The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights called France and the United Kingdom to order on Wednesday (December 8th) after the sinking which caused the death of 27 migrants, calling for the development of roads. safe and legal access within the framework of cooperation between the two countries.
"
The UK and France should ensure that the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are central to measures taken to address the issue of Channel crossings
," said Dunja Mijatovic, in letters to the British Home Secretary and the French Home Secretary.
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These missives follow the sinking on November 24 of a boat of migrants trying to reach England by crossing the Channel: at least 27 people died in this accident.
Dunja Mijatovic, who expresses his “
deep sadness
” and his “
dismay
” at this tragedy, regrets that the first reactions have often consisted of repressive measures, “
while the underlying question of the lack of migration routes legal and other aspects of the human rights situation were seldom mentioned
”.
Do not "unduly politicize" the situation
The Commissioner underlines that there is currently "
no framework which would allow people in France to apply for asylum or to invoke the right to stay in the United Kingdom for other reasons. However, if these people had such a possibility, they would no longer attempt to cross the sea by dangerous and irregular routes
”. "
The approach adopted by France and the United Kingdom to cross-Channel migration increasingly favors security aspects and therefore seems to worsen the situation, by redirecting these people to the most perilous routes
", notes she still.
Dunja Mijatovic calls for “
ensuring access to asylum and fair treatment of asylum applications, including for people crossing borders through irregular channels;
effectively coordinate rescue operations at sea;
implement the guarantees applicable in the event of dismissal;
and ensure that everyone is treated with humanity and with respect for their dignity, whatever their migratory status
”.
In addition, the Commissioner calls on the two countries not to “
unduly politicize
” the situation and to fully respect international standards to avoid further tragedies.