15 December 2023
FROM: Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences and the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children
TO: Delegation of the European Union (Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Ms. Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament; Mr. Charles Michel, President of the European Council)
Excellency,
We have the honour to address you in our capacities as Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants; Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences and Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 52/20, 51/8, 51/15 and 53/9.
We are independent human rights experts appointed and mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council to report and advise on human rights issues from a thematic or country-specific perspective. We are part of the special procedures system of the United Nations, which has 60 thematic and country mandates on a broad range of human rights issues. We are sending this letter under the communications procedure of the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council to seek clarification on information we have received. Special Procedures mechanisms can intervene directly with Governments and other stakeholders (including companies) on allegations of abuses of human rights that come within their mandates by means of letters, which include urgent appeals, allegation letters, and other communications. The intervention may relate to a human rights violation that has already occurred, is ongoing, or which has a high risk of occurring. The process involves sending a letter to the concerned actors identifying the facts of the allegation, applicable international human rights norms and standards, the concerns and questions of the mandate-holder(s), and a request for follow-up action. Communications may deal with individual cases, general patterns and trends of human rights violations, cases affecting a particular group or community, or the content of draft or existing legislation, policy or practice considered not to be fully compatible with international human rights law and standards.
In this connection, we would like to bring to the attention of Member States of the European Union information we have received concerning the proposed New Pact on Migration and Asylum of the EU (hereinafter the Pact), and other relevant legislative proposals contained in the new Migration and Asylum Package which may have negative impact on the human rights of migrants and asylum seekers, including children and those in vulnerable situations
