The applicants are two Afghan nationals who worked, respectively, as a driver for the UN and as an interpreter for the US armed forces in Afghanistan. They applied for asylum in the United Kingdom as they considered themselves at risk of harm from the Taliban, Hizb-i-Islam and the Afghan authorities. Their applications were rejected by the British authorities at several instances. Before the ECtHR, they alleged that their deportation to Afghanistan would constitute a breach of Article 3 ECHR.
The Belgian Arbeidshof te Brussel referred on February the following questions concerning the reception conditions directive to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling:
Human Rights Watch has published its Annual Report, which summarises the human rights situation in some 90 countries around the world in 2012. The report contains a section on the European Union focusing on its asylum and migration policy and also addresses this topic when dealing with the human rights situation in selected EU states.
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has recently published its Work Programme for 2013. The European Union aims at putting in place a Common European Asylum System by the end of 2012. This makes 2013 a crucial year for the implementation of such a system.
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published on 20/07/2012 its first 'Annual Report on the Situation of Asylum in the European Union and on the Activities of the European Asylum Support Office for 2011. The report provides a comprehensive description of the situation of asylum in the EU in 2011, with a focus on areas in which EASO was involved in during this period.
A reference for a preliminary ruling concerning Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Returns Directive was published by the CJEU this week. It was lodged on 6 May by the Tribunal administratif de Pau (France) and the questions read as follows:
Asylum Procedures Directive The Irish Presidency has published the result of the eighth trilogue on the asylum procedures directive in which the proposals presented by the Presidency the week before were accepted. The text that the Presidency proposes to the COREPER with a view to agreement between the Council and the Parliament is available here.
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Citizenship of the Union - Article 20 TFEU - Directive 2003/86/CE - Right to family reunification - Union citizens who are minor children living with their mothers, who are third country nationals, in the territory of the Member State of which the children are national - Permanent right of residence in that Member State of the mothers who have been granted sole custody of the Union citizens - Change in composition of the families following the mother's remarriage to third country nationals and the birth of children of those marriages who are also third
