Amnesty International has called European Union leaders to put refugee rights above concerns to protect their borders.

Amnesty’s call Saturday came a day before German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to hold talks with Turkish officials on an EU plan that would give concession to Turkey in exchange for stemming the flow of migrants into EU countries.

Officials say the concessions would include an aid package, easier access to EU visas for Turkish citizens and speed-up EU membership talks.

Amnesty said the EU should be looking for ways to “offer safe and legal routes to refugees to reach Europe.”

The group said: “A deal premised on keeping refugees in Turkey fundamentally ignores both the challenges they face there and the obvious need for the EU to offer protection.”