"Open Ports to NGOs, Save Lives": the Council of Europe against the countries of the EU

NGOs play a crucial role and should be free to use ports for relief operations and to help migrants. It is the recognition of humanitarian action and the work of non-governmental organizations of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatovic, who criticizes the conclusions of the European Council and decisions on migration flows taken by the different EU countries.
"The current approach of states to the arrival of refugees and migrants – said Mijatovic – has turned a manageable phenomenon into a highly controversial issue, and this has caused tremendous suffering and hardship. difficulties for thousands of people seeking our protection "
" Any approach to migration in the Mediterranean – continued the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights – should guarantee a system endowed Sufficient and fully operational resources to save lives at sea. "Recent tragedies Hundreds of lives lost should remind us of the urgent need to act. In this context, NGOs play a crucial role and should be free to use the ports and other facilities for rescue operations and to help the migrants. "
" Unfortunately – Mijatovic stressed again – a number of member states of the Council of Europe hamper the work of NGOs, endangering the lives of many people. When Member States co-ordinate relief operations, they must make full use of available search and rescue capabilities, including that of NGO ships. The coordinating authorities should ensure that instructions given during rescue operations are fully compliant. the human rights of the rescued migrants, in particular by preventing them in which their right to life would be threatened or in which they would be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or arbitrary deprivation of their liberty "
Mijatovic indicates that in any place of landing, whether inside or outside Europe, the right to non-refoulement, the conditions of reception, must be respected; adequate and that persons are not automatically deprived of freedom of movement.
In addition, for the Commissioner, "external cooperation for the management of migratory flows must be transparent and accountable, including the proposal for regional platforms for landings ". In addition, Strasbourg calls for all solutions put in place to be controlled by independent and effective bodies to badess compliance with all human rights standards.
"The recent conclusions of the European Council, but also the decisions on migration flows at national level – concluded Commissioner Mijatovic – raise many concerns that European states must resolve in order to comply with the obligations contained in international treaties on If countries have the right to control their borders and guarantee security, this can not be done by violating human rights, so it is time to put migration and migration policies at the center of human rights. human, asylum, the human rights of migrants, refugees and those seeking to protect themselves, but also the principle of shared responsibility. "