The Drafting Group on the Safe Third Country Concept (CDDH-PTS), which is instructed to prepare a draft Study on the need for and the feasibility of updating the 1997 Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation No. R97 (22) containing guidelines on the application of the safe third country concept, held its first meeting in Strasbourg from 4-6 March 2025.
The Group elected Elīna Luīze VĪTOLA (Latvia) as Chairperson and Ričard DZIKOVIČ (Lithuania) as Vice-chairperson.
During the meeting, the Group held preliminary discussions on the scope of the study and on issues relating to the need for updating the 1997 Recommendation.
The Group also held an exchange of views during which experts from the UNHCR, Amnesty International, and the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights provided valuable insights on questions related to the application of the safe third country concept.
The second meeting of the CDDH-PTS is scheduled to take place during the week of 15-19 September 2025.
