On 2 September 2022, in a letter addressed to the Dutch Minister for Migration, Commissioner Mijatović expressed her concern about asylum reception conditions in the Netherlands. The Commissioner’s letter follows a further worsening of the situation, especially at the Ter Apel registration centre, endangering the right to health of the people involved. The conditions appear to fall short of even the minimum standards under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Commissioner urged the government to take all necessary measures to effectively protect the right to health of those involved. She also called on the government to promptly identify vulnerable people and ensure that they are provided with appropriate accommodation as soon as possible. Read the reply of the Minister for Migration of the Netherlands to the letter
On 31 August 2022, the Commissioner published her submission to the Committee of Ministers in the context of the supervision of the execution of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 21 November 2019 in the case of Ilias and Ahmed v. Hungary. This case concerns the expulsion of applicants from Hungary to Serbia without carrying out a thorough examination of the risk of ill-treatment, in violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Commissioner Mijatović noted that access to asylum and to any form of international protection in Hungary has become virtually impossible due to multiple measures taken by the Government since 2015. In addition, the number of forced removals to Serbia has increased significantly, with over 75,000 reported cases in 2022 alone. Allegations of ill-treatment and disproportionate use of force applied in the context of these removals persist. In her opinion, the Hungarian authorities should undertake fundamental and far-reaching measures to bring the asylum system in line with the country’s international human rights and refugee protection obligations, including by establishing a fair and effective asylum procedure and refraining from all arbitrary removals of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to Serbia.
On 9 August 2022, in a letter addressed to the Latvian Minister of the Interior, Commissioner Mijatović expressed her concern about the reports of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants having been violently prevented from entering Latvia from Belarus, held in inhumane conditions in the forest, denied access to the asylum procedure, and forced into signing voluntary return declarations. Given the seriousness of the allegations of misconduct by Latvian state border guards and special border patrol units, she urged the Latvian authorities to ensure that an independent and thorough investigation be conducted as soon as possible, resulting in full accountability for any abuses that may have occurred. Read the reply from the Minister of Interior of Latvia
ON 4 August 2022, in a letter addressed to the Finnish Minister of Interior, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, called for clear safeguards to ensure that recently adopted amendments to the Border Guard Act would not lead to human rights violations. Under the amendments, the government could restrict access to the border and concentrate applications for international protection at one or more border crossings in specific situations. This could prevent individuals from applying for asylum or lead to returns in violation of the principle of non-refoulement, said the Commissioner. To prevent the denial of a genuine and effective possibility to claim international protection, the Commissioner called for the introduction of clear regulations and guidance for border guards. She stressed the importance of individual examinations of each case as a key safeguard to protect human rights at borders, as well as for a satisfactory vulnerability assessment. Read the reply from the Minister of Interior of Finland.