Newsletter - January 2022
The new Special Representative on Migration and Refugees took up her functions
On 1 January 2022, Ms Leyla Kayacik, took up her functions as the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees (SRSG). Her priority actions for the year include closer dialogue with the members of the Network of Focal Points in order to contribute to a better...
Violation of respect for private and family life in a case against Azerbaijan
On 13 January 2022, the European Court of Human Rights handed down a Chamber judgment in the case of Hashemi v. Azerbaijan (application nos. 1480/16, 3936/16, 15835/16, 28034/16, 34491/16, 51348/16 and 15904/17). The applicants are eight Afghan and Pakistani nationals. They fled Afghanistan and...
Report on human rights perspectives of the EU Pact, and election of new chair and bureau of the Committee
On 24 January 2022, during the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the report European Union Pact on Migration and Asylum: a human rights perspective by rapporteur Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ukraine, EC/DA, was adopted. The report urged improvements to the...
Mayor of Cologne granted with the first Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award
On 27 January 2022, in Brussels, Henriette Reker, Mayor of Cologne (Germany), received the Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award for excellence and courage in promoting freedom, solidarity, equality and diversity. “Mayor Reker, who suffered herself a knife attack in 2015 for helping migrants, showed a...
New complaint registered concerning Belgium
On 25 January 2022, the European Committee of Social Rights published a new collective complaint concerning Belgium, Federation of National Organizations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) v. Belgium (No. 203/2021). The FEANTSA alleges that the Flemish housing policy does not sufficiently...
HELP course on Asylum and Human Rights launched in Western Balkans and Lithuania
On 27 January 2022, the Council of Europe free online UNHCR HELP course on Asylum and Human Rights was presented to more than 300 justice professionals in the Western Balkans. The group was welcomed by Kay Binder - Policy Officer of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement...
Focus on youth, sports and inclusion in Haifa, Ioannina and Limassol
20 January 2022, the Intercultural Cities of Limassol, Haifa, and Ioannina, supported by the Intercultural Cities programme of the Council of Europe, published a Policy Brief based on joint work during 2021 on unlocking the potential of sports for intercultural inclusion, in terms both of policy...