Asiel, migratie en grenzen

This note sets out human rights standards stemming from both the European Convention on Human Rights and European Union (EU) law that apply to effective remedies for human rights violations at borders, together with those on complaints mechanisms and investigations into complaints of rights violations at borders.

The Employers Sanctions Directive was primarily enacted to dissuade employers from recruiting migrants in an irregular situation, but it also contains provisions to protect workers. It facilitates access to justice for exploited workers and sets out workers’ rights to claim back payment of outstanding wages. The directive also contains provisions to enhance the effectiveness of labour inspections. This report describes how the 25 Member States bound by the directive have been implementing its protective provisions, focusing on the impact these provisions have on migrant workers in an irregular situation who are victims of exploitation and other labour
law violations.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that about 813 people died or went missing crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe to escape war, persecution or to pursue a better life in 2021, up to 15 June. This is an average of almost five people per day. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) collects data on NGO ships involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean, legal proceedings against them, as well as difficulties in disembarking migrants in safe ports.

This note outlines how to help ensure a dignified stay for third-country nationals who are apprehended or intercepted at external borders. Specifically, FRA identifies twelve points for protection-sensitive and fundamental rights-compliant planning and design of initial-reception facilities at such borders. These are based on the agency’s work at external borders, including data collection and research activities.

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has been regularly collecting data on asylum and migration since September 2015. This report focuses on the fundamental rights situation of people arriving in Member States and EU candidate countries particularly affected by migration. It addresses fundamental rights concerns between 1 October and 31 December 2020.

In 2020 (until 15 December), the International Organization for Migration estimated that about 1,054 people have died or gone missing while crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe to escape war or persecution or to pursue a better life. This is an average of almost three people per day. In the past years, a significant number of migrants in distress at sea have been rescued by civil society vessels deployed with a humanitarian mandate to reduce fatalities and bring rescued migrants to safety. Since 2018, however, national authorities initiated some 50 administrative and criminal proceedings against crew members or vessels, also seizing the latter. In some cases, rescue vessels were blocked in harbours due to flag issues or the inability to meet maritime safety-related and other technical requirements.

Het Europees Verdrag tot bescherming van de rechten van de mens en het EU-recht vormen een steeds belangrijker kader voor de bescherming van de rechten van buitenlanders. Wetgeving van de Europese Unie met betrekking tot asiel, grenzen en immigratie ontwikkelt zich snel. Er is een aanzienlijke hoeveelheid jurisprudentie van het Europees Hof voor de rechten van de mens, met name met betrekking tot de artikelen 3, 5, 8 en 13 van het EVRM. Het Hof van Justitie van de Europese Unie wordt steeds vaker gevraagd zich uit te spreken over de uitlegging van wettelijke bepalingen van de Europese Unie op dit gebied. In de derde editie van dit handboek, geactualiseerd op grond van de ontwikkelingen tot juli 2020, wordt deze wetgeving van de Europese Unie en de jurisprudentie van de twee Europese hoven op toegankelijke wijze gepresenteerd. Het is bestemd voor juristen, rechters, openbaar aanklagers, immigratiebeambten en niet-gouvernementele organisaties in lidstaten van de EU en van de Raad van Europa.