What the Council of Europe declaration provides for
TheDeclaration clarifies the content of the rights enshrined in Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention, which relate to protection against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as the right to private and family life. The document endorses cooperation with third countries in the field of migration, including “return centers”, provided that such states comply with the convention on human rights.
The document emphasizes that the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment remains absolute, but specifies that “the assessment of the minimum level of cruelty at which treatment or punishment is recognized as inhuman or degrading is relative and depends on all the circumstances of a particular case”.
The declaration also notes that states may expel foreign nationals despite their right to private and family life, provided it is proportionate to a legitimate aim such as national security. And that the European Court of Human Rights would need “compelling reasons” for its position to outweigh a state’s decision.
“It is important to be able to respond to contemporary challenges with new tools,” Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Massimo Dell’Utri was quoted by Euronews as saying.
The diplomat stresses that the document recognizes the need to respond effectively and in a timely manner to the challenges of illegal migration. This will help to strengthen border protection and ensure national security, including through mechanisms of cooperation with third countries in the management of flows and in the fight against the transportation of migrants and organized crime.
Meloni: the legitimacy of the Italy-Albania model is recognized
The outcome of the meeting in Chisinau was welcomed in Rome by the office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni. “The Kishinev declaration, today adopted by 46 member states of the Council of Europe, recognizes for the countries the legitimacy of innovative solutions in the management of migration flows, such as migrant return centers in third countries, following the model launched by Italy in Albania.”
Meloni writes about this on social media, noting that “this is an important result, the fruit of a path that Italy helped to open with Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen”.
“What was controversial a year ago,” Meloni adds, “has now become a principle shared by the 46 member states of the Council of Europe and proves once again that the Italian approach to the orderly management of migratory flows, which our government is pursuing seriously and consistently, has already become the approach of Europe.
