On 11 January 2021, the Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, published her written observations to the European Court of Human Rights concerning the cases of three Syrian applicants summarily returned from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina. In her observations, the Commissioner stressed that all the information available points to the existence of an established practice of collective returns of migrants from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are carried out outside of any formal procedure and without identifying the persons concerned or assessing their individual situation. The Commissioner also pointed to widespread ill-treatment of migrants by Croatian law enforcement officers in the context of collective returns and to a lack of prompt, effective and independent investigation of such treatment, as a result of which law enforcement officers continue to enjoy impunity. She also underscored that such practices fail to have due regard for the individual implications of returning a person to Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in view of the long-standing and serious structural problems there in the field of migration and asylum, which have had dramatic humanitarian consequences for thousands of migrants and asylum seekers.
Newsletter - January 2021
- The Special Representative on Migration and Refugees to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Chamber judgments: Expulsions from Russia and Denmark, and detention conditions in Greece
- Observations on summary returns of migrants from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina
- GRETA publishes its third report on Croatia
- Activities of PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
- Ensuring equitable access to vaccination during the current and future pandemics
- Debate on access to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers by NGOs