Dozens of European Nations Sign Off on New Interpretation of Rights Convention in Migration Cases
The non-binding declaration could make it easier for governments to deport migrants while keeping bans on torture and death penalty removals.
- On Friday, 46 nations signed a political declaration in Chisinau, Moldova clarifying how the European Convention on Human Rights applies to migration cases, affirming states' sovereign right to control entry while maintaining Convention compliance.
- Member states including the UK, Italy, and Denmark argued that courts' interpretations had protected the wrong people and placed too many limits on expelling foreign criminals, with the ECHR becoming a lightning rod for mass migration concerns.
- The declaration allows national authorities to weigh "respect for private and family life" against "significant weight" of security and economic factors, and permits third-country return hubs in Rwanda and Albania provided Convention obligations are met.
- British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the declaration means countries can "take action on illegal migration, and strong action, at the same time as upholding international law," though Amnesty International warned against vague security definitions justifying arbitrary restrictions.
- Secretary General Alain Berset rejected Brexit comparisons, describing the non-binding declaration as a political discussion guiding national authorities, while the EU's migration commission hailed it as an important step toward unified migration policy.
33 Articles
33 Articles
What caused controversy a year ago is now becoming a principle shared by the forty-six members of the Council of Europe, said the Italian Prime Minister.
The Chisinau Declaration, adopted today by the 46 Member States of the Council of Europe, recognizes the legitimacy for the nations of innovative solutions in the management of flows...
"The Italian approach to migration flows has also become European" (ANSA)
UK Backs Declaration To Ease Deportation of Illegal Migrants
The UK has joined a broad coalition of European and international partners in backing a new political agreement aimed at making it easier for states to remove illegal migrants and limit legal barriers that have repeatedly blocked deportations across the continent. The declaration, agreed upon at a Council of Europe summit in Chișinău, Moldova, was signed by all 46 member states along with the European Union and several non-European countries. It…
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