EU leaders must live up to their commitments to European values in responding to migration, more than 160 NGOs said today in a joint statement. The organisations are calling for strong leadership to uphold the rights and values that have been the founding principles of the European Union for 60 years.

The statement comes ahead of this week’s EU summit, following months of policies aimed at shutting migration routes across the Mediterranean at any cost. Just last month EU leaders in Malta backed an Italian migration deal with Libya that exposes people to suffering and death.

The 162 organisations and networks from more than 20 states – including Oxfam, Save the Children, Care, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) – call for leadership that both defends human rights and addresses people’s fears, rather than fuelling them. It also calls for EU leaders to go beyond rhetoric and deliver on their commitments to defend the human rights of men, women and children on the move. “Strength doesn't mean turning away those most in need. Strength is about showing a way forward that upholds values,” the letter reads.

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