Brussels, 29/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - Last Friday, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) expressed serious doubt about measures to protect human rights included in the compromise text on the “returns” directive currently on the table of the Council and Parliament (EUROPE 9652). ECRE, a vast network of over 76 associations working throughout Europe for defending the right of asylum, states it has “serious concerns” about the period of detention (6 months and up to 18 months in exceptional cases) set out in the text. “We consider that systematic detention of persons who have committed no crime, including families and vulnerable persons is inhumane and unwarranted. Detention should only be used as a last resort, as long as removal arrangements are in progress and when other alternatives have been proven to not work”, ECRE recalls in a press release published on 25 April. The NGO considers, moreover, that member states should not have to impose entry bans to European territory as, it says, it is impossible to predict changes in countries of origin and thus to measure an individual's need for international protection. Entry bans could also be an obstacle to family reunification with family members residing in EU member states, ECRE concludes. (B.C.)