Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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41. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the migration agreements currently being negotiated by the EU with third countries such as Afghanistan and a number of African states; if he has raised any human rights concerns regarding these agreements at the EU level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36230/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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In a Communication issued on 7 June, the European Commission set out a new results-oriented concept of cooperation with third countries, the Migration Partnership Framework. The European Council of 28-29 June mandated the Commission to build on this Communication and draft ‘Migration Compacts’ have been drawn up for the first five priority countries identified, all in Africa: Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Ethiopia. Migration Compacts are also being worked on with Lebanon and Jordan.

The objective of these Migration Compacts is to improve cooperation on readmission and return of those not entitled to reside in the EU; to prevent irregular migration and counter smuggling and trafficking in human beings; to reinforce the current international protection system for refugees in the partner countries; and, crucially, to address the root causes of irregular migration. Ireland has consistently been very clear in all discussions on the EU’s response to the migration crisis that addressing these root causes is essential and that the actions which the EU takes using instruments which are funded primarily from development budgets must be used for development and humanitarian activities.

While discussions within the EU and with the identified countries are ongoing, none of the Compacts has as yet been signed though progress has been made. Ireland is working with our EU colleagues on the new partnership framework for Ethiopia, one of our key partners in Africa, which will draw on all EU policies and instruments to achieve desired results. Much of Irish Aid’s work in Ethiopia addresses poverty and underdevelopment which are amongst the root causes of much of Ethiopia’s migration.

Insofar as Afghanistan is concerned, European Union-Afghanistan cooperation in the area of migration is addressed in the Joint Way Forward on Migration(JWF), which was signed in Kabul on 2 October this year. The JWF allows for a high level dialogue between the EU and Afghanistan on migration issues; it is not, however, a formal agreement and creates no legal rights or obligations under international law.

The JWF provides for cooperation in the fight against smuggling and people trafficking, information and awareness raising. It aims to provide for a “smooth, dignified and orderly return” of those Afghan nationals who do not fulfil the conditions for remaining in the EU after “consideration of all relevant international law and legal procedures” and who “cannot be granted international protection status”. The JWF further provides for reintegration assistance, and specific humanitarian consideration for vulnerable groups, including women and children.

The EU and the Afghan Government have agreed to implement this in full respect of their existing national, international and UN commitments when considering individual cases, including the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 New York Protocol, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. This was a key concern for Ireland and I am pleased that the Joint Way Forward makes this commitment.