Ασφάλεια, σύνορα, ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα : ο ρόλος του FRONTEX

Abstract

Frontex is an EU agency based in Warsaw, which was created as a specialised and independent body tasked to coordinate the operational cooperation between Member States in the field of border security. What is particularly remarkable about Frontex is the considerable amount of attention that it has attracted since its operational start in 2005, from the media and pro-human rights groups. Its activities have generated a significant amount of controversy and have been heavily criticized especially from human right activists and pro-migrant groups. Nowadays, illegal immigration is considered both a threat for social coherence and a risk in a globalized society. The first part of the paper seeks the relation of Frontex to the aforementioned concept, by analyzing its role in the post 9/11 construction of immigration as a security threat for the EU states and its involvement in the management of migration flows. Furthermore, a presentation of its mandate, competences and the existing accountability mechanisms is necessary for a demystification of an agency, sometimes conceived as the embodiment of ''Fortress-Europe''. The second part analyzes the existing legal framework for the widely criticized Frontex operations at the EU’s southern maritime borders. In order to define a possible impact of state practices on the intercepted persons’ human rights, the relevant rules of international, EU and human rights law are examined, especially as to their application outside the EU member states' territorial waters.