Plan would be tantamount to blanket return of foreigners to third country, which is not consistent with law, UNHCR says.
Proposals to send back refugees en masse from the European Union to Turkey would contravene their right to protection under European and international law, agencies and rights groups say.
The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, has criticised the plans drawn up by Turkey and the EU, saying they would amount to a violation of human rights.
“The collective expulsion of foreigners is prohibited under the European Convention of Human Rights,” Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR’s Europe regional director, said in Geneva on Tuesday.
“An agreement that would be tantamount to a blanket return of any foreigners to a third country, is not consistent with European law, is not consistent with international law.”