Policy and Legislation

This report seeks to identify how the Dutch government deals with rejected asylum seekers. The report shall further examine what measures have been taken to bring about returning rejected asylum seekers successfully. It also addresses the group of asylum seekers whose application for asylum in the Netherlands has been rejected, but who do not return to their...

This research report provides an overview of the current state of affairs in the field of assisted return of asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies and other foreign nationals in the Netherlands. The research was performed within the context of the 2009 EMN working programme. A similar research was conducted in all EU Member States. The...

The return of illegally-staying third-country nationals is one of the main pillars of the EU’s policy on migration and asylum. However, recent Eurostat data show that return rates at EU level have not improved despite the important increase in the number of rejected asylum applications and in the number of return decisions issued since 2014. In its 2015 EU...

This brief examines the policies, practices, and contextual factors that make compulsory returns such a difficult issue for international cooperation. It lays out the many perspectives migration policymakers must attempt to reconcile when considering returns—from the rule of law to humanitarian, development, and security and stability concerns. It also looks...

This report was commissioned by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and considers international experiences with assisted return of rejected asylum seekers from selected northern European countries. It documents lessons learned and best practices from comparable contexts and provides necessary background information for policy discussions. The...

European asylum systems are producing increasing numbers of rejected asylum seekers who have proved difficult to return to their countries of origin. Deportation systems are expensive, politically complex and have been criticised on humanitarian grounds, prompting a heightened focus on voluntary return measures as a more humane and cost effective alternative...

This report presents a progress review and update on durable solutions programming in displacement-affected communities in three urban centres in Somalia: Mogadishu, Baidoa and Kismayo. It is a follow up from the solutions analyses conducted in the same locations in 2016/2017. These analyses will be repeated every year for the next four years to guide...

There exists a basic, and too often overlooked, condition in current migration management policies, which intimately connects any person who returns home from abroad, regardless of the place of origin, social background, motivations, prospects, skills and occupational status. Beyond the plurality of return migrants’ experiences there is a primary element...

The purpose of the present document is to consider the nexus between migration and development from the perspective of research in the social and human sciences and to contribute and enhance the knowledge base available for policy design and implementation at the European Union (EU) level.

Currently, there are millions of children globally who are currently separated from their families or communities of origin. A safe, secure family environment is widely recognized as the optimal environment for the growth of children and family reintegration is what the majority of these children and families want. Despite the importance of family...

With a global increase in the number of migrants and refugees, the issue of return migration has recently received greater attention. To date, return and reintegration policies have been shaped by increasing political emphasis on migration control, and tools such as readmission agreements. These policies rarely target sustainable reintegration. This primer...

Human trafficking for sexual exploitation is a serious problem affecting especially women and children. Turkey has been particularly affected by sex trafficking because of the large numbers of female migrants that it receives. This article aims to critically assess the effectiveness of Turkey's current policies against sex trafficking using a feminist...

This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. We recognise that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. The universal agenda has 17...

Based on the most recent developments in Europe, Anna Knoll with Andrew Sherriff at the European Center for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) have written an EBA-report high-lighting a number of key issues concerning the development and migration nexus. Focus is on how the irregular migration and refugee situation has impacted on the volumes and...

A study on "best practices in the field of the return of minors" was carried out by ECRE, in strategic partnership with Save the Children, on behalf of the European Commission. The study looked at legislation and practice regarding the return of children, either unaccompanied or within families, who return voluntarily or are forced to return because of their...

We are in the midst of a profound ‘returns-first’ shift in the global politics of child displacement. In response to soaring numbers of displaced worldwide –68.5 million, of which more than half are children – governments around the world are increasingly pursuing strategies that promote returns over other alternatives such as resettlement and local...

This report looks at how countries of origin and destination can improve the way they tackle irregular migration with a more effective return and reintegration strategy, drawing on in-depth qualitative research carried out with returned migrants and stakeholders in Morocco. The report presents new data on what drives return and describes the actions required...

Irregular migration presents a significant public and policy concern across the EU and in particularly in the UK, where the estimated number of irregular migrants is one of the highest in the EU. Returning irregular migrants: Is deportation the UK's only option? examines the current situation in the UK, where there is no systematic policy of amnesty or...

Informed by new qualitative research, this report offers a set of recommendations to improve the process of returning irregular migrants from the EU to Nigeria, and the reintegration support available to them, to ensure that policy in this area is effective, efficient, humane and sustainable.

International borders are not zones of exclusion or exception for human rights obligations. States are entitled to exercise jurisdiction at their international borders, but they must do so in light of their human rights obligations. This means that the human rights of all persons at international borders must be respected in the pursuit of border control...