On 30 November 2020, the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, is hosting the second meeting of focal points dealing with migration issues at national level. Representatives of relevant ministries gather to discuss developments since the first meeting held in November 2019 and address human rights challenges in the field of migration. The aim of the Network is to exchange good practices and enhance co-operation between the different stakeholders and the Council of Europe. The Network was created as a result of an informal exchange of views on migration in the Committee of Ministers in 2018.
On 19 November 2020, the Special Representative delivered a keynote opening speech at the annual RUDN International Conference in Moscow. The Conference is a forum for development of international humanitarian dialogue in the field of migration and for the exchange of experience of the expert and research activity of migration processes in the Eurasian space. The conference addressed issues such as: global trends and challenges, migration turbulence: legal regulation at the national level, multiculturalism and multilingualism, co-operation of state authorities and civil society institutions in the migration management, efficient integration of migrant children and politics and mass-media.
On 18 November 2020, Ambassador Štefánek participated in a Webinar entitled “Pushbacks and Rights Violations at Europe’s Borders: From Evidence to Action” hosted online by Human Rights Watch, Refugee Rights Europe, in cooperation with the End Pushbacks Partnership network. In his speech, he emphasized that pushbacks are in clear violation of the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, and of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and of the principle of non-refoulement. He highlighted that several entities of the Council of Europe are actively engaged in this issue and the Council of Europe has standards in this area as well as the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.
On 13 November 2020, in connection with the First Regional Review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) in the UNECE region, the Special Representative on Migration and Refugees participated through a written contribution. The consultation focused on the progress made in the implementation of the GCM within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region and best practices for stakeholder engagement in the GCM implementation.