Human rights impact of the “external dimension” of European Union asylum and migration policy: out of sight, out of rights?
Reply to Recommendation
| Doc. 14774
| 05 December 2018
- Author(s):
- Committee of Ministers
- Origin
- Adopted at the 1330th meeting
of the Ministers’ Deputies (28 November 2018). 2019 - First part-session
- Reply to Recommendation
- : Recommendation 2136
(2018)
1. The Committee of
Ministers has closely examined Parliamentary Assembly
Recommendation 2136 (2018) on “Human rights impact of the “external dimension”
of European Union asylum and migration policy: out of sight, out
of rights?” It transmitted the Recommendation to the Steering Committee
for Human Rights (CDDH) for comments.
2. The Committee of Ministers fully concurs with the Parliamentary
Assembly that co-operation between member States and third countries
must be conducted in the light of the requirements of the European Convention
on Human Rights. It recalls that the European Court of Human Rights
has already indicated that acts of Contracting States which are
performed or have effects outside their territory may constitute
an exercise of their jurisdiction within the meaning of Article
1 of the Convention.
Note
3. The Committee of Ministers takes note of the Assembly's suggestion
to draw up draft guidelines on external co-operation with third
countries in the field of migration to ensure that such co-operation
is implemented in accordance with, inter
alia, the European Convention on Human Rights and the
1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. It will
bear this proposal in mind. The Committee of Ministers also notes
that the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration
and Refugees pays attention to issues regarding co-operation of
Council of Europe member states with third countries underscoring questions
that some co-operation practices raise with regard to the right
to seek asylum and the respect for the principle of non-refoulement as well as the need
for exercising human rights due diligence in the context of such co-operation.
4. The Committee of Ministers would underline that member States
retain their human rights responsibilities in the context of their
co-operation with third countries whether or not such co-operation
takes place within the context of European Union policies. In this
respect, the Assembly has rightly drawn attention to the importance
of assessing the human rights impact of such co-operation through
ensuring transparency and mainstreaming of human rights principles
in all co-operation agreements and arrangements with third countries,
which does not necessitate interference with European Union policy.
5. The Committee of Ministers would also draw attention to the
position of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,
Ms Dunja Mijatović, that “any external migration co-operation must
be transparent and accountable. This includes the proposed regional
disembarkation platforms. European states must carry out and publish
a thorough analysis of any such proposals, looking at their potential
impact on the rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, and
if necessary they should explicitly set out which measures they
will take to avoid adverse impact.”
Note The Commissioner has also underlined
in this regard the important role for independent monitoring of
such options, for transparency of that monitoring and the possibility
that monitoring outcomes affect decisions on whether to continue
externalisation activities.
6. Finally, in respect of paragraph 5.3. of the Assembly’s Recommendation,
the Committee of Ministers would like to recall the exchange of
letters of June and September 2018 between the Secretary General
of the Council of Europe and the President of the European Commission
on a possible resumption of the negotiations for the accession of
the European Union to the Convention. The Committee of Ministers
will continue to follow closely developments in this regard.
