Some 30 legal professionals are gathered in Barcelona, Spain, to participate in the Council of Europe’s new HELP Course on Refugee and Migrant Children, launched by the Special Representative on migration and refugees (SRSG) and the Council of Europe Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP). Judges and lawyers in Europe are facing new challenges in their daily work in the context of asylum and migration, and this select group will be following a combined programme featuring the new course with a specific focus on refugee and migrant children alongside a general course on Asylum and the European Convention of Human Rights. Both courses cover the existing European and international standards and address the critical issues being faced by legal professionals in the migration context. They have been further adapted to the Spanish legal system and national context.
“As Spain continues to be the main entry point to Europe, this tailor-made course gives legal professionals the opportunity to access solutions to complex legal situations, arising from the large arrivals of migrants and refugees. The effective access to asylum processes, collective expulsions and overcrowding are common concerns for many member States. However, these situations are possible to manage, keeping a balance between security issues and the protection of human rights of refugees and migrants”, said Eva Pastrana, Head of HELP Unit.
“I am particularly concerned by the situation of migrant and refugee children. During my missions, I have seen that there is a need for improvement concerning accomodation, age-assessment, guardianship and support in their transition to adulthood. Therefore, I am pleased to launch this course here in Barcelona, which is the first of its kind in the migration context,” said the Special Representative.
The training course on Refugee and Migrant Children is a result of the Special Representative´s recommendation on the need for continued human rights training for legal professionals on asylum-related matters in Spain and it is launched in co-operation with the Spanish Judiciary School and will be attended by judges, prosecutors and lawyers.
The course can be accessed here at the HELP online platform, and is available in English and Spanish. The course will be further launched in Greece, Italy and Turkey.
