On Tuesday 1 October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted two reports on the issue of migration.
The first, championed by British Conservative Lord Simon Russell, is devoted to “A shared European approach to address migrant smuggling”. The second, by German Socialist Julian Pahlke, is a call to clarify the fate of missing migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
Both texts call for greater European coordination.
Illicit trafficking in human beings is a transnational crime, yet the laws of Member States diverge in the way in which they combat it, notes Lord Russell’s report. In its resolution, the report continues to call on the Council of Europe to draw up a specific document to ensure as much consistency as possible in the understanding and interpretation of this crime.
“This text would usefully complement the international standards set out in the Palermo Protocol [adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000 to supplement the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime]. EDITOR’S NOTE)”.
The new Council of Europe instrument should clarify, it adds, that people in need of protection “should never be criminalised or administratively sanctioned for crossing a border unauthorised”, and it should also explicitly exempt humanitarian assistance provided to migrants from any form of criminal liability.
The report on the fate of missing migrants, refugees and asylum seekers believes that “this tragedy” is “largely underestimated and neglected as a human rights issue” and calls for policy responses across Europe and the world.
The resolution adopted calls for a review of legislation in order to improve and harmonise national processes for recording and managing cases of missing migrants and unidentified human remains. This should lead to the sharing of European and international data.
The Council of Europe could play a significant role in ensuring data protection conditions, which would allow standardised processes and platforms to be set up.
The Assembly also recommends that Member States adopt a common definition of missing migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, which would enable them to cooperate more effectively.
Link to the resolution on migrant smuggling: https://aeur.eu/f/dol
Link to the resolution on missing migrants: https://aeur.eu/f/dom (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)