Council of Europe Backs UK-Led Plan to Accelerate Migrant Removals
The UK and other European nations have endorsed a declaration aimed at reshaping how courts adjudicate migration cases, with the explicit goal of facilitating the removal of irregular migrants. Unveiled at a summit in Moldova, the agreement suggests that European democratic structures could be undermined without more effective responses to people smuggling and contemporary migration pressures.
The declaration implores the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg to delegate the majority of migration-related decisions to individual member states. Prior to the summit, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper characterised the deal as a “common-sense approach”, stating her intention to ensure systems “can’t be unfairly gamed”.
Shifting Interpretations of Human Rights Law
This political signal, signed by the 46 members of the Council of Europe — the body overseeing the ECHR and distinct from the European Union — does not rewrite existing human rights legislation. Instead, it serves as a directive to human rights judges, advocating for increased consideration of public interest and democratic principles in migration rulings.
The document contends that the challenges confronting European states have either evolved significantly or were unforeseen when the Human Rights Convention was originally drafted. It affirms states’ “undeniable sovereign right” to establish their own immigration policies and to remove foreign nationals in the public interest. Critics argue the declaration’s language could weaken human rights protections or prove ineffectual if ignored by judges.
Regarding people smuggling, the declaration posits that this phenomenon, whether orchestrated by criminal organisations or hostile states, “risks undermining support for and the integrity of the Convention system”. It supports the pursuit of agreements with non-European countries, including the potential establishment of “return hubs” beyond Europe, a model Italy has already implemented with Albania.
While explicitly upholding the ECHR’s Article 3 ban on torture, the declaration specifies that a failed migrant should not automatically evade deportation by claiming potential inhuman or degrading treatment in their home country. It states that courts should not obstruct the expulsion of a failed migrant solely because the healthcare or social conditions in their country of origin fall below European standards, unless in “very exceptional circumstances”. This wording is expected to bolster governments’ ability to challenge obstacles to removal. Furthermore, the document reiterates that the right to family life does not preclude deportation, asserting that national courts are best positioned to balance individual rights against the “weighty public interests of defending freedom and security”.
