Resilience and resistance in defiance of the criminalisation of solidarity across Europe – 2022

The “criminalisation the COVID-19 pandemic have been used to limit of solidarity” strikes at the heart of European access to reception facilities and detention cen- values and contributes to the erosion of rule of tres, to impose fines on organisations providing law and democracy, while seriously impacting services during lock-downs or after the curfew, the rights and welfare of the most vulnerabl. [...] 43 Regulation (EU) 2019/817 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on establishing a framework for in- teroperability between EU information systems in the field of borders and visa and amending Regulations (EC) No 767/2008, (EU) 2016/399, (EU) 2017/2226, (EU) 2018/1240, (EU) 2018/1726 and (EU) 2018/1861 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Decisions 2004. [...] However, the case law shows that the judges have often adopted narrow interpretation of the humanitarian exemp- tion and that CSOs and individuals are still criminalised for their work in solidarity with migrants.63 In 2020, the European Commission issued Guidance on the implementation of EU rules on defi- nition and prevention of the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence.64 Wh. [...] With regard to these acts, Mem- ber States are merely “invited” to make use of the possibility to amend their national legislations to exempt them from criminalisation.67 In the Action Plan Against Migrant Smuggling (2021-2025), the European Commission committed to monitoring the implementation of the Facilitation Directive and reporting on the implementa- tion of the Facilitators Package and the. [...] 83 UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, UNSpecial Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defend- ers, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children,.