Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus has announced the creation of an independent national monitoring mechanism for fundamental rights and additional reforms in asylum, refugee matters and migration policy, the deputy migration ministry said on Friday.
Reforms linked to European pact and draft refugee law
Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides, speaking at a bar association conference on migration on Thursday, said the new regulations were being implemented in the context of the European Pact on Asylum and Migration, which is set to enter into force in June, and in view of a new refugee law currently before the House.
Ioannides said Cyprus needs to adapt to upcoming changes in a timely manner, both institutionally and operationally.
Border controls, procedures and rights safeguards
According to Ioannides, the pact aims to introduce stricter border controls and speed up procedures, while ensuring that human rights are upheld.
He said efforts are focused on streamlining, simplifying and digitising legal migration procedures to better serve citizens and the domestic economy.
Ioannides added that efforts were already underway and that the government had introduced preventive measures against what he described as uncontrolled and illegal migration, saying it would “not tolerate the repetition of situations of lawlessness observed in the past.”
Judicial challenges in migration matters
President of the administrative court of international protection Margarita Papantoniou, speaking at the same conference, outlined judicial challenges faced by the Republic in migration matters.
She referred to issues concerning case law and emphasised the importance of effectively protecting the rights of asylum seekers.
Measures to improve deportations
Last week, the deputy migration ministry and the justice ministry announced measures to improve deportations of migrants residing illegally in Cyprus.
The two ministries said a working group would be set up to examine cases of irregular migrants who refuse to leave the country voluntarily.
What impact do you think the planned reforms will have on asylum procedures and migrant returns in Cyprus?
