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Border Violence Monitoring Network

{{Infobox organization

| name = Border Violence Monitoring Network

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| type = Non-profit NGO

| founded_date = {{start date and age|2016}}

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| area_served = Europe and the Western Balkans

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| focus = Human rights, Activism

| fields = Human Rights Monitoring, Legal and Political Advocacy, Campaigns, Research

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| homepage = {{URL|https://www.borderviolence.eu/}}

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The Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) is a coalition of over 12 organizations whose stated goal is "documenting illegal pushbacks & police violence by EU [European Union] member state authorities in the Western Balkans and Greece".{{cite news | last=Müller | first=Tobias | title=Folter an den EU-Außengrenzen: Pushbacks mit brutaler Gewalt | newspaper=Die Tageszeitung: Taz | date=4 May 2021 | url=https://taz.de/!5769541/ | access-date=1 September 2021}}{{cite web |title=About us - Who we are – Border Violence Monitoring Network |url=https://www.borderviolence.eu/about/ |access-date=30 September 2021}}{{cite web |title=BVMN Twitter profile |url=https://twitter.com/Border_Violence |website=Twitter |access-date=30 September 2021 |language=en}} The organization was founded in 2017 and is regarded as an authoritative source on pushbacks and refugee protection.

In 2018, BVMN recorded video footage of pushbacks along the Croatian–Bosnian border, which was widely circulated online.{{cite journal|author=James Ellison and Travis van Isacker|title=Visual methods for militant research: counter-evidencing and counter-mapping in anti-border movements|url=https://www.interfacejournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Interface-13-1-Ellison-and-Van-Isacker.pdf|journal=Interface|volume=13|issue=1|pages=349–374}} In 2019, it reported 3,251 pushbacks either from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina or from Greece to Turkey.{{cite journal|last1=Guarch-Rubio|first1=Marta|last2=Byrne|first2=Steven|last3=Manzanero|first3=Antonio L.|date=10 February 2021|title=Violence and torture against migrants and refugees attempting to reach the European Union through Western Balkans|url=https://tidsskrift.dk/torture-journal/article/view/120232|journal=Torture|volume=30|issue=3|pages=67–83|doi=10.7146/torture.v30i3.120232|issn=1997-3322|access-date=1 September 2021|doi-access=free}} To date, BVMN has documented over 1387 pushbacks from 16 countries.{{Cite web |title=Reports Archive – Border Violence Monitoring Network |url=https://borderviolence.eu/testimonies/ |url-status=live |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=19 May 2025 |language=en-GB}}

Key Publications

= Black Book of Pushbacks =

In December 2020, it published the Black Book of Pushbacks, a two-volume work that documents the experiences of 12,654 migrants who suffered from human rights violations while traveling on the Balkan route in the previous four years, in collaboration with the United Left group in the European Parliament.{{cite web|date=19 December 2020|title=NGO report unveils 'merciless' violence against migrants at Europe's borders|url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/146258/ngo-report-unveils-merciless-violence-against-migrants-at-europes-borders/|access-date=1 September 2021|website=The Brussels Times|ref={{sfnref | The Brussels Times | 2020}}}}{{cite news|date=23 December 2020|title='Black book' of thousands of illegal migrant pushbacks presented to EU|language=en|work=the Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/23/black-book-of-thousands-of-migrant-pushbacks-presented-to-eu|access-date=30 September 2021}} At the book launch, German MEP Cornelia Ernst called the incidents described in the book "reminiscent of brutal dictatorships" and said that she hopes the book "will contribute to bringing an end to these crimes and holding the governments that are responsible accountable".

= Torture Report =

In 2020, BVMN released a 51-page report into the use of torture or other inhuman treatment during pushbacks. This report was based upon 286 statements from migrants and refugees. Among the BVMN's findings is that in 2020, 90% of pushed-back migrants interviewed experienced "some form of degrading treatment or torture" from border guards.{{cite news|last1=Zocchi|first1=Benedetta|date=September 13, 2021|title=I've been talking to Afghans stuck on the Bosnian border – their predicament is horrifying|language=en|work=The Conversation|url=https://theconversation.com/ive-been-talking-to-afghans-stuck-on-the-bosnian-border-their-predicament-is-horrifying-167476|access-date=30 September 2021}}{{Cite web|date=2021-05-05|title=Vast majority of pushbacks in southeast Europe involve torture, rights watchdogs say|url=https://www.infomigrants.net/fr/post/31981/vast-majority-of-pushbacks-in-southeast-europe-involve-torture-rights-watchdogs-say|access-date=2021-11-12|website=InfoMigrants|language=fr}} According to the BVMN's report, the most common form of violence during pushbacks is beating or kicking migrants, including the use of dogs or attempted lynching. Use of electric weapons has been reported against 362 people. Thirty-seven percent of migrants reported being forced to undress, which almost doubled compared to 2019. In some cases, the migrants' clothes were burned so that they were forced back across the border while naked, or they were detained while naked. Twenty-three percent of cases involved threats with firearms.

= Monthly Report =

Every month the Border Violence Monitoring Network publishes a report summarizing recent trends in pushbacks and other important developments.{{Cite web |title=Monthly Reports – Border Violence Monitoring Network |url=https://www.borderviolence.eu/reports?category=monthly-report |access-date=19 May 2025 |language=en-GB}} The report brings together first-hand testimonies from a range of countries in the Balkans, Poland, Turkey, and France to look at the way European Union states and other actors are affecting systemic violence towards people crossing borders.

Structure

= Member Organizations =

BVMN works via a horizontal network of member groups. The members are NGOs, co-ops, collectives and grassroots initiatives spread across the Balkans, Poland, France, Greece and Turkey.{{Cite web|date=2020-06-17|title=Structure of the network – Border Violence Monitoring Network|url=https://www.borderviolence.eu/structure-network/|access-date=2021-11-12|language=en-GB|archive-date=2021-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112124945/https://www.borderviolence.eu/structure-network/|url-status=dead}} Members sit on an open assembly, and each contribute to various different working groups within BVMN. The following organization are named members within the Border Violence Monitoring Network, but some members choose to remain anonymous.{{cite web |title=Border Violence |url=https://borderviolence.eu/ |website=borderviolence.eu |access-date=19 May 2025 |language=en}}

  1. Blindspots
  2. Collective Aid
  3. Mobile Info Team
  4. Rigardu eV
  5. I Have Rights
  6. Pushback Alarm Austria
  7. Center for Legal Aid - Voice in Bulgaria
  8. Mission Wings
  9. We Are Monitoring
  10. Legal Centre Lesvos
  11. Infopark
  12. Human Rights Observers

Funding and Finances

The finances of the Border Violence Monitoring Network are based on:

  • Funds from Foundations and Grants
  • Member fees from BVMN's legal frame Rigardu e.V.
  • Donations from BVMN supporters

BVMN currently receives or has received support from the following foundations:{{Cite web |title=Border Violence |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250519165151/https://www.borderviolence.eu/financial-reports |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=borderviolence.eu |language=en}}

  • Open Society Foundations
  • European Programme for Integration and Migration
  • European Cultural Foundation
  • Safe Passage Fund{{Cite web |title=Advocacy & research |url=https://www.safe-passage.org/categories/advocacy-research |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=www.safe-passage.org |language=en}}
  • Sigrid Rausing Trust{{Cite web |date=2023-03-15 |title=Border Violence Monitoring Network |url=https://www.sigrid-rausing-trust.org/grantee/border-violence-monitoring-network/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=The Sigrid Rausing Trust |language=en}}
  • The Fund for Global Human Rights
  • Heinrich Böll Foundation{{Cite web |date=2023-12-13 |title=Understanding the New Pact: How the EU is abolishing the right to asylum {{!}} Heinrich Böll Stiftung - Thessaloniki Office |url=https://gr.boell.org/en/media/remote-video/understanding-new-pact-how-eu-abolishing-right-asylum |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=gr.boell.org |language=en}}
  • Privacy International
  • Pro Asyl{{Cite web |title=Menschenrechtsverletzungen zum Trotz: Deutsche Unterstützung des kroatischen Grenzschutzes |url=https://www.proasyl.de/news/menschenrechtsverletzungen-zum-trotz-deutsche-unterstuetzung-des-kroatischen-grenzschutzes/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=www.proasyl.de |language=de-DE}}
  • Brot für die Welt{{Cite web |title=EN People on the move and smartphones {{!}} Brot für die Welt |url=https://www.brot-fuer-die-welt.de/en-people-on-the-move-and-smartphones/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=www.brot-fuer-die-welt.de}}
  • Guerilla Foundation{{Cite web |title=Border Violence Monitoring Network – Guerrilla Foundation |url=https://guerrillafoundation.org/grantee/border-violence-monitoring-network/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |language=en-US}}
  • Fondation Un Monde Par Tous
  • The Global Whole Being Fund
  • RiVolti ai Balcani{{Cite web |last=Facchini |first=Duccio |date=2021-12-03 |title=Il documentario del BVMN |url=https://www.rivoltiaibalcani.org/border-violence-monitoring-network/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=Rivolti ai Balcani |language=it-IT}}
  • Front Line Defenders
  • Freedom House

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

  • {{cite book |last1=Denaro |first1=Chiara |title=Handbook on Human Security, Borders and Migration |date=2021 |publisher=Elgar Online |isbn=9781839108907 |pages=189–209 |chapter=Documenting and denouncing violence at eastern European borders: the socio-legal relevance of refugee voices through the production of audio-visual material}}
  • {{cite web | title=Ljudi u crnom, kečap i kundak | website=Bilten | date=20 May 2021 | url=https://www.bilten.org/?p=38173 | language=hr | ref={{sfnref | Bilten | 2021}} | access-date=1 September 2021}}

External links

  • {{URL|borderviolence.eu}}

Category:2016 establishments in Europe

Category:European migrant crisis

Category:Human rights organizations based in Europe

Category:Criticism of police brutality