February 28, 2012: The World Council of Churches (WCC) applauded the landmark ruling
of the European Court of Human Rights, which held Italy responsible for violating
the rights of Eritrean and Somali migrants for sending them back to Libya.
The
ruling came out in the case of Hirsi Jamaa and Others vs Italy on 23 February. The
court found Italy responsible for intercepting and returning a boatload of African
migrants without determining whether such a decision would put their lives at risk.
The court ordered Italy to pay financial compensation to each migrant in damages.
The Somali and Eritrean applicants were among two hundred individuals, who
left Libya aboard three vessels in 2009 to reach the Italian coast. After being intercepted
by the Italian Coastguard, the passengers were transferred to Italian military ships
and taken to Tripoli, without being informed of the destination.
The WCC general
secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit called the court ruling a turning point invoking
national responsibilities towards migrants. “There is an increase in the number of
people who try to reach the territories of developed countries and claim asylum due
to hardships they face in their home countries,” said Tveit in his message.
However,
he stressed that this should not be a “pretext for developed nations to undermine
the protection of the rights of refugees.” Tveit commended the court decision
to be in line with the principle of non-refoulement in international law, which prohibits
states from returning asylum seekers to a country or territory, where their lives
might be at risk.
“This landmark judgement is a sign of hope for hundreds
of thousands of asylum seekers and migrant people around the world, who are facing
great peril while attempting to reach safe or better havens”, said Dr Mathews George
Chunakara, director of the WCC Commission of Churches on International Affairs.
“The
human rights of migrants and asylum seekers should always be at the forefront of considerations
when dealing with migration policies,” he added.