The World Council of Churches welcomes the landmark ruling of the European Court of Human Rights on 23 February 2012, in which the EU Court ruled that Italy violated the rights of Eritrean and Somali migrants by sending them back to Libya.

The WCC believes that this court ruling is a turning point regarding national responsibilities towards migrants, in that this decision by the court is in line with the principle of non-refoulement in international law which prohibits states from returning asylum seekers and uprooted people to a country or territory where they might be subjected to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment, or where their lives and freedom might be at risk. 

The vulnerability of asylum seekers and migrant workers has always been a concern of the WCC. Increasing internal political unrest coupled with the current financial crisis has triggered migration, by legal and illegal means, at an alarming rate.

The World Council of Churches believes that although 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, this should not be a pretext for developed nations to undermine the protection of the rights of refugees.

Irrespective of their status as refugees or illegal migrants, they are human beings first and foremost. They should therefore be treated humanely and be allowed to benefit from all internationally recognized human rights standards.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
WCC general secretary