Opening Remarks by Christina Meinecke, OHCHR Representative to the European Union.

3 March 2026, 15:00 – 17:00. The Square, Bruxelles

Co-hosted by OHCHR and Amnesty International in collaboration with CEPS and PICUM

Excellencies, dear colleagues,

On behalf of the Regional Office for Europe of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Institutions Office of Amnesty International, the MORE project, the Centre for European Policy Studies, and PICUM, I would like to warmly welcome you and thank you for joining this roundtable.

The ongoing negotiations on the proposed Return Regulation represent a decisive juncture for the EU’s approach to return policy.

The reform under consideration would reshape the existing framework in important ways and raises key human rights challenges which need to be carefully considered and reconciled with the intended aim of enhancing the effectiveness of return procedures.

As deliberations advance in the European Parliament, and with a view to forthcoming inter-institutional negotiations, it is crucial that this process is accompanied by thoughtful reflections to ensure that the pursuit of effectiveness remains fully aligned with the EU’s fundamental rights framework and international human rights obligations.

Today’s discussion is meant to contribute to that reflection.

Bringing together policymakers from EU member States and EU institutions with experts from the UN, the Council of Europe, civil society, think thanks and academia, we aim to examine the human rights implications of key provisions of the proposed Regulation and explore concrete, expert-driven recommendations that can inform ongoing and future discussions.

Based on OHCHR broad human rights mandate, and the guidance and resources we developed to inform human-rights based return policies, our Brussels Office has engaged on this proposal since the very beginning – offering expert advice and recommendations to EU policy makers and institutions through various means at the different stages of the legislative process.

In the context of such engagement, we drew attention to several points of concern relating to a number of elements under consideration within this proposal.
These include:

– the widening use of detention, including for children, essentially because of their migration status;

– expanded policing practices and sanctions which may lead to increased marginalization of persons in irregular situations and limit their rights;

– the possible establishment of return arrangements with third countries under limited safeguards and oversight; and

– restrictions on procedural safeguards to guarantee individualized assessments and prevent exposure to harm and human rights violations.

To be effective and sustainable, return policies and immigration enforcement must go hand in hand with human rights – including the prohibition of refoulement, the right to liberty, the right to respect for private and family life, the obligation to give primary consideration to the best interest of the child.

And migration governance cannot be reduced to immigration enforcement.

It is important that reform efforts contextually contribute to preventing and limiting situations of social and legal limbo for persons in irregular situations and expand, instead of limiting, options for regular stay when return is not feasible or sustainable, consistent with States’ broader global commitments to an effective and human-rights based migration governance.

This meeting is held under Chatham House rules.

While we plan to summarize and share key takeaways of today’s discussion to inform future negotiations, as part of our continued engagement on this important file, this will be done in full respect of the non-attribution rule.

We hope this will encourage an open, constructive and solution-oriented exchange.

Thank you.