Refugees: the Council of Europe and the EU issue a document to protect rights at the borders

Together, the Council of Europe and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) are working at a publication on “European standards on legal appeals, reporting mechanisms and effective investigations at the borders”. The purpose of the document is to “lay down standards for human rights based on the European Convention on Human Rights and on EU law”, a notice from the Council explains on the World Refugee Day. The text will also show what options can be effectively taken in the event of violations, as well as the reporting mechanisms and the duty to investigate the alleged violations. “We hope this tool may enable the member states to have access to a full overview of European standards” at a critical time in which migrants, refugees and asylum seekers cross borders, the special representative of the secretary general on migration and refugees, Drahoslav Štefánek, wished for. According to Michael O’Flaherty, director of the EU Agency,  “everyone is entitled to have effective appeals and fair trials”, and the member states “must make sure that people whose rights have been violated can have access to justice”. The two institutions have already published a previous document about “Fundamental rights of refugees, asylum applicants and migrants at the European borders”.

Valentina Bombelli