The eighth training session of the Association of the Mediterranean Ombudsmen, jointly organized by the AOM and the Ombudsman Institution in the Kingdom of Morocco, was successfully held on October 18 and 19, 2017 at the Training and Exchange in mediation Center in Casablanca.
Dispensed to the collaborators of the Association’s member mediators, this session was an opportunity to discuss the theme of « the deontology of security forces and the rights of migrants during their migratory journey: the role of Ombudsmen institutions ».
26 participants representing the AOM member institutions, such as Georgia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Turkey, Egypt, Slovenia, Tunisia, Malta, Greece, France, Spain, Italy, Albania, benefited from this training session, as well as an observer from the Venice Commission (Council of Europe), an expert from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and an expert from the Antiracist Group for the Defense and Accompaniment of Foreigners and Migrants (GADEM).
Conducted by eight experts, the training was structured on six themes:
- An introduction dealing with «the legal situation of migrants from the perspective of international law»;
- «Deontology of security forces and the protection of human rights: definition of the role of Ombudsmen institutions»;
- «Involvement of the Ombudsman for the protection of the rights of migrants when entering to the territory»;
- «The Ombudsman’s means of influence to protect the rights of migrants in return procedures, including return flights»;
- «Focus on the rights of vulnerable groups in return procedures, including return flights»;
- «Cooperation between Ombudsmen, international organizations and non-governmental organizations: means, tools and best practices»;
Lastly, the participants formulated at the end of this 8th training session, seven recommendations:
- Drafting of a Code of Conduct for Ombudsmen institutions concerning migration issues;
- Implication of Ombudsmen in operations of regularization of the migrants legal status;
- Creation of an international mechanism concerned with the defense of migrants rights, and establishing domestic representations at the level of national Ombudsmen institutions;
- Drafting guides for treatment of migrants;
- Implementation of Tirana Declaration on Migration;
- Need for further coordination between, source, transit and destination countries in order to come up with a unified legal platform which meets the expectations of all parties;
- Respect for human dignity upon return flights and expulsion operations;
