Newsletter - July 2018
World Refugee Day, call for good practices on child-friendly procedures and meetings with EU Commission and Greek Minister for Migration Policy
On 2 July 2018, the Special Representative of the Secretary General on migration and refugees (SRSG) met with Simon Mordue, Deputy Director-General for Migration, DG HOME together with his team, to discuss human rights implications in the aftermath of the European Council conclusions on 28 June...
Letter to Belgium, visit to Greece and a statement on migration policies in Europe
On 5 July 2018, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, issued a statement, where she called on European states to put human rights at the centre of their migration policies. “European states’ current approach to the arrivals of refugees and migrants has transformed...
CPT publishes factsheet on transport of detainees
On 22 June 2018, the Council of Europe´s anti-torture committee (CPT) published a new factsheet on transport of detainees. During its fact-finding missions, CPT delegations have inspected vehicles intended for the transport of detainees, such as road and railway vehicles. Persons deprived of...
GRETA publishes reports on Spain and Estonia
On 20 June 2018, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) published its second evaluation report on Spain. In the report, GRETA welcomed progress made in developing the legislative, institutional and policy framework against trafficking in...
PACE summer session, Campaign to end immigration detention and European Diaspora Prize
On 26 and 27 June 2018, during it summer part-session, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted three resolutions and two recommendations proposed by the Committee on “Humanitarian situation in the Countries neighbouring Syria” (rapporteur Manlio Di Stefano, NR) “Human...
Unrelenting rise in xenophobic populism, resentment, hate speech in Europe in 2017
On 22 June 2018, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published its annual report. Xenophobic populism and hate speech have continued to be on the rise in 2017, coupled with high levels of migration and challenges of integration, religious extremism, terrorist attacks and...
Lanzarote Committee Declaration on events at the US/Mexican border and child consultations on age assessment procedures
On 28 June 2018, concerned by events related to the management of the arrival of migrant and refugee children in Council of Europe member and observer states, the Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual...
New phase “European Qualifications Passport for Refugees”: assessment sessions in Greece and Italy
On 11-15 June 2018, in Athens, Greece, in the context of the new phase (2018-2020) of the project “European Qualifications Passport for Refugees” (EQPR), 48 refugees, from 12 different countries, had their qualifications assessed during the first evaluation session. The refugees were interviewed...
HELP annual Network Conference 2018
On 21-22 June 2018, the European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) of the Council of Europe gathered representatives from Judiciary Schools and Bar Councils from member States for its 2018 Annual conference ‘Good training for good judgments’. Highlights and...
CEB approves new lending projects
On 15 June 2018, the Administrative Council of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) approved 11 new lending projects. In particular, one of the projects is a €7 million loan to Per Micro Spa to part-finance sub-projects within two microcredit products: 1) business lending to support...
Prevention and international co-operation in the fight against smuggling of migrants
On 20 - 22 June 2018, in Paris, the Council of Europe organised a meeting to discuss concrete tools to prevent and combat the smuggling of migrants. Two Working Groups focused on best practices and effective measures to prevent and combat the smuggling of migrants and to foster international...
New online resources for professionals working with young refugees and asylum-seekers
The Partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth is currently finalising new resources for professionals working with young refugees and asylum-seekers. A youth knowledge book will reflect research on how to improve the work with young refugees. A...
- Border protection and the rights of young refugees and children in focus
- Spain did not breach the Convention when returning migrants to Morocco at Melilla border
- PACE to discuss violence and discrimination against religious minorities
- New study on gender-based asylum claims and non-refoulement
- Launch of toolkit on academic integration of refugees into higher education
- Taking young refugees seriously: key messages from the conference
- North-South Prize 2019 honours the efforts to support the integration of migrants