Brussels, 04/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 4 November, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Swiss authorities sending Afghan asylum seekers back to Italy (a couple and their six children) could constitute a breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the ban on inhumane and degrading treatment. In this case (Tarakhel versus Switzerland), the ECHR held, by a majority, “that there would be: a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights if the Swiss authorities were to send the applicants back to Italy under the Dublin Regulation 2 without having first obtained individual guarantees from the Italian authorities that the applicants would be taken charge of in a manner adapted to the age of the children and that the family would be kept together”. The Court found in particular that, in view of the current situation regarding the reception system in Italy, and in the absence of detailed and reliable information concerning the specific facility of destination, the Swiss authorities did not possess sufficient assurances that, if returned to Italy, the applicants would be taken charge of in a manner adapted to the age of the children. The Dublin Regulation is specifically targeted insofar as it stipulates that demands for asylum are treated by the country in which the asylum seekers arrived in the EU and where they were initially registered. The Greens at the EP welcomed this decision and said that reform of the Dublin system was necessary. (SP)