Biden, EU Urged to Welcome 'All People Fleeing Violence, Persecution, and War'

Human rights activists on Thursday celebrated moves by the Biden administration and Council of the European Union to protect Ukrainians fleeing Russian President Vladimir Putin's deadly invasion of their country--but advocacy groups also highlighted that rich nations have failed to offer the same hospitality to people from other conflict zones seeking safety.

"By restricting that assistance principally to Ukrainians fleeing conflict, the council has... exposed the limitations of Europe's solidarity."

In response to more than a million Ukrainians leaving their country, "the 27 member states have dusted off a 2001 E.U. directive that had never been used before and is designed to provide immediate assistance and protection to war refugees," according toEuronews.

The Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) "circumvents the traditionally overburdened asylum procedure and offers a quick and simplified path to access protection across the E.U.," the outlet reports. "The law will enter into force once the proposal is formally adopted by the council, a step expected to take place in the coming days."

Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty International's E.U. office, said that "everybody fleeing conflict must be provided with protection and help to establish themselves and we welcome that Ukrainians will be swiftly protected. But by restricting that assistance principally to Ukrainians fleeing conflict, the council has also exposed the limitations of Europe's solidarity."

Geddie continued:

Today's decision means that Ukrainians seeking safety in the E.U. will quickly get residence permits, be able to work, and be provided with suitable accommodation, welfare assistance, medical assistance, and education. It is now up to member states to decide if they will extend that to others fleeing Ukraine. We call on them to treat everyone fleeing this conflict equally.

The council's decision today is a reminder that Europe has long had the tools to protect people fleeing war and help new arrivals, and the usual 'Fortress Europe' approach is a politically motivated choice. That this is happening for the first time but principally for displaced Ukrainian nationals shows that the E.U.'s approach is riddled with double standards.

Before the deal was reached, Evelien van Roemburg of Oxfam E.U. said that "the significance of this moment for Europe cannot be underestimated," noting that the TPD not only "offers a direct lifeline to people fleeing from danger in Ukraine" but also would "kickstart a solidarity mechanism that asks all E.U. countries to share the responsibility for hosting them."

"The European Union has a particularly poor track record on the latter though," she pointed out. "In the past years, we have seen asylum-seekers' rights being systematically ignored, a crackdown on NGO workers who are giving them aid and support, overcrowded and unsuitable camps, and often violent pushbacks. This is a reality of recent European history that we cannot see repeated."

"We are therefore at a turning point for Europe," she explained. "We need real responsibility-sharing across all of Europe, ensuring that people have decent and dignified conditions to live in and can rebuild their lives in safety. It also means keeping borders open to all people fleeing violence, persecution, and war regardless of the country they came from."

Meanwhile, in the United States on Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.

"Russia's premeditated and unprovoked attack on Ukraine has resulted in an ongoing war, senseless violence, and Ukrainians forced to seek refuge in other countries," said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. "In these extraordinary times, we will continue to offer our support and protection to Ukrainian nationals in the United States."

According to DHS, "Individuals eligible for TPS under this designation must have continuously resided in the United States since March 1, 2022."

"This is great news even if it is long overdue. It is necessary but still not sufficient," said Doris Landaverde of the National TPS Alliance, expressing hope that President Joe Biden "takes additional action, and more swiftly, to assist the millions of Ukrainian refugees fleeing for their lives."

"He has the legal, political, and moral authority to defend immigrant and refugee rights, and we hope and pray that he summons the courage at a pivotal moment to do the right thing," added Landaverde, a TPS holder. "Millions of lives and his legacy depend on the decisions he makes in the hours and days ahead."

While welcoming the TPS decision, U.S. immigrant rights groups also pointed out its contrast with how the administration has responded to others fleeing unsafe conditions, particularly people of color and those coming from the Global South.

"ALL Ukrainian people should be able to seek refuge and thrive after escaping violence," tweeted United We Dream. "At the same time, the U.S. can and MUST provide that same opportunity for majority Black and brown countries they have had a hand in violently destabilizing."

As Common Dreams reported earlier this week, Western media outlets have also faced criticism for coverage that frames fleeing Ukrainians as "civilized" compared with people who have left or endured war in other nations.

"AMEJA condemns and categorically rejects orientalist and racist implications that any population or country is 'uncivilized' or bears economic factors that make it worthy of conflict," said the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association. "This type of commentary reflects the pervasive mentality in Western journalism of normalizing tragedy in parts of the world such as the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and Latin America."