European court to re-write laws on migration after 75 years

.…..The changes would make it easier for countries to stop smuggling

…….Return hubs will be created to accommodate people who don’t have the right to be in Europe

….UK to argue that the right to ‘family life’ should not stop the deportation of people who have no right to stay

European court on human rights is on the verge of making the most significant changes to human rights law regarding migration in the 75-year history of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The top-level discussions will soon commence in Strasbourg to completely change how the European Court of Human Rights handles cases about migration.

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The British government has been strongly pushing its European partners to update how countries deal with the crisis of illegal migration across the continent.

These talks are the biggest sign yet that international human rights laws might be updated. The changes would make it easier for countries to stop people smuggling and set up returns hubs which will accommodate people who don’t have the right to be in Europe.

Read also: Canadian province announces every immigration submission will be treated as EOI Ahead of the meeting, Keir Starmer, United Kingdom’s (UK) Labour leader and Mette Frederiksen, Danish Prime Minister wrote that other nations should change human rights laws to make protecting borders simpler.

They warned that uncontrolled migration is making people lose trust in their governments. Starmer said, “We will control our borders to protect our democracies.”

Critics had earlier argued that the European Human Rights Convention (ECHR) makes it too hard to deport irregular migrants. Supporters, however, say that the ECHR’s role in migration issues is often exaggerated.

The UK’s key demands The UK delegation, led by David Lammy, Deputy Prime Minister, is at the centre of the reform push.

Lammy will speak to the leaders at the meeting that the UK supports the ECHR, but its rules must not prevent countries from stopping people smuggling.

He is expected to argue for clearer limits on key human rights rules which are:

The right to ‘family life’ (Article 8) should not be used to stop the deportation of people who have no right to stay.

The ban on ‘inhuman and degrading treatment’ (Article 3) must only apply to the most serious issues.

Countries must be allowed to make sensible decisions about deporting foreign criminals.

The UK’s existing plan already includes making new laws to limit how the right to family life applies in deportation cases.

The ultimate goal for the member states is to agree on a political statement by next May. This statement would clearly set out how the ECHR should be used for migration issues.

The talks will cover tough issues like how to fight migrant smuggling and how to create the ‘returns hubs’ centres outside of Europe where migrants could be kept if they cannot be sent back to dangerous countries.

Ngozi Ekugo is a Snr.Correspondent at Business day. She has an MSc in Management from the University of Hertfordshire, and is an associate member of CIPM. Her career spans multiple industries, including a brief stint at Goldman Sachs in London,

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