Concluded last week, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Italy and Albania on disembarkation and the processing of asylum applications “raises several human rights concerns and adds to a worrying European trend towards the externalisation of asylum responsibilities”, says Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement published on Monday 13 November.
Among the impacts on the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, she cites in particular the impact on search and rescue operations, fairness of asylum procedures, identification of vulnerable persons, the possibility of automatic detention without an adequate judicial review, detention conditions, access to legal aid, and effective remedies.
“The MoU creates an ad hoc extra-territorial asylum regime characterised by many legal ambiguities”, she insists, pointing out the difference in treatment between people whose asylum applications will be examined in Albania and those whose applications will be examined in Italy.
The Commissioner is also concerned about a European tendency to see the externalising of asylum as a potential “quick fix” to the challenges posed by the arrival of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.
Citing a “domino effect”, she fears that the European and global system of international protection will be called into question.
In conclusion, the Commissioner calls on the European States to “focus their energy on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their domestic asylum and reception systems”, and to “prioritise the creation of safe and legal pathways that allow individuals to seek protection in Europe without resorting to dangerous and irregular migration routes“.
Link to the Statement: https://aeur.eu/f/9je (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)