Newsletter - April - May
People fleeing Ukraine: new Council of Europe standards, and SRSGs country visits
During this period the SRSG continued to focus on the protection of people fleeing Ukraine. Through internal and external consultations areas with the most urgent needs for action in the frontline countries were identified. These include: the protection of vulnerable persons, action against...
Judgments and a decision related to expulsion cases
On 17 Mai 2022, in a chamber judgment, the European Court of Human Rights found a violation of Article 5 § 1 in the case of Ali Reza v. Bulgaria. The applicant, Hamid Ali Reza, is an Iraqi national who was born in 1973. He arrived in Bulgaria in 2000 and was granted subsidiary protection...
Recent migration-related activities of the Commissioner for Human Rights
On 14 April 2022, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović published a statement regarding United Kingdom government‘s intention to offshore asylum processing to Rwanda. “Today’s announcement by the UK government of its intention to offshore asylum processing to Rwanda...
Recommendation on the complaint of International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) v. Greece
On 20 April 2022, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopted a Recommendation based on the complaint to the European Social Charter registered on 30 November 2018 by International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) against Greece. The...
Statement on the consequences of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and visit to Georgia
On 5 April 2022, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published a statement condemning in the strongest terms the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which was preceded and is accompanied by ultra-nationalist political discourse and propaganda and has...
Guidance note on addressing the risks of trafficking in human beings related to the war in Ukraine and the ensuing humanitarian crisis
On 4 May 2022, the Council of Europe’s anti-trafficking body (GRETA) published a new guidance note explaining what can be done by European states, quickly and without the need for structural reforms, to provide immediate assistance to people fleeing Ukraine and detect potential victims and...
New Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child and the protection of children on the move from sexual abuse and exploitation
From 7-8 April 2022 at a high-level conference in Rome, the Council of Europe’s Strategy for the Rights of the Child for 2022-2027 was launched. Securing and protecting children’s rights in crisis and emergency situations has been designated a new priority. “Children’s rights are at greater risk...
Exchanges of views on pushbacks and the humanitarian consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine
During the session of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on 27-28 April 2022, the Migration Committee held exchanges of views with Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner, and Leyla Kayacik, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees. The...
First meeting of the CDCJ Working Group on Migration
On 19-20 May 2022, the CDCJ’s Working group on migration held its first meeting and exchanged views on the scope of the future Guide for Practitioners on administrative detention of migrants, taking into account the work conducted previously by the CDCJ in this area, and developed the elements of...
First meeting of the Council of Europe Network of Prosecutors on Migrant Smuggling
On 10-11 May 2022, the Council of Europe Network of Prosecutors on Migrant Smuggling (CDPC-NPMS) held its first meeting in Paris. Selected national prosecutors with first-hand experience on smuggling of migrants discussed relevant investigative approaches and exchanged information and best...
Council of Europe adopted a new Recommendation to protect the rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls
On 20 May 2022, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopted in Turin, a new recommendation to protect the rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls providing measures to better respond to needs and challenges that they face. Drawing on Council of Europe treaties...
European Qualifications Passport for Refugees supports Ukrainian refugees’ access to jobs
On 16-20 May 2022 France Education International hosted an evaluation session for the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR) candidates in Sèvres, France. Out of the 51 candidates interviewed by the credential evaluators from European National Information Centres (ENICs) of Armenia,...