The European Union (EU) must immediately put an end to its plans to return asylum-seekers to Turkey on the false pretence that it is a “safe country” for refugees, said Amnesty International in a report published on Friday reiterating that the EU-Turkey agreement is “reckless and illegal”.

The report titled “No safe refuge: Asylum-seekers and refugees denied effective protection in Turkey” mentions the shortcomings in Turkey’s asylum system, the difficulties that the refugees face in Turkey and obligatory returns of refugees from Turkey to Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

As the report reveals Turkey’s asylum system is struggling to cope with more than three million asylum-seekers and refugees and as a result, asylum-seekers face years waiting for their cases to be dealt with, during which time they receive little or no support to find shelter and sustenance for themselves and their families, with children as young as nine working to support families.

“The EU-Turkey deal is reckless and illegal. Amnesty International’s findings expose as a fiction the idea that Turkey is able to respect the rights and meet the needs of over three million asylum-seekers and refugees,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe and Central Asia.