The Council of Europe Division on Migration and Refugees has released the final, graphically refreshed, edition of its thematic paper, Ensuring a Human Rights-Compliant End to Refugeehood through Integration, Naturalisation or Voluntary Repatriation, now also complemented by an executive summary.
The thematic paper examines how refugee status can end in a manner compliant with human rights, through durable solutions such as integration, naturalisation or voluntary repatriation.
It provides an overview of the legal, institutional and practical mechanisms by which durable solutions for refugees can be realised, emphasising the necessity of sustained collective efforts to ensure safety, dignity and voluntariness in return or transition processes, against the background of international, European and national law and practice.
The thematic paper also presents an assessment of key human rights issues arising from the cessation and withdrawal of protection status in Europe and includes practical and normative recommendations on ending refugee status in a human rights-compliant manner, focusing on integration, naturalisation and voluntary return, avoiding discrimination on the basis of nationality or other protected grounds, and ensuring gender equality.
