More than half of European countries want to make it easier to deport foreign criminals
A joint declaration signed by 27 of the 46 members of the European Convention on Human Rights has called for changes
More than half of European countries want changes to human rights rules to make it easier to deport foreign criminals.
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A joint declaration signed by 27 of the 46 members of the European Convention on Human Rights has called for changes to the way the treaty is applied to foreign criminals.
The countries want to be able to deport foreign offenders even if they have established a family in the country.
They also want greater powers to stop criminals using the ECHR to prevent deportation on the grounds that it would lead to inhuman or degrading treatment.
They also want it to be easier to strike deportation deals with third countries. It comes after the ECHR granted a last-minute injunction to suspend the UK’s Rwanda deportation scheme in 2022.
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Britain has been joined in the demands by Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Albania and Ukraine but there were notable omissions including France and Germany.
The countries want to ‘adapt’ the convention to meet modern-day challenges. They want the ECHR to consider “the challenges related to the expulsion and return of foreigners convicted of serious offences, while respecting human rights” and its support for the “elaboration of a new recommendation on deterring and fighting the smuggling of migrants”.
Theodoros Rousopoulos, the president of the council’s parliamentary assembly and a Greek MP, warned against hasty decisions driven by “populism”.
He said: “Discussion must not be driven by political spectacle, by populism or by the pursuit of short-term gains. It requires calm reflection, depth and intellectual honesty.”
Michael O’Flaherty, the council’s human rights commissioner, warned against reforms that create categories of people, such as violent criminals, that are seen as less deserving of rights as others.
“Any discourse that suggests a hierarchy of rights holders on the basis of their being more or less deserving is deeply problematic,” O’Flaherty said.