EU Rights Commissioner urges safe migration pathways.

On Thursday, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, said migrants cannot be deprived of fundamental rights, with the exception of political rights and the conditions set by each state for social rights.

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“Once a person is legally in one of our countries, they are entitled to full respect for their human rights, the same full respect for their human rights that is granted to citizens,” O’Flaherty stated.

Regarding the political controversy in Spain over the application of national priority, the European official said such claims are based on “misinterpretations of reality” because migrants do not live “at the expense of the rest of society.”

He insisted that great care must be taken, because “we have human rights because we are human, not because we are citizens,” and that the defense of human rights “is fundamental to the modern democratic rule of law, of which we can be so proud in Europe.”

Asked whether access to certain rights can be restricted for migrants in an irregular situation, O’Flaherty replied that they “still have human rights,” although “they may not have the same legal status regarding rights to remain in the country.”

“But there can be no priority, there can be no classification, in terms of fundamental human rights, economic rights, civil rights, social rights, not so much political ones but for the broad set of rights that apply to you because you are a human being, not as a citizen,” he said.

The European official added that social rights may be subject to conditions set by each state, but without denying fundamental rights. “One cannot say that one person has more rights than another simply based on citizenship or the passport they hold,” O’Flaherty concluded.

He has held the post since January 2024 within the Council of Europe, which safeguards human rights on the continent and is independent of EU institutions.

Regularization in Spain Is an Encouraging Step

The Irish jurist, who was also a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, highlighted that the regularization of undocumented migrants underway in Spain is an “incredibly encouraging” step that constitutes “a good example that can help correct the discourse across Europe.”

O’Flaherty stressed that “other states should pay close attention” to a regularization process that allows immigration to be presented “as something positive and enriching for our societies.”

He complained about migration policies that dominate in Europe and noted that although “we have every right to control the door,” “we need legal, safe pathways” for migrants who want to enter Europe.

This is because migration is not going to disappear, considering that the factors driving these population movements “are strengthening.” In that regard, O’Flaherty cited wars and advancing desertification in North Africa.

Asked about Spain’s minority position within Europe on the treatment of immigration, the jurist said this regularization serves precisely to question whether the trend on the continent “is heading in the wrong direction.”

O’Flaherty declined to enter the political debate in Spain on the issue: “I am not interested in the right or the left. I am interested in compliance with binding international human rights obligations, and that is why I greatly welcome what Spain has done.”

teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE

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