President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed the implementation of “return hubs” in third countries to combat irregular migration in a letter to Commission members on Thursday.
In the letter, she emphasizes the Italy-Albania protocol as an example of how the hubs may work in practice. The protocol is a migration agreement between Italy and Albania according to which unaccompanied male asylums seekers rescued at sea are brought to facilities within Albania, where their asylum claims are processed.
Within the letter, von der Leyen states
We should also continue to explore possible ways forward as regards the idea of developing return hubs outside the EU, especially in view ofa new legislative proposal on return. With the start of operations of the Italy-Albania protocol, we will also be able to draw lessons from this experience in practice.
While Italian President Meloni has stated that the law “does not concern children, pregnant women and other vulnerable individuals,” the law has been subject to concerns with respect to Italy’s international law obligation under international maritime, human rights and migration treaties. Per the International Maritime Organization (IMO) guidelines on the treatment of rescued person, para 6.8-6.9, rescuers of a distressed ship are obliged to limit the time spent between the saving of shipwrecked parties and embarking as little as reasonably possible. Amnesty International criticized the pact in a report from January 2024, highlighting that the most frequent travel corridors requiring rescue are over 500 nautical miles away from the Albanian coastal detention sites, whereas Sicily, Lampedusa and Malta are often significantly closer.
Under the protocol, detention processes may be arbitrarily extended for a time well beyond 28 days, endangering the liberty rights of detained migrants. According to the UNHCR detention guidelines, however, the process of detention must take place sparingly, in accordance with specific legal processes and limitation periods. In particular, Amnesty International has raised concerns over procedural issues, including violations of the right to legal counsel and the unclear ability of international and European Union human rights organizations to assess compliance with legal obligations.
Concerns over irregular migration have been exacerbated in recent years by a significant increase in irregular migration at European borders, with 2023 witnessing the highest number of irregular border crossings, at 1.8 million, since the European migration crisis of 2015. In light of this, multiple European countries, including Poland and Germany, have added border controls, tightened asylum requirements and sought to streamline deportation processes.
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