REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS EU member states maintained deadly policies of racialized exclusion and externalization, and made little progress on responsibility-sharing within the EU. Negotiations on EU asylum reforms pointed to a compromise that would reduce safeguards and increase suffering for people seeking safety. States failed to establish safe and legal routes, instead subjecting people to abuse and unnecessary danger at land and sea borders. More than 600 racialized people including children died in a shipwreck off Pylos in Greece in one such incident alone, and hundreds of others from Africa, the Middle East and Asia were subjected to abuse and violence throughout the year as unlawful, summary forced returns remained a daily occurrence at borders across Europe. The European Commission failed to trigger infringement proceedings against Latvia and Lithuania after they introduced the possibility of summary returns into domestic legislation. Impunity for violations at borders persisted: Spain failed to investigate effectively the 2022 deaths, torture and unlawful expulsions between Melilla and Morocco. Some European countries failed to ensure the rights of Afghans to seek safety. In Germany, a humanitarian admission programme meant to admit 1,000 Afghan people per month benefited less than 100. Denmark, Finland and Sweden took positive steps to grant prima facie recognition of refugee status to Afghan women and girls. Refugees and migrants faced attacks in the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Germany and Greece. Many politicians engaged in discriminatory and racist rhetoric which targeted refugee and migrant communities, including in Türkiye in the context of elections. European states continued to externalize border control, disregarding human rights. More countries sought agreements on offshore processing of asylum seekers, such as Italy with Albania, while advancing an EU deal with Tunisia that risked rights violations. Cooperation with Türkiye, where thousands of people were subjected to refoulement, continued. Despite losing legal challenges, the UK government seemed intent on implementing its plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing of their asylum applications. Governments must put an end to policies of racialized exclusion. They must instead ensure that policies and practices protect, respect and fulfil the right to life of refugees and migrants, establish safe and legal routes and uphold people’s right to asylum at borders. WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ RIGHTS Latvia ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, while North Macedonia harmonized its laws with the treaty. Croatia announced that femicide would be a separate offence. Switzerland adopted a consentbased definition of rape and the Netherlands marked progress towards adopting such a definition. Many countries, however, reported high figures for gender-based violence against women and girls against a backdrop of inadequate state actions to tackle it. Monitors in Albania, Austria, Greece, Italy, Serbia, Spain and Türkiye each reported dozens, if not hundreds, of femicides. The live-streaming of a killing in Bosnia and Herzegovina sparked protests, as did the mild punishment of a perpetrator in Bulgaria. While a law in Finland entered into force allowing abortion on request in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and Spain passed a bill to allow abortions for 16-17-year-olds without parental consent, several countries retained restrictions on abortion. In Poland at least one woman died as a consequence of being denied abortion services. In Croatia, Ireland, Italy and Northern Ireland, health personnel frequently invoked conscience clauses. Some Austrian regions excluded abortion from the health system, while the Czech Republic saw care refused to non- The State of the World’s Human Rights 55