Council
(Strasbourg) “The Justice and Home Affairs Ministers of EU member states meeting today and tomorrow in Luxembourg should not miss the chance to steer migration policy on to a more humane and human rights-compliant path”. This is according to Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović, who praised the “efforts already made to enhance responsibility sharing among member states and to ensure persons rescued at sea can be disembarked swiftly” in “a place of safety” and relocated. The success of what was decided in Malta “will largely depend on the participation and support of as many countries as possible”. This would “ease the pressure” on Italy, Malta and Greece while improving “asylum and reception procedures or expulsion for those not in need of protection”. Now, according to Ms Mijatović, ways should be sought to prevent the “return of people rescued at sea to places where they face serious human rights violations”. There is a need to suspend “any co-operation activities with the Libyan authorities that impact on interceptions at sea and result in returns to Libya, until clear guarantees of full human-rights compliance are in place”. For Ms Mijatović, it is also necessary to expand “search and rescue capacity; provide safe and legal routes; and co-operate constructively with NGOs”.
