For example, the European Committee recommended that the Italian authorities notify the
interested parties and their lawyers and also recommended that a “last call procedure” be
provided, allowing for checks on the legal position of illegally staying third-country nationals
to be carried out throughout the course of the operation. 33
It is clear that the lack of notice and the modalities with which the beginning of the procedure
is communicated, shortly before departure, true of almost all European authorities responsible
for carrying out returns, are harmful to human dignity and fundamental rights.
In addition to the provisions set out by the FRONTEX Code of Conduct (Article 6 – Cooperation
with returnees and obligation to inform; and more generally Article 4 - Respect of Fundamental
Rights), it is necessary to formulate and implement effective guarantees of fundamental rights
in the context of an institution which is constitutionally fragile in terms of judicial control.
If one of the objectives is, in fact, to prevent returnees from reacting violently to the news of
their impending transfer, with actions of self-harm or actions that harm third parties (which
may justify the use of force and coercive measures), it is worth mentioning that:
- it falls within the scope of the returnees’ fundamental rights to be able to communicate
in time, to family and friends, as well as to their lawyer, information regarding their
transfer to their country of origin (often the use of the mobile phone belonging to the
person interested is not allowed during removal operations, except in the short period
of time preceding the actual boarding);
- the effects of the violation of this right on individual returnees can lead to feelings of
hostility or actual hatred towards the authorities who ordered the removal with the risk
of possible “radicalization” upon returning to the country of origin.
Furthermore, as noted during field work by many operators involved in assisting the recipients
of these removal orders, it emerges that the consequences, also in terms of a better and more
efficient management of the operations, also have effects on the public and social sphere. There
are numerous cases of repatriated people who are not able to withdraw cash from their
account, transfer their deposits and close their bank account, cancel any rent or work contract,
cancel their registration at the registration office, personally request the documentation and
credentials to access tax status, before leaving the host country, with obvious social and
administrative dysfunctions.
From our brief examination, it emerged that a notice of at least 72 hours must be guaranteed,
as regards the communication of transfer given by the authorities to returnees; similarly,
mechanisms and/or solutions compatible with national legislation should be put in
place, to allow foreign citizens to be able to leave the host country in a manner that is
respectful of their dignity and rights, with evident functional implications also in terms
of public management.
With regard to the operational management of monitoring, it has emerged that:
- it would be useful to guarantee the presence of at least 2 monitors for each return
operation and possibly use cultural interpreters and/or linguistic mediators supporting
the team responsible for monitoring;
- it is desirable that the communication to the monitoring bodies by the police authority
on the departure of forced return flights, or in general of transfer operations to third
countries, is made with a reasonable notice period and via email;
33
2017 Report to Parliament of the Italian National Guarantor, p. 120.
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