On 22 April 2021, the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Programme of the Council of Europe, launched an updated version of the HELP/UNHCR online course on "Asylum and Human Rights". Initially developed in 2015, the updated version contain the most recent developments and has broadened its scope to cover the key concepts; the international and European refugee law and Human Rights standards; and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and of the Court of Justice of the European Union. A key reference material to develop this course has been the Handbook on European law relating to asylum, borders and immigration developed jointly by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency and the European Court of Human Rights.
The update process was done in cooperation with the UNHCR Representation to the European Institutions in Strasbourg and relevant Council of Europe entities, namely the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, the Independent Human Rights Bodies Division as well as the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights.
The updated edition of the course consists of 5 modules, namely:
- Introduction
- Non-refoulement, the right to life and prohibition of ill-treatment
- Detention and Reception
- The right to family life and asylum
- Effective remedy
On 23 April 2021, the new updated Asylum and Human Rights HELP/UNHCR course was launched for legal professionals in Ireland. The online seminar gathered 35 lawyers (solicitors and barristers) from Ireland and it was organised by the European Union and the Council of Europe funded "HELP in the EU II" project, in cooperation with the Law Society of Ireland. The group was welcomed by Deirdre Flynn, HELP Info Point for Ireland, Andreas Wissner, UNHCR Representative to the European Institutions in Strasbourg, as well as Eva Pastrana, Head of HELP Unit, Council of Europe. The online seminar started with a presentation of Maria Hennessy from UNHCR Office in Dublin, on the challenges and perspectives on asylum in Ireland. Riccardo Priore from the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees of the Council of Europe presented the work of the Council of Europe in protecting the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. Pamela McCormick, senior lawyer at the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights, gave an overview of the key-case law of the ECtHR. Following the online launch event, all participants will be enrolled on the course page and will go through the online course. Those among them who successfully complete it will receive HELP certificates issued by the Council of Europe.