Drawing on exchanges between the HHC, various stakeholders of Frontex and its Executive Director, our new information note shows how the Agency turned a blind eye towards well documented systemic human rights violations at Hungary’s Schengen borders for more than four years. Moreover, the Agency remained in Hungary even after the CJEU ruled in December 2020 that extrajudicial push-backs taking place at the Hungarian-Serbian border breach EU law. The note also examines Frontex’s complaints mechanism that is supposed to remedy violations of human rights related to the operations of the Agency. The evidence, including previously unpublished documents presented in this paper show shockingly ineffective human rights compliance mechanisms within the Agency. As serious allegations have surfaced regarding the role and responsibility of Frontex in fundamental rights violations at other sections of the external Schengen Borders, recommendations included at the end aim to strengthen the weak mechanisms pending changes are introduced to the current legal framework of Frontex. The note is available here.

This post was originally published on Magyar Helsinki Bizottság.