Publication by FRA of the Guidance on Investigating Alleged Ill-Treatment at Borders
On July 30, 2024, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published the Guidance on Investigating Alleged Ill-Treatment at Borders. The Guidance makes explicit reference to the operation of the Recording Mechanism of Incidents of Informal Forced Returns that has been established by GNCHR as a promising practice for collecting first-hand testimonies from the alleged victims in order to produce adequate evidence for the reports.
Among many findings, the Agency notes that while human rights actors report serious, recurrent, and widespread violations of the rights of migrants and refugees, allegedly occurring during border management, and many of the reports appear credible, many incidents remain uninvestigated. When criminal investigations do commence, they often close at the pretrial stage.
The low number of investigations, despite the high number of credible allegations, casts a negative light on border management authorities’ operation, thus undermining the high professional standards they apply in their work. Genuine efforts to promptly and effectively investigate each allegation would not only provide justice to the victims but also protect border management staff from false allegations.
The Guidance contains 10 points/recommendations to Judicial Authorities and disciplinary bodies of member states responsible for conducting investigations into these allegations.