"The outrageous directive contravenes basic human rights. Let’s call for its withdrawal!"

The returns Directive - outrageous Directive - voted by the European Parliament on 18 June, was adopted on Tuesday 9 December, without discussion, in the «Transport, telecommunications and energy» Council of Ministers of the European Union (EU). Contrary to what has been reported on the matter by the Council, this text affects the right of asylum, it does not respect the rights of people in an irregular situation and it does not offer special provisions for vulnerable people. The mobilisation against this Directive that denies the humanist fundamental principles of Europe must continue.

Now that thousands of citizens, ONGs, trade unions and churches have mobilised to call upon European authorities to reject a text that trivialises and generalises a policy of detention and expulsion of migrants in Europe, and while numerous states from Latin America and Africa have forcefully expressed their refusal to tolerate such practices towards their nationals, it is on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the French Presidency of the EU has decided that this Directive be formally adopted.

We call upon the three competent authorities, the incumbent president of the EU - president Sarkozy -, the president of the European Commission and the president of the European Parliament, to seize the Court of Justice of the European Communities (CJEC), as they have the power to do so, in order for it to examine whether this Directive complies with international engagements to which Europe and the states that compose it have committed, particularly in the field of the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

We call upon all our partners in civil society, in Europe as well as Africa or America, to urgently appeal to their government and their elected authorities to support and encourage this action before the CJEC so as to achieve the withdrawal of this Directive.

Signataires : CIRE (Belgique/Belgium), ANAFE (France), Statewatch (Royaume Uni/United Kingdom), IPAM (France), Association marocaine des droits de l’homme (Maroc/Morocco), ARCI (Italie/Italy), Association des travailleurs maghrébins de France (France), Asociación Pro-Derechos Humanos de Andalucía (Espagne/Spain), Ligue des droits de l’homme (Belgique/Belgique), Ligue des droits de l’homme (France), GISTI (France), Cimade (France), Migreurop, Pateras de la Vida (Maroc), FASTI, The Barbed Wire Britain Network to End Refugee and Migrant Detention (Royaume Uni/United Kingdom)


Press contact

Julie Chansel 00 33 6 82 2 4 03 47 julie.chansel@cimade.org

Migreurop : +33 1 53 27 87 81 / contact@migreurop.org