Meeting on human rights under the New Pact on Migration and Asylum

On 18 and 19 November, the independent Fundamental Rights Office of Frontex, in cooperation with the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (Working Group on Migration and Asylum) held a meeting on monitoring compliance with human rights in border management.

The event gathered representatives of National Human Rights and Ombuds institutions from 15 European countries, the European Commission, EU Agencies (Frontex, the EU Asylum Agency and the Fundamental Rights Agency) as well as UNHCR. It served as a platform to discuss the obligations and opportunities under the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, both on the national and European level.

The discussions focused on the Pact implications for fundamental rights safeguards applicable to procedures and border management practices. The participants exchanged their experiences, best practices and explored opportunities for further joint efforts between the national and European systems towards an even more efficient and consistent monitoring of human rights compliance in screening, vulnerability assessment and other border control procedures.

The presence of Frontex Executive Director at the event opening was appreciated by the National Human Rights and Ombuds institutions, as it reflects the Agency's commitment to human rights as a 'regular part of our business, not possible to decouple from our everyday border management activities' and to the so-called future-proofing of the European Border and Coast Guard community by including effective procedures for the protection of fundamental rights in the operational concepts.