Published : 10-07-2018
Human rights groups lauded France and Sweden over what they dubbed “positive steps” regarding the situation of illegal migrants.
On Friday, July 6, 2018, France's Constitutional Court ruled that people could no longer be charged for helping migrants who entered the country illegally, after dozens of people offering aid were prosecuted for what they denounced as "crimes of solidarity".
The ‘offence’ of solidarity was previously issued under article 1-622 of the French immigration law, stating that whoever helps migrants, directly or indirectly, in movement, entrance, or illegal stay in France could be subject to up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros,
At the same time, the Swedish Migration Agency issued a decision to speed up the duration of migration, reunification, and asylum processing. Thanks to this decision, the applicant now has the right to ask the Migration Agency to decide on his/her application within four weeks of submission at most, compared to six months in the past, giving the applicant the right to effectively follow up on his/ her case.
Some applications previously needed up to three years to receive a decision regarding their cases, which left refugees and asylum seekers under stress and leading unstable lives.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called on both France and Sweden to build on these steps by taking other measures towards a humane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing conflicts and by sharing the collective responsibility of asylum applications.
Euro-Med Monitor further called on the EU member states to take positive steps in regard to the situation of refugees and migrants, in accordance with human rights standards, taking humanitarian assistance as a priority.
Human rights groups lauded France and Sweden over what they dubbed “positive steps” regarding the situation of illegal migrants.
On Friday, July 6, 2018, France's Constitutional Court ruled that people could no longer be charged for helping migrants who entered the country illegally, after dozens of people offering aid were prosecuted for what they denounced as "crimes of solidarity".
The ‘offence’ of solidarity was previously issued under article 1-622 of the French immigration law, stating that whoever helps migrants, directly or indirectly, in movement, entrance, or illegal stay in France could be subject to up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros,
At the same time, the Swedish Migration Agency issued a decision to speed up the duration of migration, reunification, and asylum processing. Thanks to this decision, the applicant now has the right to ask the Migration Agency to decide on his/her application within four weeks of submission at most, compared to six months in the past, giving the applicant the right to effectively follow up on his/ her case.
Some applications previously needed up to three years to receive a decision regarding their cases, which left refugees and asylum seekers under stress and leading unstable lives.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called on both France and Sweden to build on these steps by taking other measures towards a humane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing conflicts and by sharing the collective responsibility of asylum applications.
Euro-Med Monitor further called on the EU member states to take positive steps in regard to the situation of refugees and migrants, in accordance with human rights standards, taking humanitarian assistance as a priority.
