In a statement delivered on Wednesday 19 January, the European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, called on the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, to improve its transparency practices, including by publishing summaries of its operational plans and providing more training for its fundamental rights monitors.
“The Ombudsman has also asked Frontex to publish its response to every negative opinion of the Fundamental Rights Officer concerning a planned activity and to ensure the presence of cultural experts during selection interviews.”
The European Ombudsman recently concluded an enquiry into the Frontex complaints mechanism, whereby she “suggested several ways to strengthen the independence of the mechanism and to encourage people to use it”.
In her decision, the Ombudsman also stresses the screening process of migrants, which should be “long enough to identify important information, not only about the identity of the persons, but also about their potential vulnerabilities. Given the sensitivity of these situations, migrants need to be given sufficient time and may need psychological support to be able to communicate properly during these procedures”.
The Frontex guidelines on these screening practices could therefore be more explicit in this respect and more detailed regarding the specific needs to be taken into account when registering minors. Link to the decision: https://bit.ly/3qHwG4Z (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)