Category Archives: Council of Europe

by | 28 Mar 2011 · 16:36

Maltese Minister Says Malta Will Not Reconsider Its Detention of Migrants

Malta Today reports that Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici reaffirmed Malta’s detention law and disagrees with the comments made by COE Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg.  From Malta Today: “‘This [the detention policy] is compliant with Malta’s EU and other international obligations. As a matter of fact, the European Convention on Human Rights does not rule out detention,’ Mifsud Bonnici said, citing Article 5 (1)(f) of the Convention. … Mifsud Bonnici however said that the judgement in the [ECtHR’s] Massoud vs Malta case, ‘cannot, in any way be interpreted as constituting a condemnation of Malta’s detention policy. This has been proved and explained time and again.’”

Click here for article.

Click here for Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg’s statement.

Leave a comment

Filed under Commissioner for Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News, Statements

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | 28 Mar 2011 · 16:16

500 Migrants Reach Malta from Libya – First Arrivals in 2011

300 migrants arrived in Malta this afternoon.  A second group of approximately 250 is expected to arrive this evening.  The migrants are believed to be Sub-Saharan asylum seekers from Libya.

Under Maltese law, the arriving asylum seekers will be detained.  The law purports to authorise detention for up to 18 months.  Malta’s detention centres are at present largely empty due to the lack of recent migrant arrivals.  COE Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg concluded a visit to Malta just last week.  The Commissioner’s report pertaining to his visit has not yet been released, but a statement was released in which the Commissioner called for “the policy of mandatory detention of all irregular migrants, including asylum seekers, [to] be reconsidered.”

Excerpts from the Statement:

“‘Malta and Europe need each other if the challenges of migration are to be met in a manner that respects human rights,’ said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, following his visit to Malta from 23 to 25 March. According to the Commissioner, Malta needs to move away from a reactive approach to migration and establish a system that is fully in line with European standards concerning the human rights of immigrants and asylum seekers. At the same time, a much more generous and collegial approach is needed on the part of other European states, by accepting to host some of the persons to whom Malta has rightly accorded international protection. ‘However, with the exception of France and Germany – and further afield the US – this has not been the case so far.’

The Commissioner underlined that the current uncertainty related to the events in Libya and possible forced migration towards Malta and Europe should not deter the Maltese authorities from undertaking the necessary reforms. ‘Instead this is another reason for more European solidarity to support these reforms’ said the Commissioner, noting also that the substantial decrease in the number of irregular arrivals in Malta over the last two years has taken considerable pressure off Malta.

In this context, the policy of mandatory detention of all irregular migrants, including asylum seekers, should be reconsidered. The Commissioner notes that the mandatory detention of migrants can hardly be reconciled with the requirements set by the European Convention on Human Rights, as also reflected in a July 2010 judgment of the Strasbourg Court in the case of Louled Massoud, which found that Malta had violated the Convention by detaining an asylum seeker, whose claim had been rejected, for almost 18 months. ‘Malta should take all necessary legislative and other measures in order to implement fully and effectively this important judgment of the European Court of Human Rights’ said the Commissioner. Alternatives to the detention of migrants should be provided for in law, in accordance with the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Resolution 1707 (2010). …”

Click here and here for articles.

Click here for the Commissioner’s full statement

Click here for link to Commissioner’s thematic web page on human rights of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

1 Comment

Filed under Commissioner for Human Rights, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News, Statements

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | 16 Mar 2011 · 03:08

Hirsi and Others v. Italy – ECtHR Grand Chamber Hearing Scheduled for 22 June

The case of Hirsi and others v Italy, Requête no 27765/09, has been scheduled for a hearing on 22 June 2011, 9.15 am, before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights.

Proceedings before the Grand Chamber were initiated on 1 March 2011 when the Second Section of the Court relinquished jurisdiction.  On 17 November 2009 the Second Section of the Court communicated the case.  The case was filed on 26 May 2009 by 11 Somalis and 13 Eritreans who were among the first group of about 200 migrants interdicted by Italian authorities and summarily returned to Libya under the terms of the Libya-Italy agreement which took effect on 4 February 2009.  The Applicants were intercepted on 6 May 2009 approximately 35 miles south of Lampedusa.

The Applicants allege violations of numerous provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights:

Protocol 4, Art. 4 Prohibition of collective expulsion of aliens;

Art. 3 Torture;

Art. 1 (1) General undertaking/HPC;

Art. 13 Effective remedy/national authority; and

Art. 3 Inhuman or degrading treatment.

The Statement of facts, complaints and questions (EXPOSÉ DES FAITS et QUESTIONS AUX PARTIES ET DEMANDES D’INFORMATIONS) issued by the Second Section to the parties is available only in French:

GRIEFS

Invoquant l’article 3 de la Convention, lu en conjonction avec l’article 1 de la Convention, les requérants se plaignent de ce que les modalités de leur renvoi en Libye, ainsi que leur séjour dans ce pays ou leur rapatriement dans leurs pays respectifs les soumettrait au risque de subir des tortures ou des traitements inhumains et dégradants.

Invoquant l’article 4 du Protocole no 4, lu en conjonction avec l’article 1 de la Convention, ils affirment avoir fait l’objet d’une expulsion collective atypique et dépourvue de toute base légale.

Invoquant l’article 13, les requérants dénoncent l’impossibilité de contester devant les autorités italiennes leur renvoi en Libye et le risque de rapatriement dans leurs pays d’origine.

QUESTIONS AUX PARTIES ET DEMANDES D’INFORMATIONS

QUESTIONS

1.  Les faits dont les requérants se plaignent en l’espèce relèvent-ils de la juridiction de l’Italie ?

2.  La décision des autorités italiennes d’intercepter en haute mer les embarcations et de renvoyer immédiatement les requérants, compte tenu notamment des informations provenant de sources internationales et concernant les conditions des migrants clandestins en Libye, a-t-elle exposé les requérants au risque d’être soumis à des traitements contraires à l’article 3 de la Convention dans ce pays ?

3.  Compte tenu des allégations des requérants (voir formulaire de requête annexé), y a-t-il des motifs sérieux de craindre que le rapatriement dans leurs pays d’origine, soit la Somalie et l’Érythrée, les exposerait à des traitements contraires à l’article 3 ?

4.  Le renvoi des requérants en Libye de la part des autorités italiennes s’analyse-t-il en une expulsion contraire à l’article 4 du Protocole no 4 ?

5.  Les intéressés ont-ils eu accès à un recours effectif devant une instance nationale garanti par l’article 13 de la Convention pour faire valoir leurs droits garantis par les articles 3 et 4 du Protocole no 4 ?

DEMANDES D’INFORMATIONS

Le gouvernement défendeur est également invité à fournir à la Cour toute information disponible concernant :

– Le nombre de migrants irréguliers arrivés mensuellement sur les côtes italiennes, et en particulier à Lampedusa, au cours des dernières années ;

– L’entité et l’origine du phénomène migratoire en Libye ; la législation en la matière en vigueur dans ce pays ; le traitement réservé par les autorités libyennes aux migrants irréguliers arrivés en Libye directement ou suite au renvoi depuis l’Italie.

Le Gouvernement est également invité à produire à la Cour les textes des accords signés par les gouvernement italien et le gouvernement libyen les 27 décembre 2007 et 4 février 2009.

Il est enfin invité à expliquer à la Cour le rapport existant entre les opérations prévues par les accords bilatéraux avec la Libye et l’activité de l’ « Agence européenne pour la gestion de la coopération opérationnelle aux frontières extérieures des États membres de l’Union européenne (Frontex) ».

Click here (FR) for EXPOSÉ DES FAITS et QUESTIONS AUX PARTIES ET DEMANDES D’INFORMATIONS.

Click here, here, and here for my previous posts on the case.

1 Comment

Filed under European Court of Human Rights, Italy, Judicial, Libya, Mediterranean, News

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | 02 Mar 2011 · 17:31

PACE President calls for Europe to support humanitarian evacuation from Libya

Statement from Mevlüt Çavusoglu, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe:  “Refugees and migrants are trapped by the conflicts [in Libya]. In Libya, 8000 persons have been recognised as refugees by the UNHCR and are particularly vulnerable…. UNHCR and IOM have today made a joint appeal to governments around the world to provide support for an emergency humanitarian evacuation ongoing at the moment. I join their appeal by adding my plea: the help of the entire international community is urgently needed, and Europe should be at the forefront of the response to this crisis.”

Click here for full statement.

Leave a comment

Filed under Council of Europe, Libya, Mediterranean, News, Statements, Tunisia

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | 01 Mar 2011 · 22:42

Hirsi and Others v. Italy – Relinquishment of jurisdiction to the ECtHR Grand Chamber

There is a notice on the European Court of Human Rights web page dated 1 March 2011 stating the following:

“The Chamber dealing with the case of Hirsi and Others v. Italy has relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber. The applicants, 11 Somali nationals and 13 Eritrean nationals, were part of a group of illegal migrants who left Libya by boat heading for the Italian coast. The application concerns the interception of their boats on the high seas and their immediate return to Libya on board Italian naval vessels.”

Previous history of the case:

On 17 November the Second Section of the European Court of Human Rights communicated the case of Hirsi and others v Italy, Requête no 27765/09.  The case was filed on 26 May 2009 by 11 Somalis and 13 Eritreans who were among the first group of about 200 migrants interdicted by Italian authorities and summarily returned to Libya under the terms of the Libya-Italy agreement which took effect on 4 February 2009.  The Applicants were intercepted on 6 May 2009 approximately 35 miles south of Lampedusa.

Click here for previous post on the case.

More details on this development later.

1 Comment

Filed under European Court of Human Rights, European Union, Italy, Judicial, Libya, Mediterranean

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | 17 Feb 2011 · 04:00

COE HR Commissioner Launches Web Page Dedicated to Human Rights of Immigrants and Asylum Seekers

COE Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg’s website now includes a thematic page (version française) dedicated to the human rights of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.  It contains documents and information published by the Commissioner.  The timely page has been launched to coincide with the COE Seminar on the human rights dimensions of migration in Europe which begins today in Istanbul.

Click here (EN) or here (FR) for the web page.

1 Comment

Filed under Commissioner for Human Rights, News

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | 14 Feb 2011 · 15:34

Statement by PACE President Çavusoglu Regarding the Arrivals in Lampedusa

PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu released a statement today concerning the arrivals in Lampedusa and elsewhere in Italy and called for the proper treatment of those who are arriving, including granting of international protection where appropriate, and asking that there be no mass expulsions.  The statement also said that “it is also absolutely necessary that Europe share the responsibility for these people. Today it is Italy taking the brunt. Tomorrow it could be Malta, next week it could be Greece, in a year Turkey. All of Europe is concerned. In this context, the EU Agency Frontex has an important role to play, but it must abide by all the maritime and human rights provisions applying to rescue and interception at sea.”

The statement also referenced PACE Resolution 1637 (2008), “Europe’s boat people: mixed migration flows by sea into southern Europe” whose provisions include the following:

“9. The Assembly calls on Mediterranean member states of the Council of Europe receiving mixed flows of irregular migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to:

9.1. comply fully with and, when applicable, implement international and regional human rights law, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5), international refugee law, and European Union legislation, including Council Directives 2003/9/EC (laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers), 2004/83/EC (“refugee qualification directive”) and 2005/85/EC (“refugee procedures directive”);

9.2. comply fully with international maritime obligations on search and rescue, and examine fully any allegations of breaches of these obligations, including allegations of boats being refused assistance and being “pushed back”;

9.3. progressively proscribe administrative detention of irregular migrants and asylum seekers, drawing a clear distinction between the two groups, and in the meantime allow detention only if it is absolutely necessary to prevent unauthorised entry into the country or to ensure deportation or extradition, in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights; [***]

Click here for Statement.

Click here for PACE Resolution 1637 (2008).

Leave a comment

Filed under Council of Europe, Frontex, Italy, Mediterranean, Statements, Tunisia

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | 10 Feb 2011 · 06:10

COE Seminar: Human rights dimensions of migration in Europe (Istanbul, 17-18 Feb)

Thomas Hammarberg, COE Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Turkish Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers are holding a migration and human rights seminar in Istanbul, 17-18 February.  From the Commissioner’s web site:  The seminar “aims to exchange views on the most important discrepancies between European migration laws and practices and human rights standards, as well as on optimal ways to provide assistance to states in reflecting on and revisiting their migration policies.”

Three general topics will be addressed: Human rights challenges of migration in Europe, Unaccompanied migrant children, and Smuggling of migrants.  Scheduled speakers and participants include:

  • Karim Atassi, UNHCR Deputy Representative to Turkey;
  • Tina Acketoft, PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population;
  • Emily Logan, Irish Ombudsman for Children;
  • Rebecca O’Donnell, Save the Children, Brussels;
  • Elisabet Fura, ECtHR Judge;
  • Martin Fowke, Unit on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, UNODC;
  • Richard Ares Baumgartner, Frontex Senior External Relations Officer ;
  • Professor Dr. Nuray Ekşi, Chair of Private International Law Department at the Law Faculty of ĺstanbul Kültür University;
  • Professor Theodora Kostakopoulou;

Click here for draft programme.

2 Comments

Filed under Aegean Sea, Colloques / Conferences, Commissioner for Human Rights, Committee of Ministers, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, Frontex, Turkey, UNHCR, UNODC

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | 04 Feb 2011 · 15:32

COE CPT Completes Ad Hoc Mission to Greece

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) released a statement yesterday that it had completed a one week (20-27 Jan.) ad hoc mission to Greece “to assess the concrete steps taken by the Greek authorities to implement long-standing recommendations, in particular those contained in the reports on the CPT’s visits of September 2005, February 2007, September 2008 and September 2009.   In the course of the visit, the CPT’s delegation examined the treatment and conditions of detention of migrants held in aliens detention centres and in police and border guard stations, particularly in the Attica and Evros regions….”  The CPT report to the Greek government is scheduled to be delivered in March 2011.

Among the detention centres visited by the CPT were several Border Guard stations in Evros and the “Filakio Special holding facility for illegal immigrants” where many of persons apprehended along the land border of Greece and Turkey are being detained in deplorable conditions.  Doctors Without Borders released a press statement last week describing the conditions at the Greek detention centres in Evros as unbearable, inhumane, and having reached an emergency situation.

Click here for CPT Press Release.

Click here for Doctors Without Borders Press Release.

1 Comment

Filed under Aegean Sea, Council of Europe, European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Frontex, Greece, News, Turkey

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | 02 Feb 2011 · 06:49

WikiLeaks 2009 US Cable: Libya takes back 500 Italy-bound migrants

This US Department of State cable, released by WikiLeaks on 31 Jan 2011, was written in May 2009 and describes the first major interdictions of migrants by Italy under the terms of the Italian-Libyan Friendship Agreement.  The events described in the cable are the subject of the communicated case currently pending before the Second Section of the European Court of Human Rights, Hirsi and others v Italy, Requête no 27765/09.  Click here for previous post on the Hirsi case.

Excerpts from the Cable:

“Implementation of a key component of the Italian-Libyan “friendship agreement” has begun, as Italy has returned approximately 500 migrants rescued and interdicted at sea to Libya over the past week. Libyan authorities have notified the local offices of IOM and UNHCR before returning boats arrive in Tripoli to facilitate medical screening, identification, and consular notification. The returnees are then placed in immigrant detention centers. UNHCR has interviewed a number of the detained returnees, noting that only “a handful” of the 500 are likely asylum seekers – mostly of Somali and Eritrean origin; the rest are economic migrants….”

“Libya has accepted the return of three tranches of migrants interdicted or rescued at sea by Italian authorities in recent days, beginning implementation of a key component of the Italian-Libyan “friendship agreement” signed last August aimed at reducing the flow of migrants from Libya to Italy. In each case, the Italians contacted the Libyan navy, which agreed to accept their return to Libya. The Libyan navy did not/not agree to take the migrants on Libyan vessels; rather, in one case, it instructed Italian energy company ENI, which operates an offshore platform in the area, to tow an African vessel to shore; in the other cases, it permitted the Italian navy to transport the migrants back to Tripoli. Once in Tripoli, according to the Italian Embassy, the migrants were processed in an orderly fashion and sent to a detention center.”

“The first group of 227 returnees arrived in Tripoli on May 7. A regional IOM team in Tripoli implementing a G/TIP-funded workshop to enhance Libya’s response to human smuggling and trafficking was on hand to help screen the arrivals and visit one of the three detention centers where the migrants were held….”

“IOM staff here characterized the recent returnees as “the usual suspects” of Nigerian, Nigerien, Ghanaian, and South Asian nationality. The UNHCR mission reportedly interviewed many of the returnees and found fewer than 10 migrants who were likely asylum seekers including “four or five” Somalis and “a handful” of Eritreans….”

Click here or here for the full cable.

Leave a comment

Filed under European Court of Human Rights, European Union, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News, UNHCR

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | 21 Jan 2011 · 20:27

PACE President Çavusoglu: ECtHR Decision “explodes myth that Europe is able to protect the rights of refugees”

PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu issued a statement regarding today’s Grand Chamber decision in the CASE OF M.S.S. v. BELGIUM AND GREECE (Application no. 30696/09) (also FR):

“‘The European Court of Human Rights today delivered a milestone judgment damning how Europe is protecting its refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants,’ today said Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President Mevlüt Çavusoglu.

‘While the M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece judgment is only against two member states, the implications of the judgment will be rippling through the capitals of Europe,’ he added. ‘The myth that European Union member states are safe places to return asylum seekers has been exploded by the European Court of Human Rights.’

The President stated that the Court had found massive deficiencies in detention conditions in Greece and in the procedures and remedies designed to safeguard the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and irregular migrants in Europe. He commented that Greece was not alone in failing on detention safeguards and that the Assembly had recently addressed recommendations to all member states on steps to improve detention facilities in Europe.

‘What is also clear from this judgment is that the so-called EU ‘Dublin system’ for determining the state responsible for deciding an asylum decision has to be changed as a matter of urgency. It is based on the false premise that EU member states are all safe and able to cope. They are not, and the ‘Dublin system’ creates enormous burdens on front-line states, such as Greece,’ the President declared.

He called on the EU to work with the Council of Europe, UNHCR and others, to solve the problem of returns under the “Dublin system” and reiterated a concern repeatedly highlighted by the Assembly that Europe needs to make its asylum systems fairer (see PACE Resolution 1695 (2009)) and needs clear rules on detention of irregular migrants and asylum seekers (see PACE Resolution 1707 (2010)).

‘Europe has European Prison Rules applying to criminals, but we still do not have similar rules for irregular migrants and asylum seekers who have committed no crime,’ he concluded.”

2 Comments

Filed under Belgium, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, European Union, Greece, News, Statements

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | 21 Jan 2011 · 17:05

Decision from Grand Chamber of ECtHR: Returning Asylum Seekers to Greece Violates European Conv. on Human Rights

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights issued a decision today in the CASE OF M.S.S. v. BELGIUM AND GREECE (Application no. 30696/09) (also FR) and concluded that Belgium should not have returned an Afghan asylum seeker to Greece under the Dublin II regulation which mandates that asylum claims are to be considered in the state where the asylum seeker first entered Europe.

This is the first decision from the ECtHR addressing the application of the Dublin II regulation.  According to European Voice, the “Court [currently] has around 960 cases pending that relate to the Dublin regulation, against the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, the United Kingdom and France, most of them concerning expulsions to Greece.”

I have not had a chance to read the decision closely yet, but here is some basic information about today’s decision (more to follow in a subsequent post):

Excerpts from the Court’s Press Release (click here for FR):

“In today’s Grand Chamber judgment in the case M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece (application no. 30696/09), which is final, the European Court of Human Rights held, by a majority, that there had been:

A violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the European Convention on Human Rights by Greece both because of the applicant’s detention conditions and because of his living conditions in Greece;

A violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) taken together with Article 3 by Greece because of the deficiencies in the asylum procedure followed in the applicant’s case;

A violation of Article 3 by Belgium both because of having exposed the applicant to risks linked to the deficiencies in the asylum procedure in Greece and because of having exposed him to detention and living conditions in Greece that were in breach of Article 3;

A violation of Article 13 taken together with Article 3 by Belgium because of the lack of an effective remedy against the applicant’s expulsion order.”

ECRE released a statement describing the decision as a “major blow to the Dublin system.”  Excerpts from the ECRE statement:

“Bjarte Vandvik, ECRE Secretary General, stated: ‘This judgment is a major blow to the Dublin system. The assumption that all EU Member States respect fundamental rights and that it is therefore safe to automatically transfer asylum seekers between EU countries no longer stands. Europe must seriously rethink the Dublin system and replace it with a regime that ensures the rights of asylum seekers are respected’.

This judgment will affect many asylum seekers in Europe. In 2010 alone, EU countries requested Greece to examine the applications of almost 7,000 asylum seekers who had entered the EU through Greece. Their situation will now need to be re-examined in light of this ruling.

Bjarte Vandvik [also] stated: ‘European countries must comply with the Court’s ruling, stop sending asylum seekers back to Greece, and examine asylum applications themselves until a fair asylum system is in place in Greece’.

The Dublin system fails refugees and Member States and needs to be changed.  This ruling reflects the serious shortcomings in the asylum procedure in Greece and in Belgium and it also highlights the flaws in the Dublin system itself. ECRE has long stressed that Dublin shifts responsibility for asylum seekers to states at Europe’s frontiers. Also, it allows refugees to be sent back to European countries where their fundamental rights are not respected.

As a first step in the right direction, ECRE supports the Commission proposal to review the Dublin Regulation, as it introduces significant humanitarian reforms and important procedural safeguards. For example, the proposal makes it easier for asylum seekers to join family members living in Europe, protects the rights of children who have arrived alone and ensures the continuity of care for vulnerable persons.

However, these are only temporary measures that do not solve the sometimes devastating impact of the Dublin system on asylum seeker’s human rights. Ultimately the Dublin Regulation should be abolished and replaced by a more humane and equitable system that considers the connections between individual asylum seekers and particular Member States.”

Click here for full ECRE Statement on the decision.

Click here (ECHR Blog) and here (Free Movement Blog) for some initial additional thoughts about the decision.

Click here, here, and here for articles.

3 Comments

Filed under Belgium, Commissioner for Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, European Union, Frontex, Greece, Judicial, News

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | 23 Nov 2010 · 17:20

INTERIGHTS Litigation Workshop: Human Security and Migration (27-28 Jan)

Of possible interest to some readers. The deadline for applications [INTERIGHTS_Workshop_Application_Form] is Sunday, 12 December 2010.  Early applications are strongly encouraged.

INTERIGHTS‘ Europe Programme covering Council of Europe countries within Central and Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union is pleased to invite applications for a strategic litigation workshop on “Human Security and Migration” which will be held in London on 27-28 January 2011. The workshop is open to lawyers and human rights activists engaged in legal advocacy from Council of Europe states, especially those from Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the Caucasus. To ensure a fruitful in-depth discussion, only a limited number of places will be offered.

Throughout the region, migrants – in particular, undocumented/irregular migrants, unskilled migrant workers, and asylum seekers and refugees – are vulnerable to a wide range of human rights abuses such as ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, servitude and forced labour, denial of access to justice, interference with private and family life, and denial of access to medical treatment and social services.  Moreover, due to their non-citizen (often irregular) status, migrants can be denied or severely restricted in their access to legal redress both in theory and practice.

The workshop’s objectives include:

  • – facilitating cooperation and exchange of ideas and experiences between local lawyers and human rights defenders who are engaged in litigation and other forms of legal advocacy related to human security in the context of migration;
  • – achieving a better understanding of the nature and scale of violations occurring in this context;
  • –  examining legal strategies to address those violations, including the identification of applicable legal standards and appropriate international, regional and national legal fora;
  • –  increasing the capacity of participating lawyers and NGOs to litigate abuses of human rights in the context of migration at international and regional level, especially before the European Court of Human Rights;
  • –  improving INTERIGHTS’ understanding of the legal challenges existing in the field of human security and migration and the ways in which we can participate in addressing them;
  • –  nurturing cooperation between INTERIGHTS and local lawyers and NGOs on the thematic issues identified below.

As an organisation focussing on strategic litigation, we are primarily interested in applications from practicing lawyers who have experience of representation and legal advice in cases involving serious violations of human rights of migrants or victims of trafficking.  However, we also wish to encourage applications from non-lawyers or non-litigating lawyers who are directly involved in protecting the rights of migrants. We shall prioritise applications from lawyers and activists working in Central and Eastern Europe (including Russia and Ukraine), the Baltic States and the Caucasus. In exceptional cases, however, applications from Western Europe could be accepted as well. We are especially – but not exclusively – interested in applicants who have an experience of working on any of the following areas:

  • (a)     treatment of asylum seekers and refugees, including issues arising under Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights, such as violations of the right to life, the non-refoulement principle in the context of expulsions and deportations, unlawful detention, ill-treatment in detention, inadequate procedural guarantees for detainees or persons subject to transfer, such as denial of access to a lawyer, and discrimination in the application of immigration rules;
  • (b)     prevention of trafficking and human beings and protection of the human rights of victims of trafficking, including in the context of transit countries and countries of origin;
  • (c)    treatment of migrant labourers/undocumented migrants, especially issues arising under Article 4 (e.g. exploiting their vulnerable position to deny remuneration or provide grossly inadequate remuneration for their work; coercing into work by withholding their identity papers or deliberately failing to regularise their legal status); and Articles 2, 3 and 8 (e.g. poor health and safety standards at work, a lack of access to health care).

To ensure that the workshop reflects current and emerging trends in the identified area and is practical use to the participating lawyers, all applicants are asked to submit the description of a relevant case they have worked/are working on. The workshop’s agenda will be shaped by the legal issues arising out of the cases submitted by the selected participants.

The workshop will be held in English with simultaneous interpretation into Russian. Therefore, it is essential that participants are proficient in either English or Russian.

All reasonable travel and subsistence costs associated with attendance at the training will be covered by INTERIGHTS.

To apply, please email a completed application form (SEE BELOW) to Arpi Avetisyan, Legal Team Coordinator, at aavetisyan@interights.org. The deadline for applications is Sunday, 12 December 2010.  Early applications are strongly encouraged.

For further information, please contact Yuri Marchenko at ymarchenko@interights.org.

Click on this link for Application:  INTERIGHTS_Workshop_Application_Form

Leave a comment

Filed under Colloques / Conferences, Council of Europe

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | 08 Jul 2010 · 06:11

Hammarberg Makes Urgent Request of Italy for Information on Eritreans in Libya

COE Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg has made an urgent request to the Italian Government for information on alleged human rights violations of Eritrean migrants in Libya, including Eritreans who may have been among persons intercepted at sea by Italy and forcibly returned to Libya without being afforded an opportunity to seek international protection.

In a letter to the Italian Foreign Minister, Commissioner Hammarberg wrote “[g]iven the recent decision of the Libyan authorities to discontinue UNHCR’s activities in the country, it is increasingly difficult to confirm the exact accuracy of these reports. However, given their consistency and the seriousness of the allegations, I hope that I can count on your cooperation to urgently clarify the situation with the Libyan authorities and be kept informed about the results of your investigations.”

The Foreign Minister and Interior Minister have written a joint letter to the Il Foglio newspaper where they say that the Italian Government “was mediating with Tripoli to identify the Eritreans and try to find them employment in Libya so that they would not be forcibly repatriated.”  According to Reuters, the ministers also said “it was necessary to respect Libyan sovereignty and [they] called for an international approach, involving the United Nations and other organizations” and that the “fate of these Eritrean citizens cannot be resolved only through our bilateral relationship (with Libya).”

Click here for the Commissioner’s letter to the Italian Foreign Minister.

Click here for the Commissioner’s letter to the Italian Interior Minister.

Click here for article.

Click here (IT) for Italian Ministers’ Reply to Il Foglio.

Leave a comment

Filed under Commissioner for Human Rights, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News, UNHCR

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | 01 Jun 2010 · 05:55

EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement Negotiations Continuing

The Turkish paper, Today’s Zaman, reported that Turkey and the EU have reached agreement on 19 articles of a draft readmission agreement, but have been unable to reach agreement on 5 articles.

The news article states that Turkey wants “the readmission agreement [to include] strong funding from the EU, mirroring similar funding that is available to member states under the “resettlement policies” within the European Refugee Fund (ERF), which was established to support and improve the efforts of member states to grant refugee or asylum status to beneficiaries.”

“The [Turkish] government also fears that, without a strong and clear readmission agreement in place, vetting thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers in reception centers while awaiting deportation will open a Pandora’s box for Turkey in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Turkey ranks second after Russia in terms of the number of cases ending up in the ECtHR and is trying to reduce them by introducing constitutional changes on fundamental rights, due to be submitted to a referendum on Sept. 12.”

“In April, for example, the ECtHR decided in three out of four cases involving refugees recognized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that Turkey would violate Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if the expulsion orders were enforced. The court also criticized the unlawfulness and the conditions of their detention in a police station and in some of the detention centers where they had been held awaiting deportation.”

Click here for article.

Leave a comment

Filed under Aegean Sea, European Court of Human Rights, European Union, Greece, News, Turkey

Tagged as , , , , ,