Latest news with #MichaelO'Flaherty
Irish Examiner
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Leading Irish human rights activist calls on politicians to 'push back' against hatred of LGBT+ people
Politicians must not 'turn a blind eye' to anti-LGBT+ hate because doing so comes at the 'expense of real people's lives', a leading human rights activist has said. Speaking 10 years on from Ireland's landmark marriage equality referendum, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights Michael O'Flaherty said the rule of law was in a 'very poor state or in decline in far too many places here in Europe and beyond' and it was 'time to push back'. In his speech in Malta at a key European forum, the Irish man stressed laws and rhetoric were stripping basic human rights from LGBT+ people by banning protest, recognition, and even discussion of their existence. 'I think also of the perverse backlash against gender identity, in a manner that is both in violation of international law, and in defiance of human realities,' Mr O'Flaherty said. As you well know, these are just some of the manifestations of the current LGBTI-related assaults on the rule of law. He linked repressive measures in countries with bids to attain or retain political power, and said countries were using 'populist tools that draw on disinformation and misinformation' that 'scapegoat marginalised groups'. 'We hear lies about not only our contemporary world, but also about our histories and our cultures,' he said. "And all of this is sometimes exacerbated when otherwise law-abiding leaders stay silent, or compromise in the interests of deal-making or coalition-building." Mr O'Flaherty said that these attacks were not isolated but signal deeper democratic backsliding and political opportunism. He called on political leaders to repeal discriminatory laws, call out hate and prioritise LGBT+ rights in foreign policy matters. 'States also need to be very consequent in ensuring that reforms to migration law and practice do not expose LGBTI people to danger, including the risk of refoulement,' he added. Mr O'Flaherty's speech came as Ireland marks 10 years since a referendum backed marriage equality for same-sex couples. Writing in the Sunday Times at the weekend, former taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he believed there would be a 'much harsher debate' if the referendum was to have run in 2025. On Monday, the Labour Party changed the venue for its event to mark the 10th anniversary over what it referred to as the 'serious threat of protest from the far right'. Its TD for Limerick City said he would not feel comfortable holding the hand of a loved one in public, due to an increased level of toxicity towards LGBT+ people in Ireland. Conor Sheehan described the amount of homophobic abuse he receives as being 'absolutely unbelievable'. 'I suppose, as an openly LGBT member of the Oireachtas, I think it's important to reflect that things for LGBT people in the last couple of years have become more uncertain and more unsafe. That's something that we need to reflect upon as a society as we move forward,' Mr Sheehan said. I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable walking around Dublin City, or any city, in Ireland holding, for example, the hand of a loved one or of a partner or whatever. 'I don't think we were at this juncture 10 years ago.' He said there had been a 'conscious effort' across Europe and the US by some actors to unpick 'hard-won rights' for LGBT+ people. 'That's something I believe we need to stand firm about because we live in an open, tolerant, compassionate society. 'The vast, vast majority of Irish people are open, tolerant and compassionate and I don't want to live in a society where any sort of hate, regardless of who it's directed towards, becomes sort of tolerated.'
Euronews
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Europe's human rights watchdog urges Greece to end 'pushbacks' of migrants
ADVERTISEMENT Greece has been urged to implement stronger legal safeguards at its borders and adopt a "zero-tolerance approach to summary returns" as reports of illegal deportations of migrants continue in the face of mounting international criticism, the Council of Europe (CoE) has said. Michael O'Flaherty, the CoE's commissioner for human rights, issued the recommendations following a visit to Greece in February. "The commissioner is concerned about the allegations received during his visit regarding persistent practices of summary returns — also referred to as 'pushbacks' or 'informal forced returns' — at both land and maritime borders," a memorandum said. "Returning people without carrying out an individual identification procedure prevents member states from establishing whether they may be sending them back to human rights abuses." Migrants accompanied by a Frontex vessel at the village of Skala Sikaminias on the Greek island of Lesbos, 28 February, 2020 AP Photo But the statement added that O'Flaherty had noted that the number of allegations had dropped in recent months. Athens has consistently denied the pushback allegations, maintaining that its border control measures comply with international law. In a written response to the commissioner, Greek Police said its officers are involved only in the "lawful prevention of illegal border crossings while migrants are still in Turkish territory and have not yet reached Greece." Related Local residents mobilise to help survivors of deadly migrant shipwreck off Greek coast Greek coast guard defends actions as up to 500 migrants feared dead in shipwreck 'After the explosion': Migrant arrivals plummet in Greece The pushback allegations gained legal significance after the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Greece in January, finding that Athens had violated European human rights conventions by systematically expelling migrants without due process. Meanwhile, the Greek government is tightening its migration policies. Migration Minister Makis Voridis has announced plans to extend the maximum detention period for rejected asylum seekers from 18 to 24 months. "The illegal migrant whose asylum application is rejected and who nevertheless does not leave for his country will face a much more unfavourable institutional environment than exists today — essentially to encourage voluntary departure," Voridis told the Action 24 TV news channel. Members of Frontex rescue 56 people who were lost in open seas as they tried to approach the Greek island of Lesbos, 8 December, 2015 AP Photo On Tuesday, the coast guard reported rescuing 158 migrants from three dinghies south of the island of Crete, with assistance from nearby commercial vessels and Frontex, the EU's border protection agency. Last month, Frontex also said it was investigating multiple alleged human rights violations by Greece in the way it deals with illegal immigration. Frontex said it is looking into 12 alleged serious incidents that mostly occurred in 2024 but gave no further details. A spokesperson for the agency, Chris Borowski, said it had recently boosted its complaint mechanism. ADVERTISEMENT "There are currently 12 active serious incident reports related to Greece under review by the Fundamental Rights Office. Each is being examined thoroughly," he said.
06-05-2025
- Politics
Europe's human rights watchdog urges Greece to end summary deportation of migrants
ATHENS, Greece -- ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece was urged Tuesday to implement stronger legal safeguards at its borders and adopt a 'zero-tolerance approach to summary returns" as reports of illegal deportations of migrants continue despite mounting international criticism. Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, issued the recommendations following a visit to Greece in February. 'The commissioner is concerned about the allegations received during his visit regarding persistent practices of summary returns — also referred to as 'pushbacks' or 'informal forced returns' — at both land and maritime borders,' the Council of Europe memorandum said. 'Returning people without carrying out an individual identification procedure prevents member states from establishing whether they may be sending them back to human rights abuses,' it added. It said O'Flaherty noted that the number of allegations had dropped in recent months. Athens has consistently denied the pushback allegations, maintaining that its border control measures comply with international law. In a written response to the commissioner, the Greek Police said its officers are involved only in the 'lawful prevention of illegal border crossings while migrants are still in Turkish territory and have not yet reached Greece.' The pushback allegations gained legal significance after the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Greece in January, finding that Athens had violated European human rights conventions by systematically expelling migrants without due process. The Greek government is tightening its migration policies. Migration Minister Makis Voridis has announced plans to extend the maximum detention period for rejected asylum seekers from 18 month to 24 months. 'The illegal migrant whose asylum application is rejected and who nevertheless does not leave for his country will face a much more unfavorable institutional environment than exists today — essentially to encourage voluntary departure,' Voridis told the Action 24 TV news channel. On Tuesday, the coast guard reported rescuing 158 migrants from three dinghies south of the island of Crete, with assistance from nearby commercial vessels and Frontex, the European Union's border protection agency. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Strasbourg, France, the Council of Europe is an international organization dedicated to promoting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. It has 46 member states.
Arab News
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
EU's top rights lawyer sounds alarm over Europe's asylum-seeker pushbacks
LONDON: Asylum-seekers are being forcibly expelled at the borders of some EU countries, Europe's most senior human rights official has warned. The Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, Michael O'Flaherty, sounded the alarm over the treatment of asylum-seekers in comments to The Guardian. The 'securitization response' encouraged by populists in Europe is 'going too far,' he said. Poland, Greece and Latvia are among the countries that have pushed back asylum-seekers. O'Flaherty testified last month before the grand chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. The court cases were brought by asylum-seekers against Poland and Latvia. The case against the former involved 31 Afghans alleging that Polish border guards pushed them back to Belarus in 2021, giving them no chance to claim asylum. The second case saw 26 Iraqi Kurds allege that they were expelled to Belarus from Latvia the same year. 'The willingness to shut down any possibility of asylum is a violation of law; the willingness to return people across a border at risk of persecution is a violation of international law,' O'Flaherty said. 'And it's not necessary, because the numbers that are being intercepted at the fences are modest.' Frontex, the EU's border agency, reported about 17,000 irregular crossings over the bloc's eastern land border last year. Lawmakers in Poland are proposing plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said migration is a question of 'the survival of our Western civilization.' Asked about the alleged pushbacks from Poland, O'Flaherty said he was 'not in a position to describe a universal practice,' but was 'confident that there have been sufficient incidents to be a cause of great concern.' There is also 'compelling evidence' of expulsions on the Greek border with Turkiye, O'Flaherty added. He visited Greece in February to discuss the Adriana shipwreck with officials. The June 2023 disaster led to more than 700 migrants drowning in the Mediterranean Sea, with NGOs accusing Greek authorities of negligence. O'Flaherty also addressed growing calls within Europe to 'off-shore' asylum processing, including an Italian agreement with Albania and Britain's axed Rwanda plan. He said any external centers have to guarantee certain human rights: the right to claim asylum and appeal a decision; 'appropriate reception conditions'; no detention of children; and ensuring asylum-seekers would not be returned to a country where they risk persecution. The current period is the 'most challenging time for the protection of human rights' he has seen in his career, O'Flaherty told The Guardian. The Irish national began working with the UN in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993. Since 2024, centrist politicians have been willing to suspend or ignore human rights obligations, particularly concerning asylum rights, he said. 'Centrist politicians are saying things that would have been unacceptable a very short time ago, and that worries me, because if I can mangle a quotation from the Irish poet William Butler Yeats, 'when the centre cannot hold, things fall apart,'' O'Flaherty added.
The Guardian
03-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Asylum seekers being forcibly expelled at EU borders, says top rights lawyer
Europe's most senior human rights official has said there is evidence of asylum seekers being forcibly expelled at EU borders, as he urged mainstream politicians not to concede to populists on migration. The Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, Michael O'Flaherty, told the Guardian he was concerned about the treatment of asylum seekers at the EU's external borders in Poland and Greece, as he warned against a 'securitisation response' that goes too far. O'Flaherty, who began his six-year term in 2024, testified last month before the European court of human rights' grand chamber in cases brought by asylum seekers against Poland and Latvia. A group of 32 Afghan nationals, who say they fled their country after the Taliban returned to power, say they were forced back to Belarus by Polish border guards in 2021, giving them no chance to claim asylum. In the second case, 26 Iraqi nationals of Kurdish origin say they were pushed back to Belarus by Latvian authorities in the same year. Both groups say they were stranded in a forested no man's land between the Belarusian and EU frontiers for several weeks. Poland and Latvia – as well as Lithuania, Estonia and Finland – have been grappling with a surge in irregular border crossings since 2020, orchestrated by the Belarusian autocrat, Alexander Lukashenko, who is seeking to destabilise EU countries. O'Flaherty described the actions of Belarus as deplorable and unacceptable, but 'the securitisation response by the neighbouring countries goes too far'. 'The willingness to shut down any possibility of asylum is a violation of law, the willingness to return people across a border at risk of persecution is a violation of international law. And it's not necessary, because the numbers that are being intercepted at the fences are modest.' About 17,000 people made an irregular crossing over the EU's eastern land border (which includes Ukraine) in 2024, the border agency Frontex reported. Ignoring warnings from human rights defenders, Finland closed all nine crossing points at its border with Russia in 2023 in response to intelligence that showed Russian agents were helping asylum seekers over the EU frontier. Polish lawmakers are discussing plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum, while the country's prime minister, Donald Tusk, has described migration as a question of 'the survival of our western civilisation'. O'Flaherty told the ECHR's great chamber that the frame of 'hybrid warfare' and 'weaponisation of migrants' – language frequently invoked by EU leaders – gave the impression that people crossing the border 'should somehow be equated to the outrageous actions of Belarus'. Asked by the Guardian about alleged pushbacks at the Polish border, the lawyer said he was 'not in a position to describe a universal practice', but was 'confident that there have been sufficient incidents to be a cause of great concern'. O'Flaherty has also concluded there is 'compelling evidence' of 'summary returns' across Greece's land border with Turkey and from the islands. On a visit to Greece earlier this month, he met officials to discuss the Adriana shipwreck of June 2023, when more than 700 people drowned after a crowded boat carrying people from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Egypt sank in the Peloponnese. Human rights NGOs that investigated the disaster accused Greek authorities of failing to mobilise 'appropriate resources for a rescue' and ignoring offers of assistance from the EU border agency Frontex. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion From his meetings, O'Flaherty said he understood that Greece's ombudsman was 'calling for a criminal investigation of specific individuals working for the state', adding it was very important that 'Greece carefully consider his report and take the necessary prosecutorial action'. His intervention comes amid an increasingly hardline response to migration, with growing interest in processing asylum claims outside Europe, such as Italy's agreement with Albania and the previous British government's Rwanda deal, now cancelled. Last October EU leaders discussed creating offshore 'return hubs' for people denied asylum in the EU. O'Flaherty, who was director of the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency, said any external centres had to guarantee red lines on human rights: including the right to claim asylum and appeal against a decision; 'appropriate reception conditions'; no detention of children; ensuring people would not be returned to a country where they risked persecution. The Irish human rights lawyer, who began his career at the UN in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993, said it was 'the most challenging time for the protection of human rights' he had seen in his working life. While there had always been 'deeply disturbing levels of human rights violation and abuse', he said, the last decade had seen a repudiation of human rights by some leaders and regimes. And since 2024 centrist politicians, he said, were also willing to suspend or ignore human rights obligations, particularly concerning asylum rights. 'Centrist politicians are saying things that would have been unacceptable a very short time ago, and that worries me, because if I can mangle a quotation from the Irish poet William Butler Yeats, 'when the centre cannot hold, things fall apart'.' Moderate political leaders across Europe needed 'to stand up for human rights and not concede 'own goals' to 'the populists' or 'instrumentalising neighbouring states' he said, referring to migration.
