NGOs call on EU border agency to better protect human rights of migrants

Brussels, 17 October 2012 – The EU border agency, Frontex, has finally put the human rights
of migrants square on the agenda with the first meeting of the newly established Consultative
Forum on Fundamental Rights, held yesterday in Warsaw. The forum, made up of civil society
organisations and EU institutions, selected JRS Europe to serve as co-chair with Frontex.

“We can’t stress enough the importance of this forum. A considerable number
 of people have died at the external borders of the European Union. Frontex,
as an EU agency, is bound to do all in its power to ensure the rights of migrants
entering the EU are respected”, said Stefan Kessler, the JRS Europe
 representative to the forum.

“This certainly has not been happening. We have seen a distinct lack of monitoring
 mechanisms to identify persons in need of protection, a failure to consider the
human rights situation in transit countries to where intercepted migrants may
be returned, and an absence of mechanisms to enable migrants to make a
formal complaint against Frontex”, added Mr Kessler.

In the recent past Frontex has come under pressure from NGOs, including
JRS Europe, to ensure their operations are open to public scrutiny and
guarantee the protection of migrant rights. These calls were intensified
during 2011, when nearly 2,000 migrants died while crossing the
Mediterranean Sea.

A case in point was the tragic death of 54 migrants on the journey from
Libya to Italy in July this year. Their boat had reached Italian shores
but was forced back on the open seas. The sole survivor, an Eritrean,
told UN refugee agency officials that everyone on board had perished
from dehydration during the 15-day ordeal. More than half of those who
died were from Eritrea, a country known for serious human rights violations.

“Our intention is to enable this forum to become an effective and
sustainable instrument for improving the human rights situation at the
EU external borders, and in the context of Frontex-coordinated forced
return operations. If the NGO inputs to the Consultative Forum are
taken seriously, it has the capacity to lessen the likelihood of further
tragedies”, added Mr Kessler.

The Consultative Forum will work together with the newly appointed
Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer, responsible for monitoring how
migrant rights are safeguarded during border operations.

“We expect the work of the forum to be based on practice. We're not
 just looking to agree on general principles on paper, but rather on
concrete standards and mechanisms to guarantee the rights of migrants”,
Mr Kessler concluded.

Article at JRS Europe:
http://www.jrseurope.org/news_releases/JRSEuropeCoChairsFrontexForumOnHumanRightsNEWS17102012.htm

Article from FRONTEX:
http://www.frontex.europa.eu/news/consultative-forum-on-fundamental-rights-elects-chairpersons-at-inaugural-meeting-y3P7uP

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Contact information:
JRS Europe, Brussels
Philip Amaral, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
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T: +32 (0) 2 250 32 20

www.jrseurope.org
www.detention-in-europe.org
www.twitter.com/JRSEurope

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• JRS Europe sits on the Frontex Consultative Forum on Fundamental
Rights with the following NGOs: Amnesty International EU Office,
Caritas Europa, the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe,
the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, the International Catholic Migration Commission,
and the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants.