Brussels, 18/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - European Union member states continue not to take into account the opinions of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) on the matter of expelling migrants, deplored Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, speaking on Wednesday 16 June. “Advice by the authoritative United Nations refugee agency is nowadays not sufficiently respected by governments and state agencies in Europe. UNHCR strong recommendations have simply been ignored in a number of recent cases”, he bemoaned in comments published on the website of the Council of Europe. On 9 June 2010, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom took part in an operation coordinated by the Frontex agency, consisting of expelling 56 Iraqis refused the right of asylum. Provisions were taken to send them back to Baghdad by force. The operation was conducted despite the advice given by the HCR that international protection should continue to be guaranteed to Iraqi asylum seekers from certain regions, including the capital, the commissioner said. He was also particularly concerned about the policy for intercepting migrants seeking to reach the European coast and for returning them to their point of departure without giving them the possibility of requesting asylum. “Intergovernmental agreements with Libya have given this country the role of protecting European countries against the arrival of migrants across the Mediterranean, irrespective of these people's needs”, he stressed. Hammarberg went on to say: “By forcing people back to countries where they are at risk of ill-treatment or deportation to the countries that are unsafe for them, European states violate human rights”. In his view, the situation has become even worse since the Libyan authorities ordered the UNCHR last week to close its office. The agency will therefore be unable to provide any protection to the people brought back there unless Libya reconsiders its position with respect to UNHCR's presence, he warned. Consequently, the commissioner calls on governments to closely cooperate with the HCR, underlining that “not doing so endangers human lives and risks undermining an international protection system which is badly needed today more than ever”. (B.C./transl.jl)