APPG MigrationOn 19 May, the APPG on Migration convened a timely discussion examining the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the recently adopted Chişinău Declaration.
As governments across Europe grapple with rising migration pressures, debates have intensified over the interpretation and application of the ECHR in the fields of immigration and asylum. Against this backdrop, the event explored the legal and political significance of the Chişinău Declaration and its implications for asylum policy, border control, and the future of human rights protections in the UK and across Europe.
The non-binding Chişinău Declaration was adopted on 15 May by the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, including the UK. The declaration seeks to clarify how the European Convention on Human Rights should be interpreted in areas relating to immigration and asylum.
The declaration seeks to clarify how the European Convention on Human Rights should be interpreted in areas relating to immigration and asylum. It reaffirms that states retain the sovereign right to control immigration and remove foreign nationals, provided these actions comply with their obligations under the Convention.
The declaration also confirms that protections against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 3 remain absolute. At the same time, it notes that differences in healthcare provision or living conditions between countries will only amount to a breach of Article 3 in exceptional circumstances.
The discussion considered what the declaration could mean in practice, particularly in relation to Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention. Speakers also addressed common misconceptions and misinformation surrounding the ECHR, as well as the broader implications for the rule of law, international cooperation, and the future of the UK’s asylum system.
- Raza Husain KC: a leading human rights and immigration barrister at Matrix Chambers who regularly appears before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and who has been instructed by UNHCR and Amnesty International, amongst others.
- Dr Alice Donald: Professor in Human Rights Law at Middlesex University, who has authored a report with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights on the European Convention on Human Rights and Immigration Control in the UK: Informing the Public Debate.
- Clare Ovey: Director of Human Rights at the Council of Europe, who previously served as Head of the Department for the Execution of Judgments at the European Court of Human Rights and is the co-author of a leading English-language textbook on the Convention system.
- Colin Yeo: Barrister at Garden Court Chambers, whose practice covers the full spectrum of immigration, asylum and nationality law, and who is also the editor of the widely read immigration law website Free Movement.
