#VoicesOfECRE: Eero Janson
Interview with Eero Janson Chair of the Estonian Refugee Council and representative for the Nordic Baltic region at the ECRE board ECRE is an alliance of 104 NGOs across 41 European countries and its diverse membership ranges from large INGOs with global presence to...
Med: At Least Nine People Dead after Shipwreck off Lanzarote
A shipwreck off Lanzarote brings the overall number of deaths of people trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe close to 1100. Meanwhile, five states agreed to distribute 88 people rescued by the NGO vessel Alan Kurdi. At least nine people died in a...
UN: Huge Risks at Land and Sea Routes – Resettlement Places in Dire Need
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warns that migrants are even more likely to lose their life on the land routes in Africa attempting to reach the Mediterranean than attempting to cross it. Yet alternatives remain limited. In Libya hundreds of vulnerable people were...
Germany: Constitutional Court Strengthens Rights of Asylum Seekers Subject to Dublin
The Federal Constitutional Court (BVG) strengthened the rights of asylum seekers subject to the Dublin procedure in two important cases concerning Italy and Greece. Notably, the BVG confirmed a ruling of the European Court for Human Rights (ECtHR) holding that the...
Serbia: Report Denounces Poor Quality of Asylum Decisions and Obstacles to Integration
ECRE member Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) has published its periodic report on the right to asylum in the Republic of Serbia, containing an overview of key concerns relating to the asylum procedure in the country during the period from July to September...
Greece: New Strasbourg Interim Measures to Halt “Protective Custody” of Unaccompanied Children*
On 4 November 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) granted interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court, ordering Greece to release two unaccompanied children from detention (“protective custody”) and to transfer them to suitable accommodation....
Netherlands: Persisting Delays in the Procedure Put Strain on Reception*
Asylum seekers in the Netherlands are confronted with a shortage of reception places, in addition to long delays in accessing the procedure. As of 28 October 2019, the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) counted 26,975 accommodation places. The...
Advocate General: Refusal to Relocate Asylum Seekers “Breached EU Law”
In the Opinion issued by Eleanor Sharpston, Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court), Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have failed to fulfil their obligation under EU law by refusing to implement the mandatory Relocation...