The final report on the implementation of the Action Plan on protecting vulnerable persons in the context of migration and asylum in Europe (2021–2025) has been presented to the Committee of Ministers. The report underlined the action plan’s role as a key tool to guide for the Council of Europe’s 46 member states’ actions in the areas of migration and asylum.
Presenting the report, Clare Ovey, Director of the Council of Europe Directorate of human rights thanked the member states for their close cooperation and for the support provided. She stressed that the action plan had significantly reinforced the Council of Europe’s assistance to countries as regards protection of vulnerable individuals on the move, particularly women and children, access to healthcare and justice, education and integration, anti-trafficking measures, and assistance to local authorities hosting displaced people.
She furthermore highlighted the development by the organisation of numerous practical tools, standards and guidance documents, as well as the expansion of the HELP programme courses on migration and asylum. The report also noted the growing role of the European qualifications passport for refugees (EQPR), enhanced support to cities and local authorities through the Intercultural Cities Programme, and strengthened cooperation with international partners, including the European Union, United Nations, OSCE and IOM.
Facilitating cooperation between European countries on migration
The report and discussions that followed its presentation underscored the growing importance of the Council of Europe Network of focal points on migration as a platform for peer exchange, practical cooperation and communication among member states. Reiterating that the Committee of Ministers, at its ministerial session in Chișinău that finished on 15 May, welcomed the work of the network and called for the further strengthening of the Council of Europe’s work on migration, Clare Ovey underlined that this represented an important opportunity to further consolidate the network’s role in supporting member states and the organisation’s action in this area.
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