On Tuesday, 6 May, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) welcomed the proposal for a regulation on the return of individuals who are illegally staying in the EU, which was presented on 11 March – considering it “a positive step toward creating a more coherent and effective EU framework”, according to a press release (see EUROPE 13597/17).
[It goes on to say,] “UNHCR has long supported and advocated for the need for functioning return systems, as the safe and dignified return of individuals found not to be in need of international protection is critical to the effective functioning of the international protection regime.” UNHCR notably supports the creation of an independent mechanism for monitoring fundamental rights and “[t]he introduction of the possibility of staged returns, including using return hubs, which have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of the return process, when used within certain parameters and in line with human rights standards. In this regard, UNHCR specifically welcomes certain safeguards, including that unaccompanied children and families with children are exempt from transfer to return hubs.”
UNHCR has made several recommendations, including one to clarify the parameters for determining the country of return based on the concepts of a safe third country and a first country of asylum. Return hubs must also not be used for asylum seekers whose applications have not been examined and rejected in the context of a full procedure on the merits, and they must provide for the automatic suspensive effect of appeal for asylum seekers who have not been assessed on merit.
Link to UNHCR’s position: https://aeur.eu/f/goc (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)