European ministers to discuss sending rejected asylum seekers to third-country hubs

European ministers will this week discuss plans to send thousands of rejected asylum seekers to third-country hubs, the head of the continent’s human rights body has told the Guardian. Alain Berset, the secretary general of the Council of Europe , said discussions about the removal of people who arrived in Europe by irregular routes would take place “at a multilateral level” at a meeting in Moldova on Friday. Ministers are also expected to announce a political declaration that will recognise countries’ rights to control their borders after claims that human rights laws have impeded the removal of foreign criminals and unwanted asylum seekers. There have been demands from several interior ministers, including the UK’s home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, for changes to the interpretation of the European convention on human rights (ECHR). The planned moves will alarm human rights organisations in the UK. Asylum seekers successfully challenged Conservative government plans to remove them to the third-country hub of Rwanda using the ECHR. Protesters demonstrating outside the supreme court in 2022 against the Home Office's plan to relocate people to Rwanda. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/ Refugee organisations have said that undermining the convention risks weakening protection for society’s most vulnerable groups, including those fleeing war and persecution. …