Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
On 1 March 2023 Sami Barkal (applicant in S.B. and Others v. Croatia before the European Court of Human Rights) and Carsten Gericke (ECCHR's partner lawyer) addressed the LIBE committee at the European Parliament to talk about the rights of children on the move at borders. "Yes, there are borders. But why the torture?" Sami asked the Parliament after he described the story of his pushback from Croatia to Bosnia whilst still a minor. He is now waiting for a decision in a complaint he submitted to the European Court of Human Rights. https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/croatia-to-answer-to-european-court-of-human-rights/ Lawyer, Carsten Gericke, additionally set out how pushbacks such as the one experienced by Sami violate the European Convention of Human Rights as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as confirmed in recent jurisprudence. https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/un-committee-condemns-spains-push-back-policy/ Gericke underlined that the key issue is one of implementation: "There are clear legal boundaries and protection standards (regarding the treatment of minors) for all member States and the EU." "The core problem is the systemic denial of Member States to individually register all refugees and migrants apprehended on their territory. This is consequently linked with the lack of any proper age assessment to identify the children among them," said Gericke. The other speakers at the hearing were: Sajid Khan Nasiri, filmmaker Parwana Amiri, human rights defender and poet Esther Pozo Vera, EU commission Marc Dullaert, Kidsrights Federica Toscano, Save The Children To watch the full recording: https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreaming/committee-on-civil-liberties-justice-and-home-affairs_20230301-1430-COMMITTEE-LIBE ECCHR is a non-profit organization. One hundred percent of our budget comes from donations and grants. Help put an end to impunity for human rights violations! https://www.ecchr.eu/en/donate-online/
On 1 March 2023 Sami Barkal (applicant in S.B. and Others v. Croatia before the European Court of Human Rights) and Carsten Gericke (ECCHR's partner lawyer) addressed the LIBE committee at the European Parliament to talk about the rights of children on the move at borders. "Yes, there are borders. But why the torture?" Sami asked the Parliament after he described the story of his pushback from Croatia to Bosnia whilst still a minor. He is now waiting for a decision in a complaint he submitted to the European Court of Human Rights. https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/croatia-to-answer-to-european-court-of-human-rights/ Lawyer, Carsten Gericke, additionally set out how pushbacks such as the one experienced by Sami violate the European Convention of Human Rights as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as confirmed in recent jurisprudence. https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/un-committee-condemns-spains-push-back-policy/ Gericke underlined that the key issue is one of implementation: "There are clear legal boundaries and protection standards (regarding the treatment of minors) for all member States and the EU." "The core problem is the systemic denial of Member States to individually register all refugees and migrants apprehended on their territory. This is consequently linked with the lack of any proper age assessment to identify the children among them," said Gericke. The other speakers at the hearing were: Sajid Khan Nasiri, filmmaker Parwana Amiri, human rights defender and poet Esther Pozo Vera, EU commission Marc Dullaert, Kidsrights Federica Toscano, Save The Children To watch the full recording: https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreaming/committee-on-civil-liberties-justice-and-home-affairs_20230301-1430-COMMITTEE-LIBE ECCHR is a non-profit organization. One hundred percent of our budget comes from donations and grants. Help put an end to impunity for human rights violations! https://www.ecchr.eu/en/donate-online/
