Italy failed to comply with the obligation to rescue migrants at sea
The UN Human Rights Committee has found that Italy failed to save 200 migrants, including 60 children, who drowned after their boat sank in the Mediterranean in 2013. In response to a joint complaint launched by a group of survivors, the Committee stated that Italy failed to respond to several distress calls and to explain why they did not dispatch their coast guard boats or navy ships. The Committee urged Italy to proceed with an independent and timely investigation and to prosecute those responsible, and to provide effective remedy to those who lost their families in the accident.
Rome Court declares pushbacks from Italy to Slovenia illegal
The Court of Rome has found that the Italian practice of pushing migrants, including asylum seekers, from the Italian border to Slovenia, where they would be subject to pushbacks to Bosnia, is in violation of the Italian constitution, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and international law. These pushbacks have been justified by the Italian government as the application of a bilateral agreement between Italy and Slovenia.
Frontex stops operations in Hungary
The EU's border agency, Frontex, is suspending its operations in Hungary, following the country’s continued pushbacks of migrants into neighbouring Serbia, which had been declared illegal by the EU Court of Justice in December. The stop to the operations comes after calls from Hungarian civil society, which had warned that by operating in the country, Frontex would risk being complicit in illegal activities. In January 2021, the European Parliament set up a scrutiny group to examine Frontex’s fundamental rights compliance, the agency's internal management, and its transparency and accountability towards the European Parliament. The Agency is also under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office, which is looking into allegations of harassment, misconduct and migrant pushbacks.
Italy failed to comply with the obligation to rescue migrants at sea
The UN Human Rights Committee has found that Italy failed to save 200 migrants, including 60 children, who drowned after their boat sank in the Mediterranean in 2013. In response to a joint complaint launched by a group of survivors, the Committee stated that Italy failed to respond to several distress calls and to explain why they did not dispatch their coast guard boats or navy ships. The Committee urged Italy to proceed with an independent and timely investigation and to prosecute those responsible, and to provide effective remedy to those who lost their families in the accident.
Rome Court declares pushbacks from Italy to Slovenia illegal
The Court of Rome has found that the Italian practice of pushing migrants, including asylum seekers, from the Italian border to Slovenia, where they would be subject to pushbacks to Bosnia, is in violation of the Italian constitution, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and international law. These pushbacks have been justified by the Italian government as the application of a bilateral agreement between Italy and Slovenia.
Frontex stops operations in Hungary
The EU's border agency, Frontex, is suspending its operations in Hungary, following the country’s continued pushbacks of migrants into neighbouring Serbia, which had been declared illegal by the EU Court of Justice in December. The stop to the operations comes after calls from Hungarian civil society, which had warned that by operating in the country, Frontex would risk being complicit in illegal activities. In January 2021, the European Parliament set up a scrutiny group to examine Frontex’s fundamental rights compliance, the agency's internal management, and its transparency and accountability towards the European Parliament. The Agency is also under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office, which is looking into allegations of harassment, misconduct and migrant pushbacks.