23/02/2012 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
“The European Court of Human Rights has today delivered a landmark judgment which clarifies member states’ obligations regarding interception at sea,” said Giacomo Santini, PACE Chair of the Committee on Migration. “The Hirsi and others v. Italy judgment unambiguously upholds the right of persons intercepted at sea not to be pushed back and to request asylum,” he added. “In this way, the Court has closed the door to any state wanting purely and simply to push back those intercepted at sea.”
13/02/2012 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
“Family reunification is an important element of the right to family life and an essential part of the integration process for migrants,” said Giacomo Santini (Italy, EPP/CD), Chair of the PACE Migration Committee, following the approval by the committee of a position paper on reform of the EU Family Reunification Directive.
09/02/2012 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
The President of the PACE Migration Committee, Giacomo Santini, has stated that "the erection of a barbed wire fence between Greece and Turkey will not solve anything at all. It will simply give rise to greater distress and more loss of human lives. People attempting to reach Europe will look for alternative routes," he went on.
16/12/2011 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
“This visit to Malta was important for my inquiry into who is responsible for lives lost in the Mediterranean Sea, and enabled me to piece together another part of the puzzle in the case of the ‘left-to-die boat’”, said PACE rapporteur Tineke Strik (Netherlands, SOC), speaking at the end of a two-day visit to Malta.
16/12/2011 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
In a statement to mark International Migrants Day (18 December), the Chair of PACE's Migration Committee has reaffirmed the importance of upholding both the rights of migrants and the rule of law. Christopher Chope (United Kingdom, EDG) said: “Trafficking and irregular migration have given all migrants a bad name, which has meant the weak and innocent lose out. This unfortunately translates into an over-reliance on detention of migrants and asylum seekers.”
15/12/2011 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
“The humanitarian situation in the Gali region has now reached a turning point, but whether the turn is for the better or for the worse depends on all parties involved,” said Tina Acketoft (Sweden, ALDE), rapporteur of PACE Migration Committee, speaking at the end of a four-day visit to Georgia, including Tbilisi, Gali and Sukhumi. The fact-finding visit took place as part of preparation for her report “Follow-up on the humanitarian consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia: the humanitarian situation in the war-affected areas.”
14/12/2011 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
Tineke Strik (Netherlands, SOC), who is carrying out an inquiry for the PACE into “Lives lost in the Mediterranean Sea: who is responsible?”, in particular for the deaths of ‘boat people’ fleeing Libya, will make a fact-finding visit to Malta from 15 to 16 December 2011. During her visit, the rapporteur will meet refugees who arrived from Libya after January 2011 to gather testimony on their experiences, and will meet officials from the Maltese armed forces who are involved in organising rescues.
13/12/2011 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
Tina Acketoft (Sweden, ALDE) will carry out a fact-finding visit to Sukhumi and Gali in Georgia from 12 to 15 December 2011 to continue preparation of her report on “Follow-up on the humanitarian consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia: the humanitarian situation in the war-affected areas”.
30/11/2011 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
“With 1971 boatpeople having perished in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to reach European soil from North Africa, the year 2011 sets a sad record as the deadliest year for boatpeople,” PACE rapporteur Tineke Strik (Netherlands, SOC) said at the end of a hearing on this issue, organised by PACE Migration Committee. “Never before the Mediterranean Sea has been as closely monitored as this year because of the war in Libya and still more boat people than ever perished or disappeared,” the rapporteur added.
30/11/2011 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
“The situation in Syria has become intolerable and requires action,” stressed today Christopher Chope (United Kingdom, EDG), Chair of PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, at a meeting in Paris and “unreservedly condemned the crackdown and killings in Syria.” He called upon Council of Europe member states to take all the necessary steps to impose immediate sanctions on the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
24/11/2011 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
It is estimated that over a thousand boat people have perished in the Mediterranean Sea since January 2011 while attempting to reach Europe. Who may be responsible? What could have been done to avoid these tragedies? What lessons can be learned from these events? These questions will be central to a hearing organised on Tuesday 29 November in Paris by PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population in connection with the preparation of a report on the subject by Tineke Strik (Netherlands, SOC).
04/10/2011 | Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
" A child is first and foremost a child, and only in second place a migrant. This is the starting point for any discussion about undocumented migrant children; the status of the child is secondary and arguably irrelevant," according to Pedro Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD), speaking today at the opening of a joint hearing on the subject of children of undocumented migrants organised by the PACE Sub-Committees on Migration and on Children.