Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe: Supervision of the execution Hirsi Jamaa case must continue
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe reviewed this week the steps taken by Italy to execute the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy.
In this judgment, the ECtHR had ruled that, by intercepting migrants at sea and pushing them back to Libya, Italy violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and in particular the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment.
The Committee has not decided to end supervision either of individual or general measures taken to execute the judgement, and has ascertained that the financial compensation owed to the victims has not yet been paid.
In the resolution adopted (which will be available on the website of the Service for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights), the Committee notes the argument put forward by the Italian authorities that efforts were made to obtain assurances from Libya against possible ill-treatment or repatriation of the applicants to Eritrea or Somalia. However, there has been no response from Libya. The Italian government asserted that Italian laws and regulations as regards access to asylum procedures are consistently applied, including in coast guard operations on the high seas and that supervision should come to an end. For its part, the Committee has requested that Italy submit a comprehensive and consolidated action report that allows for a conclusive assessment of the case. It also expressed its expectation that the payment of the compensation due will take place soon.
The case of Hirsi Jamaa v. Italy regards the push-back, in 2009, of 24 migrants from Eritrea and Somalia, who were intercepted by the Italian coast guard in high sea and turned back to Libya without being given the opportunity to apply for asylum. The push-back was a consequence of a 2009 bilateral agreement between Libya and Italy to prevent irregular immigration.
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“States cannot shirk their human rights responsibilities by hiding behind the fact that they are operating beyond their physical borders”, 3 February 2012
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