According to the Estonian Human Rights Centre, the proposed Act on Granting International Protection to Foreigners makes the understanding and protection of asylum seekers’ rights unnecessarily complex and jeopardises their fundamental rights.
In our opinion submitted to the Ministry of the Interior, we highlight, among other issues, that the draft law – which refers to as many as six complexly worded EU regulations – is difficult for ordinary people to understand. The accessibility of free legal aid is also unclear and contradicts the existing State Legal Aid Act.
We are further concerned about plans to extend detention without a court order to up to seven days, restrict applicants’ freedom of movement to a single county, and consider administrative acts as delivered solely by email without confirmation of receipt. Such changes risk causing serious violations of fundamental rights and are inconsistent with the principles of a democratic state governed by the rule of law.
We also stress the importance of including alternative measures to detention for vulnerable applicants in the law and of abandoning the vaguely formulated requirement for a financial guarantee, which could make the system arbitrary.
We call on lawmakers to ensure that Estonia’s asylum system respects human rights, is clear and comprehensible, and enables those seeking protection
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