9th Meeting of the Council of Europe Network of Focal Points on Migration

13 June 2024 (9.30am - 5pm)

and 14 June 2024 (9.30am - 12.30pm)

Hybrid meeting

(Room G04, Agora, Council of Europe, Strasbourg and by Zoom video link)

Annotated agenda

Thursday 13 June 2024

9.30 - 9.45

1.     Opening of the meeting by David Best, Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) on Migration and Refugees and Chair of the Network of Focal Points on Migration

9.45 - 10.45

2.     Recent European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)’s caselaw in the field of migration and refugees

Presentation by Magdalena Bach, ECtHR

Presentation of the main judgments and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in the field of migration and asylum in 2023 and 2024, explaining their significance and scope for respondent States and implications for other States Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights.


3.     Recent amendments to Rule 39 on the ECtHR’s interim measures

Presentation by Mehves Bingollu Kilci, ECtHR

Presentation of the amendments to the procedure for interim measures, adopted by the Court in plenary session in 2023 and 2024, which aimed at clarifying and codifying existing practice in relation to interim measures, as well as the accompanying revised Practice Direction accompanying, providing detailed guidance on the substantive and procedural aspects of the Court's interim measures procedure.

10.45 - 11.15  

4.     Update on current and emerging challenges in the field of migration and refugees and related activities and priorities of the SRSG Office

Presentation by the SRSG on Migration and Refugees

Current and emerging challenges for the Council of Europe's work in the field of migration and refugees and overview of main activities since the last meeting of the NFPM.

11.15 - 11.30 - Coffee break

11.30 - 12.30

5.     The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum: Overview and key challenges related to its implementation in compliance with Council of Europe standards

Catherine Woollard, Director European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), Adjunct Professor of Law at the Free University of Brussels

Comprehensive overview of the main changes brought about by the Pact and the challenges Member States will face in implementing it in the light of Council of Europe standards.

12:45: Family photo

12:45 - 14:00 - Lunch break

14.00 - 15.15

6.     Workshops on the challenges faced by Council of Europe member states in implementing the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and other forthcoming reforms in the field of migration and refugees

– Deprivation of liberty and detention of migrants

Presentation by Anna Moradi, Barrister, Council of Europe expert involved in drafting the Guide for practitioners on administrative detention of migrants

The new Regulation on the screening of third-country nationals at the EU's external borders and asylum border procedures, which is part of the EU Pact, could lead to an increase in the use of administrative detention of migrants and asylum seekers. The presentation will recall the standards deriving from the ECtHR’s case-law and other Council of Europe standards, in particular those of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), on issues arising from Article 5(1)(f) of the ECHR, conditions of detention, the detention of vulnerable individuals, and remedies.

15.15 - 15.45 - Coffee break

15.45 - 17.00  - Continuation of agenda item 6

– Focus on the standards related to vulnerability assessment at borders

Presentation by

-         Petya Nestorova, Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings

-         Cécile Greboval, Gender Equality Division

-         Ana Guerreiro, Children’s rights Division


The new Regulation on the screening of third-country nationals at the EU's external borders provides for preliminary health and vulnerability checks.

The presentations will point to the main Council of Europe standards, instruments and tools relevant for conducting vulnerability screenings, with a focus on persons in a particularly vulnerable situation, such as victims of trafficking, migrant and asylum-seeking women and girls, and accompanied, unaccompanied or separated children.

17.00 - Closing of day 1

17.30 - Reception for the Focal Points on Migration and Permanent representatives of Council of Europe member states

 

H.E. Ambassador Jerzy Baurski, Permanent Representative of Poland to the Council of Europe, will host a reception at the Permanent Representation of Poland to the Council of Europe for the Focal Points on Migration and Permanent Representatives of Council of Europe member states.

Friday 14 June 2024

9.30 - 11.00

7.     Updates from Focal Points on recent legal/policy developments in their country concerning the protection of the rights of vulnerable persons in the context of migration and asylum

11.00 – 11.15 - Coffee break

11.15 - 12.15 Continuation of agenda item 6

– Asylum procedures, right to life, prohibition of ill-treatment, and principle of non-refoulement

Presentation by Stephanie Krisper, member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Committee on Migration, Refugees, and Displaced Persons), rapporteur on the resolution and recommendation “Ensuring human rights compliant asylum procedures”

In the light of the Asylum Procedures Regulation and other related provisions of the EU Pact, the speaker will recall the points of vigilance arising from Council of Europe standards, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights, and will raise issues and challenges related to access to territory, non-derogable principles such as the right to life, prohibition of ill-treatment and non-refoulement, effective examination of asylum claims, legal aid and remedies.

12.15 - 12.30

8.     Preparation of the next meeting in December 2024

9.     Any other business

10.                        Closing of the meeting