EU returns directive
Joint submission to the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union Inquiry into the Draft Directive on common procedures for the return of illegally staying third country nationals [December 2005]
This document was jointly submitted by the Refugee Council and Amnesty International UK. Whilst the draft directive covers all third country nationals who are illegally staying in an EU member state, the document restricts its comments to the implications of the directive for asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected by a member state, as well as individuals who have had refugee or complementary protection status in the past, but whose status has subsequently been withdrawn.
Our main interest in this draft directive relates to the extent to which it will ensure the safety of individuals who are returned by an EU member state. The document makes particular reference to the implications of the draft directive for returns from the UK, and the extent to which safeguards in the directive are sufficient to prevent unsafe returns in the future.
Published in December 2005
