"Prioritizing the return of migrants from Europe, without ensuring that key international human rights obligations are upheld, cannot be considered a protection response. [The OHCHR] expects to dispatch a team to Austria to assess recent developments in this area. We also intend to send staff to Italy, to assess the reported sharp increase in acts of violence and racism against migrants, persons of African descent and Roma," Bachelet said in a statement.
"The shocking and recent outbreak in Germany of anti-migrant violence, which appears to have been stoked by xenophobic hate speech, is worrying," she said.
Protests in Chemnitz, Germany
Since August 26, several anti-migrant protests have been held in the eastern German city of Chemnitz, where the first murder took place. A new protest is scheduled for Friday.
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On Sunday, protesters took to the streets of Kothen, the site of the second killing. As right-wing radicals call for the deportation of all illegal migrants, the German government has been slamming the rallies as incitement to violence. Berlin's open-door policy has been largely criticized by a significant part of the population, claiming that the security situation has deteriorated due to the mass influx of migrants.
Europe has been experiencing a migration crisis since 2015, with migrants and refugees fleeing wars and crises in their home countries in North Africa and the Middle East.