Strasbourg, 22/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 22 October, the European Ombudsman's office announced in a press release that the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, had opened an investigation into how Frontex ensures respect of the fundamental rights of migrants who are subject to forced returns.
The Ombudsman sent Frontex a list of questions that focused on issues such as responsibility for the welfare of returnees during the flights and how can independent monitoring during Joint Return Operations (JROs) be guaranteed. O'Reilly, from Ireland, stated “Making sure that EU institutions respect fundamental rights is a key part of my role. By their very nature, forced return operations have the potential to involve serious violations of fundamental rights. Through this investigation, I want to find out how Frontex is equipped to deal with potential violations and how it minimises the risk of such violations”.
Frontex coordinates joint return operations, in which several EU member states cooperate. The Ombudsman pointed out that in 2012, EU member states ordered more than 484,000 non-EU nationals to leave their territory, with around 178,000 actually leaving. Between 2006 and 2013, 209 such operations took place, returning 10,855 persons in total. In 2013, the Ombudsman pointed out that she had already examined Frontex activities and had called on the agency to introduce a complaints procedure for infringements against fundamental rights that could occur during its operations. (SP)