this double standard has reared in the response to non-Ukrainians escaping the war in Ukraine. An increasing number of students and migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia have been subjected to racist treatment, obstruction and violence while attempting to flee Ukraine. Many described being prevented from boarding trains and buses in Ukrainian towns while priority was given to Ukrainian nationals; others depict being aggressively pulled aside and stopped by Ukrainian border guards when trying to cross into neighbouring countries.
There are also accounts of Polish authorities taking aside African students and refusing them entry into Poland, although the Polish Ambassador to the United Nation refuted this and told a General Assembly meeting that assertions of race or religion-based discrimination at Poland’s border were “a complete lie and a terrible insult to us.” He asserted that “nationals of all countries who suffered from Russian aggression or whose life is at risk can seek shelter in my country.” The Ambassador said people from 125 different nationalities had been admitted into Poland from Ukraine.
We strongly denounce discrimination at Ukraine’s borders and insist that everyone has an equal right to cross international borders to flee conflict and seek security. The unacceptable and diverse treatment of Africans is shockingly racist and a violation of international law. The African Union should persuade all countries to show the same empathy and support for all those leaving the war, despite their racial identity.
The United States was quick to send humanitarian and military aid and impose sanctions on Russia to prevent Vladimir Putin from easily funding the war. But the White House must be willing to accept Ukrainian refugees. Though the US government took the appropriate step by offering Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to 75,100 Ukrainians currently in the country on business, tourism or student visas, it must support refugees leaving Ukraine and welcome them into the country.
In all, the Ukraine refugee crisis presents Europe with not only a valuable opportunity to demonstrate its generosity, humanitarian values, and commitment to the global refugee protection regime but it is also a critical moment of reflection. Can the peoples of Europe overcome their generalised racism and animosity and join the universalistic spirit of the 1951 Convention on Refugees? According to Article 3 of the Convention, all member-states “shall apply the provisions of this Convention to refugees without discrimination as to race, religion or country of origin.”