From now on, asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their application in Greece might be detained for up to 18 months. The provisions governing the maximum length of time by which asylum seekers' detention can be extended have recently been changed.
In its latest position paper, the Red Cross EU office has released a position paper calling on the EU and its member states to ensure that asylum seekers have safe and effective legal avenues to the EU territory to exercise their right to international protection. The paper puts forward nine recommendations aimed at ensuring access to asylum procedures, particularly by respecting refugee and human rights standards at the borders, not penalising the irregular entry of asylum seekers and ensuring an effective right of appeal against denial of entry.
The applicant, Zhakhongir Abidov, is a Kyrgyzstan national who was born in 1981 and lives in Novosibirsk (Russia). An ethnic Uzbek, he has regularly travelled to Russia for work purposes since 2001. In June 2010 he was arrested in Novosibirsk as he was wanted by the Uzbek authorities on suspicion of setting up an extremist organisation whose aim is to overthrow the constitutional order in Uzbekistan; his extradition was also granted shortly thereafter. However, he has since been released in March 2011 when the Russian courts quashed the decision to extradite him.
The paper "Distinction, Discretion, Discrimination: the new frontiers of gender-related claims to asylum" was presented by Ms. Alice Edwards, Senior Legal Coordinator and Chief, Protection Policy and Legal Advice Section, Division of International Protection, UNHCR during the Gender, Migration and Human Rights Conference, organized by the European University Institute in Florence, Italy Uniteon 18-19 June 2012.
(Area of freedom, security and justice - Directive 2008/115/EC - Common standards and procedures for returning illegally staying third-country nationals - Applicability to asylum seekers - Possibility of keeping a third-country national in detention after an application for asylum has been made)
The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted during its 22nd session its first resolution dealing with redress and rehabilitation of victims of torture. The resolution reminds states of their international obligations with respect to the prohibition of torture. These include the provision of redress to victims, among others in the form of rehabilitation.
A reference for a preliminary ruling concerning the impact Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights on return decisions was published this week by the CJEU. It was lodged on 3 April 2013 by the Tribunal administratif de Melun (France) and the questions read as follows:
During its meeting on 6-7 December the Council confirmed the political agreement on the Dublin Regulation and was informed about the state-of-play of the outstanding legislative proposals concerning the Common European Asylum System:
The European Commission will be presenting its Smart Borders package to the upcoming Justice and Home Affairs Council of 7-8 March. The package includes three proposals for regulations:
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) recently updated its 2011 Report on Serbia (Serbia as a Safe Third Country Revisited) based on a field mission there on 2-4 April 2012. Overall HHC's concerns expressed in the 2011 report remain valid. The findings of the report focus on a) limited access to protection and lack of procedural safeguards; b) risk of chain refoulement; c) danger of destitution.
