Newsletter - March-April 2020
Human rights protection in times of crisis: migration-related activities
Needless to say, the current Covid-19 crisis is a recurrent topic in this newsletter, as it has also had an undeniable impact on migration. As an immediate response, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić provided member states with a coronavirus toolkit for dealing with the unprecedented and...
Expulsion of Afghans from Slovakia to Ukraine did not amount to collective expulsion
On 24 March 2020, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a Chamber judgment in the case of Asady and Others v. Slovakia (application no. 24917/15), which concerned the Slovakian police’s expulsion of a group of Afghan nationals to Ukraine after they had been found in the back of a truck....
Commissioner calls for continuation of search and rescue activities and the release of immigration detainees during the Covid-19 pandemic
In light of the Covid-19 crisis, the Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, published two statements relating to the situation of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, dealing with the issues of immigration detention and search and rescue at sea, respectively. On 26 March 2020, she...
CPT conducted a rapid reaction visit to Greece and published reports on Hungary and France
From 13 to 17 March 2020, the Council of Europe’s European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) conducted a five-day rapid reaction visit to Greece to examine the treatment of migrants in police and border guard establishments in the Evros region at the border with Turkey. It also...
ECRI published reports on Germany, Switzerland and Belgium
In its recent reports on Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, the Council of Europe’s Commission on Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) addressed migration-related issues, including the creation of “firewalls” to ensure that irregularly present migrants have access to services in the fields of education,...
Corruption prevention of the border guards/police in the migration context
Council of Europe´s anti-corruption group (GRECO) continues to look at the issue of migration from the angle of corruption prevention of the border guards/police. In its recently published 5th Round Evaluation reports on Belgium and Croatia, GRECO covered, among others, corruption prevention of...
Social rights of children, families and migrants in danger across Europe
On 24 March 2020, the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) published its annual conclusions: Social rights of children, families and migrants are in danger in Europe. In the framework of the reporting procedure the ECSR assessed compliance with the European Social Charter, including in...
Council of Europe and UNHCR support member states in bringing refugee health workers into the fight against COVID-19
On 14 April 2020, Council of Europe and UNHCR published a joint statement encouraging states to benefit from the support that refugee’s health professionals can provide to national health systems as many European countries continue to struggle with the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. “In recent...
PACE reacts to the Covid-19 pandemic
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), made several migration-related statements in connection with the current Covid-19 pandemic. On 14 April 2020, Fabien Gouttefarde (France, ALDE), made a statement in which he recalled that international law cannot be compromised by a...
Call for grant applications for youth activities responding to needs arising from the COVID-19
On 6 April 2020, the European Youth Foundation (EYF) launched a special call for local or national youth organisations that are looking for funding for activities which respond to local needs arising from the COVID-19 crisis. Priority will be given to pilot activities that aim at demonstrating...