In a letter dated 10 August and published on Tuesday 24 August, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, calls on Ingrida Šimonytė, the Lithuanian Prime Minister, to “ensure that the response to migration challenges is fully compliant with the country’s human rights obligations“.
Ms Mijatović is particularly concerned about the changes to the Lithuanian Law on the Legal Status of Aliens. These will “remove, in the case of an emergency situation, significant safeguards in the asylum procedure (and) would clearly pose a threat to upholding the principle of non-refoulement, as well as the right to an effective remedy”.
The Commissioner says she recognises the difficulties caused by the increased flows from Belarus and condemns any attempt by States to actively encourage vulnerable people to cross borders into a receiving country which is already heavily burdened (see EUROPE 12774/14).
However, Ms Mijatović calls on the Lithuanian government to respond in a manner that respects human rights and ensures that any removal procedures to Belarus, or to other countries, are accompanied by sufficient safeguards against refoulement and collective expulsion.
Link to the Commissioner for Human Rights’ letter: https://bit.ly/3grXYXF (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)