BORDERS Civil society denounces risks of racial profiling in new Schengen rules A coalition of 35 international, European and national civil society organisations has issued a statement denouncing risks of human rights violations in the proposed reform of the Schengen Borders Code. In particular, the reform would allow the swift transfer of people who crossed the internal borders where there are “indications” that they crossed the border irregularly, without any individual assessment or procedural safeguard. Since systematic internal border controls are generally prohibited in the Schengen area, it is likely that the proposal will increase the illegal practice of racial and ethnic profiling in the EU. UK’s “anti-refugee bill” ups criminal sanctions for irregular stay The draft UK Nationality and Borders Bill includes several clauses that have been criticised for disregarding human rights, by both opposition and civil society. One of the most controversial aspects of the Bill is the transfer of asylum seekers to Rwanda, which was broadly criticized as unlawful. In addition, the proposal would increase the maximum penalty for irregular entry to up to four years of imprisonment, which would also apply to everyone who “knowingly remained in the UK beyond the length of their visa”. Greece: new report reveals use of migrants as police auxiliaries in pushbacks Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report revealing Greece’s use of proxies (often other migrants who are promised access to regular pathways in exchange for their cooperation) as police auxiliaries to enact pushbacks on the Greek-Turkish border. Notably, none of the 26 people interviewed by HRW were given a chance to lodge their asylum claim. HRW calls on the European Commission to open legal proceedings and hold the Greek government accountable for the illegal and violent pushbacks.