A/HRC/50/31 unprecedented arrival of refugees fleeing Ukraine. At the time of submission of the present report, at least 4.39 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian Federation invaded the country on 24 February 2022. In early March, European Union member States agreed to activate Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001, for the first time, in order to respond to the needs of those displaced in a coordinated manner.10 The Special Rapporteur welcomes this initiative and expresses appreciation also to host countries that are not members of the European Union for announcing solidarity measures that facilitate the immediate and safe reception of thousands of refugees fleeing Ukraine.11 21. The Special Rapporteur recalls States’ commitments to protecting lives and to cooperating internationally to respond to the needs and rights of migrants, including refugees who face situations of vulnerability, which may arise from the circumstances in which they travel or the conditions they face in countries of origin, transit and destination, by assisting them and protecting their human rights. 12 He stresses that efforts to respond to the humanitarian emergency should be carried out in full respect of the fundamental rights and freedoms of all persons affected by armed conflict, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality or migration status, and without discrimination of any kind.13 22. The Special Rapporteur also takes note of promising practices in providing emergency resettlement to Afghan nationals, following the Taliban takeover of the administration of Afghanistan in mid-2021. Fifteen European Union member States agreed to help close to 40,000 Afghan refugees by providing a safe journey to the European Union as well as resettlement and humanitarian admission.14 Since September 2021, Brazil has also opened up new opportunities for the granting of humanitarian visas and residency permits to persons fleeing conflict and environmental disaster, particularly from Afghanistan and Haiti. 15 Over 300 visas had been issued by Brazil to persons fleeing Afghanistan as of December 2021.16 23. In addition, the Special Rapporteur notes with appreciation national proposals aimed at combating pushbacks at the external borders of the European Union.17 2. Ongoing concerns about the exacerbation of situations of vulnerability for migrants at international borders 24. However, the Special Rapporteur remains concerned at the extent of preventable loss of life and human suffering at international borders, both on land and at sea, which have been reported from across the globe, and bear witness to the effects of the continuing spread of dehumanizing border governance tactics, including the use of new and emerging technologies at borders without adequate risk assessment and relevant safeguards.18 These tactics also rely on militarized borders, extraterritorial border control and deterrence measures. 19 Pushbacks, expedited return procedures, limited access to asylum and other human rights protections, lack of State-led humanitarian assistance, and the criminalization of irregularly arriving migrants – as well as human rights defenders – increase the 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 See Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “Ukraine Refugee Situation”, Operational Data Portal. See https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/jha/2022/03/03-04/. See, e. g., the announcement of Canada on 3 March 2022, available at https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2022/03/canada-to-welcome-thosefleeing-the-war-in-ukraine.html; details on the response of the Republic of Moldova, available at https://data2.unhcr.org/fr/documents/details/91445; the announcement of Norway on 4 March 2022, available at https://www.regjeringen.no/en/aktuelt/temporary-collective-protection-forukrainians/id2903140/; and the announcement of Switzerland on 7 March 2022, available at https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/fr/home/sem/medien/mm.msg-id-87494.html. Global Compact for Migration, para. 23. See OHCHR, “Ukraine: UN experts concerned by reports of discrimination against people of African descent at border”, 3 March 2022. See Ylva Johansson, “The efforts by Member States to help Afghans in need shows #MigrationEU in action”, 13 December 2021, blog post on European Commission website. See submission by Cáritas Brasileira. See submission No. 2 by the Federal University of Uberlandia. See https://www.lachambre.be/FLWB/PDF/55/2277/55K2277001.pdf. A/75/590, para. 58, and A/HRC/48/31, para. 59. See, e.g., submission by Turkey. 5