One week after the European summit, Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights, called on Thursday 5 July for member states to put human rights at the heart of their migration and asylum policies (see EUROPE 12051 and 12052).
“European states’ current approach to the arrivals of refugees and migrants has transformed a manageable issue into an extremely divisive topic, in particular within EU member states”, she writes before going on immediately to express her support to the NGOs working to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.
Turning her attention to regional disembarkation platforms, she calls for “thorough analysis” of any such proposals and, “if the analysis shows serious threats for the protection of human rights”, for the proposal to be withdrawn.
Whatever the solution put in place, there must be independent monitoring, the findings of which should be made public and it should be possible, in the light of the findings, to stop any operations that put at risk the human rights of migrants and asylum-seekers.
Mijatović calls on national parliamentarians, members of the CoE Parliamentary Assembly, ombudspersons and human rights institutions to be vigilant.
She says that there must be “clear procedures” on disembarkation conditions, assigning roles, responsibilities and accountability to EU institutions or agencies, member state or third country authorities, international organisations and others.
Any place of disembarkation, whether outside or inside Europe, should provide effective protection against refoulement, in particular, by ensuring access to an effective possibility of applying for international protection, she adds. This would require the presence of adequately trained staff, the availability of interpreters, access to legal aid, and the possibility for the review of decisions by an independent body.
Such places should provide adequate reception conditions and special measures should be put in place for the protection of vulnerable individuals. They must not become centres where people are automatically deprived of their liberty, Mijatović stresses. She goes on to emphasise that “the detention of children as a consequence of their or their parents’ migration status constitutes a violation of their rights and therefore should not take place”.
She concludes unequivocally: “As the number of new arrivals in Europe has gone down, political rhetoric has in fact only become more hostile. It is high time that Europe’s political leaders show that human rights, the rule of law and European values still matter”. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)