On 8 March the Commissioner published a statement expressing his deep concern about the approval by the Hungarian parliament of a Bill on border management, which allows for the automatic detention of all asylum seekers, including families with children and unaccompanied minors from the age of 14, in shipping containers surrounded by high razor wire fence at the border for extended periods of time. The Commissioner stressed that automatically depriving all asylum seekers of their liberty would be in clear violation of Hungary’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.  “Rather than resorting to detention, Hungary should invest in effective, accessible alternatives to detention. In particular, Hungary should refrain from the detention of children, as this is never in their best interests, as found by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child”, added the Commissioner.

On 9 March the Commissioner published a statement in view of the European Council’s meeting of 9-10 March in Brussels which discussed, inter alia, the European Commission’s recommendation to increase and prolong detention of migrants. Commissioner Muižnieks stressed that the recommendation is likely to lead to human rights violations without furthering other goals, such as facilitating the processing of asylum claims or promoting dignified returns. European states should shift the focus from detention to alternative and more humane measures, which do not deprive migrants of their liberties and are child and family friendly. He concluded that states have the right to return people who do not qualify for international protection, but they must do so while upholding human rights norms.

On 23 March the Commissioner published a press release, following a visit to Slovenia from 20 to 23 March, in which he noted that the country dealt in a humanitarian manner with the transit of close to 500 000 migrants and refugees in 2015/2016, but he remained concerned that recent legislative amendments aiming at restricting access to asylum in the country were contrary to Slovenia’s legal obligations under international human rights and refugee law. Since Slovenia is no longer merely a transit country and since some of the asylum seekers and refugees are there to stay, the Commissioner decided to include in the discussions he had in Slovenia issues pertaining to migrant integration, including access to education and social housing. The Commissioner’s report on the visit is forthcoming.

On 29 March the Commissioner delivered a speech at the 32nd Session of the Congress in which he highlighted that many member states are failing to respond adequately to migrants’ needs in reception and integration, and national authorities are increasingly developing restrictive laws and policies in the field of immigration and asylum. This approach often resulted in additional strain for local authorities, which are left alone to cater for migrants’ needs in terms of accommodation, education as well as access to food and health, and ensure their effective integration in society. The Commissioner praised the engagement of those local authorities that seek effective solutions in this context and stressed that those examples should be better acknowledged and shared nationally and internationally. The Commissioner announced the publication in June of an issue paper on family reunification for refugees stressing that he would welcome discussing it further at one of the Congress’ forthcoming meetings.