Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, is very concerned about the “Law on the Orderly Return” of Migrants adopted by the German government last April and urges the German Parliament to strengthen respect for fundamental rights when it is examined by the Bundestag and the Bundesrat (Upper and Lower Houses).
In a letter published on Thursday 23 May and addressed to Andrea Lindholz, Chairwoman of the Committee on Internal Affairs and Community in the Bundestag, the Commissioner discusses two specific aspects of this draft law.
First, the measure to classify as a “State Secret” practical provisions related to expulsion “which could expose members of civil society and NGOs to prosecution for complicity or attempted disclosure of confidential information”. Second, the fact that “the draft law provides for extending the list of grounds for detention of migrants pending their expulsion instead of developing alternatives to detention”.
In its letter, Dunja Mijatović acknowledges that “in accordance with well-established national law, Germany has the right to control the entry of non-nationals into its territory and to return those who are not or are no longer allowed to stay, but reiterates that returns must take place in 'security', 'dignity' and 'transparency'”. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)