Eduardo González
Spain will begin implementing the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum this Friday “with a rights-based and respectful approach” to the rights of migrants and asylum seekers, according to the Ministry of the Interior, on the occasion of its entry into force in all EU member states. Amnesty International, Caritas, CEAR, Doctors of the World, Doctors Without Borders, and Oxfam Intermón, among other NGOs, have lamented “the lack of transparency regarding the specific measures that will be adopted at the national level to comply with these European obligations.”
“Spain will implement the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum starting this Friday ‘with a rights-based and respectful approach’ to the rights of migrants and asylum seekers, and this will be conveyed by the Spanish delegation participating today and tomorrow in the Ministerial Conference organized by the Cypriot Presidency of the EU in Nicosia, on the occasion of the pact’s entry into force,” the Ministry announced.
“June 12 marks a key date on this shared path, but it is not the end point,” declared the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who excused his absence from the Nicosia Ministerial Conference due to the papal visit and pledged to continue working on the “adjustments and improvements required by the migration challenge, always preserving the balance between solidarity and responsibility.”
In this regard, the Ministry of the Interior reiterates that “Spain has reaffirmed the Government’s opposition to the creation of detention centers in third countries permitted by the new Return Regulation, still pending final adoption, and has ruled out its use in Spanish migration management.”
On June 4, during the meeting of the Council of Interior Ministers in Luxembourg, Spain conveyed to its EU partners its rejection of this measure due to “serious doubts” about its “legality and proportionality.” It also expressed concern about the implementation of these centers, with non-binding agreements and “no guarantees” for human rights, and about their impact on the “credibility and effectiveness” of bilateral relations between member states, which are “key” to the migration policy of countries that, like Spain, are committed to cooperation.
The political agreement on the new European migration pact was reached on December 20, 2023, during Spain’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. The pact, approved by the European Parliament in April 2024, was formally adopted by the Council in May of that same year, when the legislative texts of the agreement were also published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
NGOs
For their part, the Working Group of social organizations on the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, which includes the NGOs Amnesty International, Caritas, CEAR, Entreculturas, Federación Sur Acoge, Irídia-center for the defense of human rights, Doctors of the World, Doctors Without Borders, Novact, Oxfam Intermón, Red Acoge, Jesuit Migrant Service, and Plataforma de Infancia, has lamented “the lack of transparency regarding the specific measures that will be adopted at the national level to comply with these European obligations.”
According to these organizations, “June 12th marks a milestone for all European countries, as it signifies the implementation of the Pact with its entry into force, ushering in a new era for migration policy that presents significant challenges in guaranteeing the rights of migrants and refugees.” “Added to this is the agreement reached on June 1st regarding the European Regulation on Returns, which expands the use of detention and incorporates punitive and coercive measures to intensify deportations,” they continue.
“These regulations, along with the revision of the concept of a safe third country and the approval of a list of countries of origin considered safe, which includes states with serious human rights deficiencies, seriously weaken established rights and guarantees,” including “the right to asylum, protection against refoulement, access to effective legal defense, the right to information and specific attention for people in situations of greater vulnerability, and the protection of the right to comprehensive health,” the NGOs warn.
“In the Spanish case, despite the efforts of organized civil society and the affected populations, the spaces for public dialogue have not resulted in precise information on the specific measures that will be implemented to adapt the Pact to the national context,” they lament.
Therefore, “given this situation of some uncertainty and concern,” the Working Group urges the Government and the other political forces to “guarantee transparency, access to information on the plans, protocols, instructions, resources and legislative reforms, among other mechanisms for implementing the Pact that will now come into force,” to “apply the Pact in the most protective way possible in accordance with human rights, and in full compliance with the rights established in the Spanish legal framework and international commitments,” and to “guarantee the necessary resources for the proper functioning of the human rights monitoring mechanism that the Ombudsman will assume.”