Newsletter - April 2019
Publication of an Issue Paper on human rights aspects of immigrant and refugee integration policies
On 16 April 2019, the Special Representative on migration and refugees, Tomáš Boček, will publish an Issue Paper on human rights aspects of immigrant and refugee integration policies based on a comparative assessment of 11 Council of Europe member states. The aim of the Issue Paper is to identify...
Applicants unable to appeal against their expulsion decision at Vial centre in Greece
On 21 March 2019 the Court handed down a Chamber judgment in the case of O.S.A. v. Greece (application no. 12267/16), concerning the conditions of detention of the applicants, Afghan nationals, in the Vial centre on the island of Chios, and the issues of the lawfulness of their detention, the...
Execution Department’s participation in UNHCR meeting in Budapest
On 22 March 2019, a representative of the Department for the Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights participated in UNHCR’s annual meeting in Budapest which brought together protection and legal officers working all around Europe. She gave a presentation on the practice...
Commissioner´s statement on rescue operations in the Mediterranean and speech in Geneva
On 27 March 2019, the Commissioner called for more rescue capacity in the Mediterranean. The Commissioner reacted to the decision of withdrawing further naval assets from Operation Sophia. She said that the continuing loss of lives in the Mediterranean should remind states of the need to ensure a...
PACE session and activities of the Campaign to End Immigration Detention of Children and Parliamentary Network on Diaspora Policies
On 6 May 2019, a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will visit two migration centres in Austria, organised by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons in the framework of the Parliamentary Campaign to End Immigration Detention of Children....
Alternatives to the detention of migrants: how we can make it work
On 4 April 2019 in Strasbourg, a variety of concrete examples and practices of alternatives to the detention of migrants from different corners of Europe were presented to some 200 participants at an International conference on Effective Alternatives to the Detention of Migrants, organised...
Guidelines on working with young refugees and migrants: fostering cross-sectoral co-operation
The partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth has launched a set of guidelines on how different sectors can co-operate to ensure the rights, inclusion and participation of young refugees and migrants. The Guidelines on working with young refugees...
Monitoring places where migrant children are deprived of their liberty: how to conduct an effective visit?
On 28-29 March 2019 in Paris, a training session was organised by the Council of Europe on “Monitoring places where migrant children are deprived of their liberty: how to conduct an effective visit?” The session targeted to respond to the needs of Ombudspersons and their staff, as well as...
Intercultural Integration Academy in Iceland: towards national-level policy for inclusion
On 25-28 March 2019, an Intercultural Integration Academy was held in Reykjavik, Akureyri and Reyðarfjörður, Iceland. Organised by the Council of Europe’s Intercultural cities programme in partnership with the Icelandic Ministry of Welfare and financial support by UNHCR, the Academy gathered over...
- Border protection and the rights of young refugees and children in focus
- Spain did not breach the Convention when returning migrants to Morocco at Melilla border
- PACE to discuss violence and discrimination against religious minorities
- New study on gender-based asylum claims and non-refoulement
- Launch of toolkit on academic integration of refugees into higher education
- Taking young refugees seriously: key messages from the conference
- North-South Prize 2019 honours the efforts to support the integration of migrants