The Drafting Group on the Safe Third Country Concept (CDDH-PTS) has successfully completed its mandate with the adoption of a draft study on the need for and the feasibility of updating Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation No. R(97)22, which provides guidelines on the application of the safe third country concept (the 1997 Recommendation).
After thorough consideration of arguments both for and against updating the 1997 Recommendation and/or its Explanatory Memorandum, the draft study concludes that neither document should be updated at the present time.
At its fourth and final meeting (17–19 March 2026), the Group heard interventions from Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) General Rapporteur on European Migration and Asylum Policies, Lord Michael German, and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Gehad Madi (statement delivered by Michelle Erazo, Human Rights Officer at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)). The Group also received an update from a representative of the European Commission on European Union (EU) processes regarding the safe third country concept.
Members then examined preliminary draft conclusions on the need to update the 1997 Recommendation, as well as the preliminary draft text of the study as a whole. Written and oral proposals submitted before and during the meeting were reviewed, leading to several agreed amendments before the Group adopted the draft study in its entirety. In line with the Council of Europe’s transversal approach, the Group also discussed gender equality aspects relevant to its work.
The draft study will now be submitted to the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) for consideration and potential adoption at its upcoming plenary meeting (30 June–3 July 2026).
