Monitoring

Human Rights League has been monitoring the Slovak-Ukrainian border, international airports and police detention units for foreigners since 2007. Lawyers regularly visit respective police units to check whether persons applying for international protection have been allowed to enter the Slovak Republic territory, or whether international obligations, European Union law and domestic law are not violated in cases of persons held in police detention units. Under the European Union law, a third country citizen who had applied for asylum in the Slovak Republic should not be considered a person with an unauthorized stay in the territory of Slovakia and police units should allow him/her access to asylum procedure.

There are currently 10 Bureau of the Border and Aliens Police units of the Presidium of Police Force of the Slovak Ministry of Interior at the Slovak-Ukrainian border: units of border patrol in Topoľa, Zboj, Ulič, Ubľa, Podhoroď, Vyšné Nemecké, Petrovce, Veľké Slemence, Maťovské Vojkovce and Čierna nad Tisou. Human Rights League’s lawyers pay visits upon the respective police unit’s call that a third country national had been held or upon other cues (e.g. an announcement from a Ukrainian partner NGO that a third country national had been denied the possibility to apply for asylum in Slovakia). Human Rights League has also been monitoring the police units’ work at Bratislava and Košice international airports in cases of persons who do not satisfy the conditions for entering the territory, who apply for international protection, or who had been returned to Slovakia.

Human Rights League has been cooperating with Ukranian NGOs Charitas and NEEKA with intention of exchanging information related to the project’s implementation.

UNHCR, Office of the Border and Alien Police and Human Rights League annually issue a monitoring report which includes Human Rights League’s lawyers’ findings, Office’s of the Border and Alien Police statements to the cases, as well as conclusion on the legal conditions and possible legislative changes.

The project is financially supported by the UNHCR Regional Representation for Central Europe seated in Budapest. Similar projects are run by UNHCR in all countries of the Central Europe region.