Blog: Migrants in limbo in Europe have the right to live in dignity

A blog from Nils Muižnieks Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights concerning the necessity for European countries to treat refugees and asylum seekers with dignity and fairness.

In particular, he focuses on the conditions of 'irregular migrants', primarily rejected asylum seekers, who live in a state of protracted legal and social limbo without any long-term prospects. The authorities refuse to regularise them or to grant them any kind of legal status, but often, they cannot go back to their countries of origin for various reasons, most often, fear of persecution. These desperate persons tend to live in substandard conditions, completely excluded from society, lacking residence permits and the means to meet basic needs such as shelter, food, health or education. In essence, they are deprived of any opportunity to live in dignity.

ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/

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