ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
Policy developments........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
UNITED NATIONS.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
UN Convention Relating to
Protection of All Working Migrants and Their Families' Rights.................................................. 6
UNHCR............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
General Assembly extends term of UN
High Commissionar for Refugees......................................................................................... 6
28th Standing Committee....................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Pre-Excom meeting................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
54th Executive Committee meeting.................................................................................................................................................................... 7
EU asylum rules on "safe countries"
criticised by UNHCR................................................................................................................... 7
New EU rules may keep refugees
apart, warns UNHCR......................................................................................................................... 8
Update to the International
Protection Response to Asylum Seekers from Iraq (29 July 2003)............................................... 8
UNHCR uses technology to
prevent refugee fraud in Afghanistan........................................................................................................ 9
Asylum applications in
industrialised world still falling, says UNHCR............................................................................................ 9
COUNCIL OF EUROPE............................................................................................................................................................................................ 9
50 years since the
European Convention on Human Rights entered into force.............................................................................. 9
Parliamentary Assembly
Autumn Session: Strasbourg, 25 September - 2 October.................................................................... 10
Trafficking in human
beings is a threat to stability in Europe............................................................................................................. 10
Council of Europe cities
and regions discuss economy and refugees in South-East Europe................................................... 10
OSCE............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
OSCE anti-racism conference.......................................................................................................................................................................... 10
OSCE adopts Action Plan to combat
human trafficking........................................................................................................................ 10
OSCE Skopje conference
ends with agreement on return of Roma refugees stranded at Greek border July
2003............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Helping refugees return
to Croatia................................................................................................................................................................ 11
ECRE............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
ECRE Policy Forum............................................................................................................................................................................................. 11
ECRE Biannual General Meeting................................................................................................................................................................... 12
ECRE projects supported
by the European Refugee Fund (ERF)..................................................................................................... 12
Legal Developments....................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
COUNCIL OF EUROPE......................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Council of Europe Anti-Torture
Committee: Publication of its 13th General Report.................................................................. 13
CPT Standards....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
CPT Visits:............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Albania................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Estonia.................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Finland................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Ireland..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Spain....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Turkey.................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS................................................................................................................................................ 15
Benhebba
v. France (no. 53441/99): Deportation order for serious drugs offence, no
violation Article 8.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Mokrani
v. France (no. 52206/99): Violation of Article 8 in the event of the
enforcement of a deportation order................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES............................................................................................................ 16
National Developments.............................................................................................................................................................................. 18
austria.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18
UN refugee agency objects to
Austrian asylum proposals..................................................................................................................... 18
Austria considers renewal of visa
requirement for Romanians........................................................................................................... 18
Strasser lifts asylum guidelines........................................................................................................................................................................ 18
belarus.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
New visa regime with
Poland........................................................................................................................................................................... 19
belgium.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Hunger strike action of
Afghans ends with acceptance that some will have to return................................................................ 19
Number of foreigners in
Belgium plummets................................................................................................................................................ 19
People traffickers
jailed for eight years........................................................................................................................................................ 19
bulgaria....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Bulgaria and Croatia
refuse asylum camps............................................................................................................................................... 19
Immigrants welcome in
Bulgaria.................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Croatia......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Law on asylum adopted...................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
czech republic.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Visegrad countries agree
in Prague to coordinate Schengen Agreement accession.................................................................. 20
No Slovak has received
asylum in Czech Republic................................................................................................................................... 20
Stateless man continues
his wait...................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Temporary refugee status Bill
adopted......................................................................................................................................................... 21
denmark........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 21
Ban on naturalisation of Iraqi
applicants lifted........................................................................................................................................ 21
Age limit on family
reunion to be lowered to 15 years........................................................................................................................... 21
Call to drop Refugee Convention.................................................................................................................................................................... 22
First forced expulsion of two
Afghans........................................................................................................................................................... 22
finland.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
No plans to incite departure of
Afghans....................................................................................................................................................... 22
france............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 22
France to reform Asylum
Act 1952................................................................................................................................................................. 22
Aliens Bill approved on
fist reading............................................................................................................................................................... 22
Minister of Interior
denies that new Alien Bill will penalise those assisting irregular migrants for
humanitarian motives.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Activist charged with providing
support to irregular immigrants...................................................................................................... 23
germany........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 23
Germany and Italy set
immigration controls............................................................................................................................................. 23
UN in Kosovo deny
admission to group of Kosovars expelled from Germany............................................................................... 24
Lowest six-month figure
of asylum claims since 1987............................................................................................................................ 24
German court rules deportation to
countries where police torture exists as legal...................................................................... 24
Kurdish girl suffering from heart
disease may stay in Germany, as may her family.................................................................. 24
Court upholds decision to withdraw
refugee status from Metin Kaplan, but rules out extradition to Turkey........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 24
Greece............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 25
UNHCR urges Greece not to expel
Iraqis.................................................................................................................................................... 25
ireland.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Ireland participates in
the Temporary Protection Directive................................................................................................................ 25
Asylum seekers from EU
candidate countries will be presumed not to be refugees.................................................................... 25
Ireland closes
immigration hole...................................................................................................................................................................... 25
3000 under-aged refugees
in
past three years........................................................................................................................................... 25
italy................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 26
Italy and Bosnia sign
deal on readmission of illegal immigrants...................................................................................................... 26
Italy calls for EU
policy to fight illegal immigration............................................................................................................................... 26
Italy calls for EU-wide
quotas to curb immigration................................................................................................................................. 26
Italy Libya agreement
on combating irregular migrants.................................................................................................................. 26
kosovo........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26
Serbs return to Kosovo........................................................................................................................................................................................ 26
fyr macedonia.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26
Kosovar Romany refugees
leave Macedonian-Greek border............................................................................................................... 27
Adoption of a law on Asylum and
Temporary Protection..................................................................................................................... 27
malta.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 27
Home Affairs Minister
adamantly against freeing illegal immigrants............................................................................................. 27
netherlands............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27
New coalition Government
announces stricter immigration policy................................................................................................... 27
First of two
controversial deportation centres is ready.......................................................................................................................... 27
37 reception centres to
be closed down in December.............................................................................................................................. 27
Fewer asylum seekers,
but more positive decisions................................................................................................................................. 28
No expulsion of Iraqis
or Liberians until 1 February 2004.................................................................................................................. 28
Angola and the
Netherlands discuss repatriation..................................................................................................................................... 28
Repeal of the Remigration Act.......................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Iraqi Kurd leader will
receive damages from Dutch state.................................................................................................................... 28
Rejected Somali asylum
seekers cannot be expelled because criteria for amnesty still unknown......................................... 28
norway.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Grace period proposed
for long-term asylum seekers............................................................................................................................ 29
Record number of people
admitted for family reunion last year......................................................................................................... 29
Only 332 persons granted
refugee status last year.................................................................................................................................. 29
Too few asylum seekers
granted refugee status......................................................................................................................................... 29
poland............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 29
Regularisation of
illegal migrants.................................................................................................................................................................. 29
Poland introduces visa
for Russians.............................................................................................................................................................. 30
romania......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 30
More than 9,000
Romanians lost right to travel for five years............................................................................................................ 30
russia.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 30
Poland, Russia
reportedly agree on special visa regime for Kaliningrad exclave...................................................................... 30
20,000 refugees refuse
to return to Chechnya............................................................................................................................................ 30
Moscow tries to allay
Chechens' fears over repatriation....................................................................................................................... 30
Murdered
Chechen woman's family flees abroad...................................................................................................................................... 31
Moscow
administration plans more deportation centres....................................................................................................................... 31
serbia and montenegro....................................................................................................................................................................................... 31
OSCE Mission supports
refugee return accord between Belgrade and Sarajevo........................................................................ 31
Appeal against
compensation awarded to forcibly conscripted refugees....................................................................................... 31
slovakia....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Slovakia to harmonise
asylum procedures with EU................................................................................................................................. 31
slovenia........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 32
Official end to
temporary protection for Bosnian refugees................................................................................................................... 32
SPAIN............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 32
More restrictive
immigration law to be introduced.................................................................................................................................. 32
Spain to train Nigerian
immigration officers.............................................................................................................................................. 32
New readmission
agreement with Rabat...................................................................................................................................................... 32
Readmission agreement
between Spain and Mauritania....................................................................................................................... 32
Providing assistance to
irregular migrants on an individual basis will become punishable.................................................. 32
Only about 5 per cent of
asylum seekers get protection......................................................................................................................... 33
sweden........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33
Hospitality towards
refugees in on the decline.......................................................................................................................................... 33
About 500 less asylum
seekers in first period............................................................................................................................................ 33
Increasing number of
rejected asylum seekers disappear..................................................................................................................... 33
Rejection of the appeal of a
Bosnian girl suffering from an eye disease......................................................................................... 33
switzerland............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33
Swiss issue list of 38
safe countries to block asylum requests....................................................................................................... 33
Anti-immigration party
calls for a third referendum to tighten asylum policy.............................................................................. 34
Two tough proposals
concerning asylum are adopted by a parliamentary committee............................................................. 34
House of Representatives
throws out asylum cuts.................................................................................................................................... 34
ukraine.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Ukraine signs visa
agreements with Poland and Hungary................................................................................................................... 35
EU, Ukraine hold annual
summit.................................................................................................................................................................... 35
united kingdom........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 35
New refugee route set up.................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Legal aid cuts endanger
asylum seekers....................................................................................................................................................... 35
UN attacks plans to
limit legal aid for asylum seekers............................................................................................................................ 35
New law will curb asylum
appeal rights...................................................................................................................................................... 36
Undocumented asylum
seekers may be prevented from seeking protection.................................................................................... 36
49 Afghans sent back to Kabul......................................................................................................................................................................... 36
Refugees in prison
despite Blunkett pledge................................................................................................................................................. 36
Detention of refugee
children 'must end'...................................................................................................................................................... 37
Tories unveil asylum
plans................................................................................................................................................................................ 37
Blunkett to close asylum
loophole................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Sri Lanka anger at UK
visa moves................................................................................................................................................................. 38
Asylum scheme draws ID
fire........................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Secret plan to tag asylum
seekers.................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Asylum figures down............................................................................................................................................................................................ 38
Britain ignores
Bangladeshi persecution..................................................................................................................................................... 39
Northern Ireland asylum
conditions criticised........................................................................................................................................... 39
Trafficked
woman granted refugee status, as protection in Albania deemed insufficient.......................................................... 39
Support
for disabled asylum seekers.............................................................................................................................................................. 39
Council
must investigate into the age of asylum seekers........................................................................................................................ 40
High
Court rules Home Office in breach of Human Rights Convention.......................................................................................... 40
Council
loses asylum case................................................................................................................................................................................. 40
Asylum
granted to Russian tycoon.................................................................................................................................................................. 41
Home
office is right to deny support to those who do not apply immediately for
asylum.......................................................... 41
Compensation
for wrongful jailing................................................................................................................................................................. 41
EU Developments................................................................................................................................................................................................. 42
ECRE MATERIAL.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Press Release rejecting
Asylum Procedures Directive, 30 September............................................................................................. 41
Recommendations to the
Asylum Working Party on Asylum Procedures Directive, 4-5 September.................................... 42
ECREs Response to the
Communication from the Commission on Immigration, Integration and Employment,
September 2003.......................................................................................................................................................................... 42
SUMMARY OF PROGRESS IN EU ASYLUM
AGENDA..................................................................................................................... 42
Qualifications Directive...................................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Asylum Procedures
Directive........................................................................................................................................................................... 43
Family Reunification
Directive........................................................................................................................................................................ 43
PRESIDENCIES OF THE EU............................................................................................................................................................................... 43
The Italian Presidency......................................................................................................................................................................................... 43
The Irish Presidency............................................................................................................................................................................................. 44
Brussels European Council: 16-17
October............................................................................................................................................... 44
Managing external borders................................................................................................................................................................................. 44
Controlling migratory flows.............................................................................................................................................................................. 44
JHA Council: 2-3 October................................................................................................................................................................................. 44
Informal JHA Council: 12-13
September..................................................................................................................................................... 45
EUROPEAN COMMISSION................................................................................................................................................................................ 45
Afghanistan
Co-ordination Return Group................................................................................................................................................... 45
Commissions initiatives
regarding infringement procedures against Member States.............................................................. 46
Commission adopts proposal
on Biometric identifiers for visa and residence permit for third country
nationals.................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 46
Commission adopts
opinion on the European Constitution.................................................................................................................. 46
Commission prepares
feasibility study on the introduction of immigration quotas.................................................................... 46
Commission proposes concrete
measures for facilitating local traffic at the land borders of the Union........................... 46
Commission proposes to
the Council EC ratification of UN Convention Against Transnational Organised
Crime and its protocols on smuggling and trafficking in human beings.................................................................. 47
Commission proposes a
programme for financial and technical assistance to third countries............................................. 47
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT................................................................................................................................................................................ 46
Parliament adopts
resolution on fundamental rights in the European Union............................................................................... 47
Parliament adopts
resolution rejecting Austrian initiative on safe third States........................................................................... 47
Parliament adopts report
on assistance in cases of transit (removal by air)................................................................................ 48
EUROPEAN CONVENTION FOR THE FUTURE
OF EUROPE........................................................................................................ 48
General Developments........................................................................................................................................................................................ 48
Asylum and Migration Provisions.................................................................................................................................................................. 48
EU Enlargement..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 47
Referenda in the accession
countries............................................................................................................................................................. 48
Estonia....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 48
Latvia......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 48
Publications, websites and events................................................................................................................................................ 49
ECRE'S policy and advocacy
Publications............................................................................................................................................ 49
Other publications................................................................................................................................................................................................ 51
Events............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 55
Websites....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 56
ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
UN Convention Relating to Protection of All
Working Migrants and Their Families Rights
The Convention entered into force on 1 July 2003 and will significantly
contribute to the promotion of the efficient management of migration. It is the
most comprehensive international legal document (93 articles), defining a large
number of rights for working migrants and their families. The Convention was
ratified by 22 States.
General Assembly extends term of UN High
Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations General Assembly decided to extend the term of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, for two more years. The decision
extends Mr. Lubbers appointment until 31 December 2005.
Mr. Lubbers, a former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, was appointed
High Commissioner in 2000 to a three-year term, lasting through this December.
28th Standing Committee
The 28th ExComs Standing Committee was held on 25 September
2003. The Committee drew attention to updated information on the situation in
2003. It was agreed that balancing UNHCRs budget with the resources available
from the donor community remained a challenging task. Still, several delegations
expressed satisfaction that the funding situation was less serious this year
than it had been in 2002 as a result of the cuts made earlier in the year.
UNHCR is expected to reach the end of the year without further cuts to
programmes. UNHCRs Annual Programme Budget for 2004 was also discussed.
In the introduction to the Update on Coordination Issues, it was said
that UNHCR was working to improve its collaboration with partners in the UN
system and beyond. It was stressed, among other issues, that UNHCR needed to
work closely and consult with NGOs in all phases of operations, from
needs-assessment to planning and onwards. The High Commissioners recent policy
directive (IOM/FOM) was considered to be an important step in this regard.
Many delegations commented on the asylum-migration nexus and some called
for more information and discussion on the work of the Geneva Migration Group
and of AGAMI.
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/excom
Pre-Excom meeting
The Pre-Excom meeting took place in Geneva on 24 26 September.
Protection of refugees and funding for their support in the midst of current
financial crises were the two key issues up for discussion as UNHCR met with
its NGO partners ahead of the agency's annual Executive Committee meeting.
Delegates attending the round-table and regional sessions discussed
human rights and the protection of refugees, refugee camp security, internally
displaced people and livelihood and self-reliance for refugees.
http://www.unhcr.ch/prexcom/index.htm
54th Executive Committee meeting
The meeting was held from 29 September to 3 October 2003 in Geneva.
UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers opened the annual meeting by
affirming UNHCR's commitment to Iraq. Outlining UNHCR's operations around the
world, Lubbers applauded the "truly exceptional" repatriation of more
than 2 million people to Afghanistan last year and the encouraging returns to
Angola.
With regards to the asylum issue in European Union countries, Lubbers
welcomed new thinking on how to enhance refugee protection in regions of
origin. However, he warned that "the highly politicised environment in
which much of the asylum debate has taken place has prompted increasingly
restrictive measures in many areas of asylum law and practice," and urged
governments of EU countries not to lose sight of their aim to turn Europe into
a common "asylum space".
On 3 October the Executive Committee adopted four conclusions on
protection issues. These included:
the return of people not in need of international protection, the protection of
refugees from sexual abuse and exploitation, safeguards during interception and
a general conclusion on international protection acknowledging the linkage
between asylum issues and human rights.
ExCom Conclusions, although not binding, have an important status as
soft' international law, and are often cited in national asylum hearings and
court cases, and when drafting national asylum legislation.
In his closing address, the High Commissioner said that States
"must guard against overly restrictive procedures and practices that are
not consistent with international refugee law."
"All too often States including members of this Executive
Committee fail to live up to their pledges to protect people fleeing
persecution," Lubbers said, noting that he was deeply concerned about the
trend among governments to shield their populations against foreigners.
He told governments to work towards more efficient refugee protection,
including addressing the issue of refugees and asylum seekers caught up in
migratory movements in an effort to find safe asylum. Lubbers likewise
challenged donor states to better assist poor countries often over-burdened
with large refugee populations, telling governments to show a "greater
commitment to multilateralism."
The refugee agency still faces a significant funding gap in its 2003
budget. Lubber said his office still needs $54 million to cover its annual
programme. This includes
continuing not only high profile programmes like Iraq, but also needs among
long-term refugee populations.
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/excom
EU asylum rules on safe countries criticised
by UNHCR
On 2 October 2003, EU home affairs ministers agreed, in principle, to
set up an EU list of "safe countries of origin", which would accelerate
the system of granting or refusing asylum applications. If an asylum seeker
originates from a country deemed to be safe, his or her claim for asylum in an
EU state could be rejected through an accelerated procedure.
The Commission is expected to table a first list of countries to be
included in this list by the end of November. UNHCR expressed concerns about
this development, stressing that procedures on granting asylum should have
sufficient safeguards, including some form of review, particularly if a country
on the safe list experiences a coup dՎtat or some other form of social or
political upheaval.
Concern was also expressed about a separate EU plan to establish a
"safe third countries" list, whereby an asylum seeker could be
returned to a country through which he or she has travelled through before
arriving in the EU country and possible claimed asylum. This proposal, however,
is not yet being tackled by the EU ministers as they first await agreement on
the "safe countries of origin" list.
These lists form part of the larger asylum procedures directive, and
have been discussed at length by EU ministers. Four EU states - Germany, UK,
Finland and Denmark already have such lists based on which they process
asylum applications. The deadline for reaching a political agreement on this
matter is the end of this year.
New EU rules may keep refugee families apart,
warns UNHCR
UNHCR has expressed concern with a new set of European Union harmonised
rules on family reunification, which it claims discriminates against certain
categories of refugees and could keep families apart unnecessarily.
The latest directive, adopted 22 September after more than three years
of negotiations, sets out conditions under which refugees and migrants in the
EU may be reunited with their children and/or spouses.
On one level, UNHCR has welcomed the fact that, under the directive,
separated refugee families face fewer restrictions than separated migrant
families. Unlike migrants, refugees who request family reunion within three months
of being granted refugee status do not have to show that they can provide their
own accommodation and health insurance or prove that they have a regular and
stable source of income. Refugees are also exempted from the requirement that
migrants live in a country for two years before their family can join them.
Nevertheless, compared to the European Commission's first draft of the
directive, drawn up in 1999, the basic standards and the degree to which the
new directive provides genuine harmonisation have been considerably diluted.
"Family reunion can be
denied on the grounds of public policy, public security and public
health," said Raymond Hall, director of UNHCR's Europe Bureau. "The
problem is that 'public policy', in particular, is a very vague term that could
be easily used to keep families apart without any real justification."
The new directive also contains a narrow definition of the family unit.
A refugee may be reunited with his or her spouse and minor children, but not
necessarily adult children, elderly parents or other close relatives who may
depend entirely on the refugee.
Young couples are also penalised by way of a provision that EU countries
are not automatically obliged to reunite refugees and migrants with their
spouses unless both are over 21 years old. This could delay the reunification
of refugees who married young and had children before the prescribed age.
Even when they are reunited, the family members of recognised refugees
may be forbidden to work for up to one year for reasons "related to the
situation of the labour market."
UNHCR has also expressed disappointment that the new measures offer no
family reunion rights to people who have been granted subsidiary forms of
protection. "We see no justification in excluding beneficiaries of
subsidiary protection from the scope of the directive, since these people often
have needs that are every bit as compelling as those of refugees," said
Hall, adding that those recognised to be in need of international protection
should be entitled to basic standards of treatment, including the right to live
with their families, irrespective of whether they are receiving protection
under the 1951 Convention or under a complementary protection status.
Update to the International Protection Response
to Asylum Seekers from Iraq (29 July 2003)
On 7 March, 20 March and 26 June 2003, UNHCR advised States to suspend
all forced returns to Iraq.
The prevailing conditions in Iraq are characterised by considerable
security problems, an absence of law and order in many parts of the country,
irregular provision of basic services, the continued dependency of large parts
of the population on food assistance and other aid for survival and a severe
housing shortage. In view of this, UNHCR is not yet promoting voluntary
returns. The Office will, however, consider providing limited assistance, on a
case-by-case basis, to refugees and other persons of concern who insist on
returning prior to the commencement of regular UNHCR facilitated and organised
repatriation.
UNHCR recommends that States should grant a temporary form of protection
to newly arriving Iraqi asylum seekers, as well as rejected asylum seekers,
until further notice.
If States wish to resume asylum claims processing, UNHCR, while not
encouraging such decisions, advises States to be mindful of the possibility of
persecution emanating from non-state agents, particularly given the absence of
effective national protection in Iraq.
UNHCR uses technology to prevent refugee fraud in Afghanistan
The UNHCR says a pioneering screening program at the
Afghanistan-Pakistan border has successfully cut down on the number of people
trying to steal additional relief packages.
Under the so-called iris recognition test, every Afghan refugee over
the age of six has the iris of his or her eye scanned. The image is stored
digitally in a computer, and the data is shared among three registration
centres in Pakistan. "This way, we can rapidly check in a matter of
seconds whether or not a refugee who is presenting him or herself as someone
intent on returning home has perhaps in the past previously presented himself
and gotten the U.N. repatriation package of assistance items - food aid and
travel expenses," explained UNHCR spokesman Mr. Kessler.
Last year, nearly two million refugees returned to Afghanistan. All were
screened under the old verification system, which the UNHCR says was more time
consuming and less effective. Some
refugees would try to pass through the registration centre several times in
order to collect several assistance packages. The UNHCR ended up losing
millions of dollars from these fraudulent schemes. As a result of its success,
the system is likely to be used in other parts of the world.
Asylum applications in industrialised world still falling, says UNHCR
In September, the UNHCR released a report of the number of asylum
applications submitted in 29 industrialised countries, excluding Italy, for the
period between April and June 2003. These countries saw a drop of 12 percent in
asylum applications, with 106,850 applications compared to 121,910 in the first
three months of 2003.
The latest figures show a pronounced downward trend in asylum
applications in the industrialised world. Altogether, the number of
applications during the first half of 2003 was 19 percent lower than during the
first six months of 2002, and 22 percent lower than the second half of 2002.
In the European Union, and in Europe overall, the new figures were the
lowest since UNHCR started collecting quarterly data at the beginning of 1999.
During the second quarter of 2003, EU countries saw a drop of 16 percent, to
66,260, following on from a 17 percent drop in the first quarter on the
previous quarter. The number of asylum applications in North America also
dropped by 12 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Central Europe was the only region to show an increase of 27 percent
which, however, only translates into a difference of around 1,700 individuals.
The biggest increases in this region were in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
By country of asylum, the most significant quarterly decreases were
recorded in the United Kingdom (down 34 percent), Spain and Ireland (both down
31 percent), Germany (down 24 percent) and Sweden (down 22 percent).
Among the countries of origin, the most dramatic decrease was in the
number of Iraqis seeking asylum down 43 percent compared to the first
quarter. However, Iraqis still remain the largest asylum-seeking nationality
over the first six months of 2003, at 17,500. This compares with 26,000 in the last
six months of 2002.
The biggest increase in asylum applications was among Russians, who rose
by 54 percent to become the largest group to apply for asylum during the second
quarter. The number of Russian applicants (including Chechens) rose
particularly sharply in Austria and the Czech Republic.
During the first six months of 2003, 12,700 Russians sought asylum in
the 29 industrialised countries surveyed, while the figure for the whole of
2002 was around 20,000.
Asylum levels and trends in industrialised countries, January June
2003 is available at:
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.pdf?tbl=STATISTICS&id=3f5356b12
50 years since the European Convention on Human Rights entered into
force
The 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the European Convention
on Human Rights was marked in a statement issued by the President of the
European Court of Human Rights, Luzius Wildhaber.
The President noted that the Convention represents the greatest
achievement of the Council of Europe and lies at the heart of the
organisations activities. He also acknowledged that fifty years on, the
Convention faces two major challenges.
Firstly, the sheer mass of applications to the Court of Human Rights
makes it necessary to adjust the system to ensure its continuing effectiveness.
Secondly, the Convention's place in the evolving European architecture must be
secured to preserve the coherence and collective character of fundamental
rights protection in the greater Europe.
Parliamentary Assembly Autumn Session
Strasbourg, 25 September - 2 October
Among other agenda items, the Parliamentary Assembly discussed racist,
xenophobic and intolerant discourse in politics, rights of national minorities,
common policy on migration and asylum, and policies for the integration of
immigrants in Council of Europe member states.
More information can be obtained at:
http://assembly.coe.int/main.asp
Trafficking of human beings is a threat to stability in Europe
Speaking before the Permanent Council of the OSCE in Vienna on 24 July
2003, the Secretary General, Walter Schwimmer, focused on joint action in
problem areas such as organised crime, money laundering, corruption and
trafficking of human beings. Trafficking is not only an intolerable affront to
human dignity but also a threat to stability and security throughout Europe.
The Council of Europe is currently preparing a European Convention Against
Trafficking in Human Beings, which will be a binding legal instrument. The work
is expected to be finalised at the end of 2004.
Council of Europe cities and regions discuss the economy and refugees in
South-East Europe
Economic recovery and the return of refugees in South-East Europe was
the theme of a forum organised by the Council of Europe Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities of Europe in Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 22 and 23
September.
The meeting focused on refugee return, looking at how local and regional
authorities can act to make sure that their citizens can settle in their new
homes. The meeting also looked at how authorities are coping with privatising
state-owned companies and local services, as well as the way they are tackling
corruption.
For more information visit:
www.coe.int/t/e/CLRAE/
OSCE anti-racism conference
On 5 September, the OSCE concluded a conference on racism, xenophobia
and discrimination with a session that included contributions on the role of
the media in conveying and countering prejudice.
The conference drew almost 400 representatives from participating
States, partner States and non-governmental organisations. The final report
will be discussed at the OSCE's annual Human Dimension meeting in Warsaw in
October, which is likely to produce recommendations for discussion by the
Foreign Ministers of the 55 participating States, when they convene for their
annual meeting in Maastricht on 1 December 2003.
This racism conference was the second event, after the conference on
anti-Semitism in June, to be held by the OSCE as a follow-up to a decision by
the Ministerial Council in Porto last December. The council asked the OSCE to
focus on the role of governments and civil society in promoting greater
tolerance and support for the victims of prejudice and discrimination.
OSCE adopts Action Plan to combat human trafficking
On 24 July 2003, the OSCE Permanent Council adopted an Action Plan to
combat Trafficking in Human Beings, which envisages new measures to combat this
modern form of slavery.
The OSCEs 55 participating States approved a range of recommendations
for national action such as making trafficking a criminal offence, providing
protection and shelter for victims, and establishing special anti-trafficking
units to fight trafficking in both countries of origin and destination.
Governments should also consider providing social and economic benefits to
victims as well as ensure that anti-trafficking measures do not hinder the
right of victims to apply for asylum.
In the months leading up to the OSCE Ministerial Council in Maastricht
in December of this year, the Permanent Council will discuss ways to strengthen
the OSCEs operational instruments which will help to implement the Action
Plan.
The document is available at:
http://www.osce.org/press_rel/2003/pdf_documents/07-3447-pc1.pdf
OSCE Skopje conference ends with agreement on return of Roma refugees
stranded at Greek border July 2003
During a regional OSCE conference on the future of Roma refugees from
Kosovo, an agreement was reached on the return to Skopje of a group of some 700
refugees currently camping at the Greek border in an attempt to enter the
European Union.
In reaction to the closure of a refugee camp near Skopje and plans by
the authorities to move the inhabitants to individual accommodation, on May
19th the refugees tried to leave the country but were stopped at the border
crossing near Medzitlija, where they have been camping since.
Representatives of the refugee group and the authorities of the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia agreed on a five-point plan as a basis for
finding a solution to the current crisis. Efforts are underway to formalise the
agreement reached at the conference.
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and
the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje organised the conference to
discuss sustainable solutions for the estimated 50,000-70,000 Roma, Ashkali and
Egyptians who fled Kosovo during the armed conflict in the province in 1999.
In September, a follow-up conference was planned in Pristina to examine
possibilities for sustainable return of Roma refugees to Kosovo.
Helping refugees return to Croatia
Eight years after the end of armed conflict in Croatia, refugees still
face significant obstacles returning and reintegrating into the community. Less
than a third of the ethnic Serbs who fled Croatia between 1991 and 1995 have
returned. Lack of access to housing, unemployment and, in some cases, a hostile
environment in receiving communities are some of the main difficulties they
face.
The Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, Ambassador Peter Semneby,
visited returning refugee families in areas just 50 kilometres outside Zagreb.
Mission experts are now in contact with the Croatian Government and the local
authorities to help resolve these cases and many others across the country.
More than 5,000 families have been unable to repossess their private property.
Furthermore, some 40,000 applications for housing reconstruction are still
pending, and several thousand people have had their right to socially owned
flats terminated.
ECRE
ECRE Policy Forum
The ECRE Policy Forum Core Group met on 9 10 June and decided that
ECRE should develop its own vision of Europes role in the global refugee
protection system. The group proposed five key areas in which ECRE needs to
further develop its policy and provide positive and constructive
recommendations. These are:
- strengthening protection in regions of origin;
- facilitating legal access to protection in Europe for all persons in
need, including the most vulnerable;
- creating an efficient and effective asylum system in Europe that is
fair, comprehensive, timely and in line with principles of responsibility
sharing;
- improving access to solutions for refugees through integration; and
- improving access to dignified and sustainable returns for refugees and
other persons of concern to ECRE.
In order to advance ECREs thinking on some of these areas prior to
consultation with the ECRE membership at the Biannual General Meeting, the
Secretariat organised three one-day meetings on the issues of effective protection
(25 July), protected entry procedures (3 September) and a common asylum
procedure for the EU (11 September).
The Secretariat drew on the experience of representatives from within
ECRE, UNHCR, academia and the judiciary in order to prepare, together with
members of the Policy Forum Core Group, background papers for the Biannual
General Meeting in September.
Following the meeting of the Executive Committee and the Biannual
General Meeting in Geneva, the Secretariat will plan how to take this policy work
forward through the rest of 2003 and towards May 2004 - the deadline for
agreement on a new constitutional basis for the EU, the accession of ten new
Member States, and the deadline for the Commission to produce a detailed report
on EU measures to be taken in the area of strengthening protection capacities
in regions of origin, access to Europe and a common European asylum system. The
next Policy Forum Core Group meeting is scheduled for 22 October.
ECRE Biannual General Meeting
The ECRE Biannual General Meeting took place on 26 28 September in
Geneva. The main aim of the meeting was Towards an ECRE Vision of Europes
role in the global refugee protection system.
ECRE projects supported by the European Refugee
Fund (ERF)
ERF 2002 Strengthening Refugee Participation in European Asylum
Policies and Programmes (SHARE-project)
The SHARE project to further refugee participation in the development
and implementation of common European asylum policies is progressing well and
the training seminars for refugee community organisations (RCOs) taking place
in Austria, Belgium, Greece, Spain and the UK are now underway.
Following consultation with refugees and refugee community
organisations, it was decided that the training sessions will focus on EU
Policy making on asylum; Civil societys role as an advocate; and various EU
Directives such as Reception and Asylum Procedures. Training seminars are also
being held on EU funding sources, including the European Refugee Fund, as well
as on networking and partnership-building issues.
The consultative seminar with refugees will take place in Gent, 12-14
November 2003 with a study visit in the afternoon to Brussels. The seminar will
involve over 60 refugee participants from all EU countries in workshop
discussions on topics and themes mirroring those the training has been
delivered on. The final day will be an open conference where other NGOs, staff
at the EU institutions and decision-makers will be invited to hear refugee
voices on how a common European asylum policy should be formed.
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  No. 4
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October 2003
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ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
COUNCIL
OF EUROPE
The full text of the
following reports are available at:
http://www.cpt.coe.int
Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee:
Publication of its 13th General Report
On 10 September 2003, the
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published its 13th General Report, covering the
period from 1 January 2002 to 31 July 2003.
The
CPT provided a detailed summary of the visit carried out during the last
nineteen months and welcomed the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the
United Nations Convention against Torture by the United Nations General
Assembly on 18 December 2002.
The
CPT set out the standards it has developed concerning the deportation of
foreign nationals by air. These standards deal with the use of force and means
of restraint by escort staff, the requirements for the proper conduct of
deportation operations and the monitoring of such operations. In particular,
the CPT insisted on an absolute ban on the use of means likely to obstruct the
airways (nose and/or mouth), partially or wholly.
Copies of the general report and further
information on the CPT are available at:
http://www.cpt.coe.int
CPT Standards
On
15 September 2003, the CPT published substantive sections to the CPTs General
report. In a number of its General Reports the CPT has described some of the
substantive issues which it pursues when carrying out visits to places of
deprivation of liberty. The Committee hopes in this way to give a clear advance
indication to national authorities of its views regarding the manner in which
persons deprived of their liberty ought to be treated and, more generally, to
stimulate discussion on such matters.
The substantive sections drawn up to date - which deal with police
custody, imprisonment, training of law enforcement personnel, health care
services in prisons, foreign nationals detained under aliens legislation,
involuntary placement in psychiatric establishments and juveniles and women
deprived of their liberty - have been brought together in this document.
CPT Visits
Albania
On 23 July 2003, a delegation of the European Committee for
the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published its report of a six-day visit to
Albania. The visit began on 13 July 2003 and was the Committee's fifth visit to
Albania.
The main purpose of the visit was to examine the
treatment of persons detained by law enforcement agencies and the efficacy of
legal remedies in cases involving allegations of ill treatment. The delegation
visited three police establishments and also went to Prison N 313 in Tirana, in
order to interview persons who had recently been in police custody.
In addition, the delegation
carried out a follow-up visit to Elbasan Psychiatric Hospital in order to
review the measures taken by the Albanian authorities following the
recommendations made by the CPT after its two previous visits to that
establishment.
Estonia
On 3rd October 2003, the European Committee for
the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published a report on its third visit to
Estonia, carried out from 23 to 30 September 2003.
During the visit, the CPT delegation followed up a certain
number of issues already examined during two previous visits, in particular
with respect to conditions of detention in police arrest houses and prisons. In
addition, visits were carried out to a psychiatric hospital and a social care
home.
Finland
On 23rd September 2003, the European Committee
for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published a report on its third visit to
Finland, carried out from 7 to 17 September 2003.
The CPTs delegation reviewed
measures taken by the Finnish authorities in response to the Committees
recommendations made after its 1992 and 1998 visits, in particular as regards
the safeguards offered to persons detained by the police, the situation of
remand prisoners in police and prison establishments, and the treatment of
immigration detainees, especially in the recently opened Helsinki Custody Unit.
For the first time in Finland, the CPTs delegation examined conditions and the
operation of legal safeguards in a forensic psychiatric establishment.
Ireland
On 18 September 2003, The Irish Government requested the
publication of the report of the Council of Europes Committee for the
Prevention of Torture (CPT) on its visit to Ireland in May 2002, together with
the response of the Irish government.
On the Committees third visit to Ireland, the
CPT visited a number of police stations, prisons and psychiatric
establishments, mostly in Dublin and Cork. In the report, the Committee paid
particular attention to the treatment of persons detained by the Garda Sochna
(police) and measures taken to improve conditions of detention and health care
services in prison. It also examined the situation of detained children and of
persons cared for in the Central Mental Hospital and in institutions for the
mentally disabled.
The response of the
government set out steps taken by the Irish Government in the light of the
CPTs recommendations. These included measures to provide additional activities
for prisoners and the development of national standards for institutions for
persons with mental disabilities. The Government also announced its intention
to soon publish draft legislation for the establishment of an independent Garda
Sochna Inspectorate.
Spain
On 6 July 2003, a delegation of the European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published a report on its
eleven-day visit to Spain. The visit began on 22 July 2003. During the visit,
the CPT's delegation focused on the fundamental safeguards offered to persons
deprived of their liberty by law enforcement agencies and on the treatment of
foreign nationals detained by the national police and the civil guard under
aliens legislation. The delegation also reviewed the treatment of detainees
placed in special units because they are considered to be dangerous or
unsuited to an ordinary prison regime.
Lastly, the delegation examined the situation of detainees in
penitentiary psychiatric hospital.
Turkey
On 19 September 2003, a delegation of the
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published a report on
its one-week ad hoc visit to Turkey, carried out beginning on 7th September.
The aim of the visit was to assess the current situation as regards the
treatment of persons while in the custody of law enforcement agencies. This included
an examination of the implementation in practice of recent legal reforms
concerning matters such as the reduction of custody periods, access to a lawyer
and notification of relatives. The delegation also reviewed the operation of
the system for the medical examination of persons in police/gendarmerie
custody.
The
delegation visited various police and gendarmerie establishments throughout the
country. Visits were also made to prisons in Adana, Diyarbakr and Mersin in
order to interview persons who had recently been in the
custody of law enforcement agencies.
The delegation also went to health facilities in these three cities
where persons in police/gendarmerie custody are medically examined.
EUROPEAN
COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The full text of the following cases are
available on: http://www.echr.coe.int
Benhebba v. France (no.
53441/99)
Deportation order for
serious drugs offence, no violation of
Article 8
Benziane Benhebba is an Algerian national who was
born in 1968. He arrived in France at the age of two and lived there with his
parents and eight brothers and sisters.
Between 1988 and 1994 the applicant was
convicted of a number of criminal offences, including burglary, as part of a
gang and robbery. He was given several suspended prison sentences. In 1994 he
was arrested in a vehicle containing nearly two kilograms of cannabis.
In a judgment of 18 January 1996 the Lyon
Court of Appeal sentenced him to two years imprisonment for drugs offences and
imposed a ten-year deportation order on him. He appealed to the Court of
Cassation, which ruled against him.
The applicant submitted that the
deportation order infringed his right to respect for private and family life
and was thus in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
While the Court reiterated that the removal
of a person from a country where close members of his family were living could
amount to interference with his right to respect for his family life, it noted
that, in the applicants case, the deportation order had been based on
provisions of the French Criminal Code and had pursued legitimate aims of
"the prevention of disorder or crime".
In order to determine whether such
interference had been "necessary in a democratic society", the Court
examined whether the exclusion order had struck a reasonable balance between
applicants right to respect for his family life and the prevention of disorder
or crime.
The Lyons Court of Appeal made the
deportation order both on the basis of the offences for which Mr. Benhebba had
been prosecuted and in view of his previous convictions for robbery and the
failure of measures to assist his reintegration into society. It had inferred from the amount of
cannabis found at the time of his arrest, that his involvement in drugs
offences could not have been merely occasional. Indeed, the European Court understands that States act with
great firmness with regards to drugs.
In spite of the applicants strong ties
with France, the Court considered the temporary deportation order imposed on him
as legitimate in order to prevent disorder and crime. Regarding the temporary
nature of the measure and the seriousness of the offences committed, the Court
considered that the measure had been proportionate to the aims pursued.
In conclusion, the Court held there has
been no violation of Article 8 of the Convention.
Mokrani
v. France (no. 52206/99)
Violation
of Article 8 in the event of the enforcement of a deportation order
On 15 July 2003, the European Court of
Human Rights held that there was a violation of Article 8 in the event of the
enforcement of a deportation order.
The applicant, Boubaker Mokrani, an
Algerian national, filed a complaint on 6 July 1999, under Article 8 of the
Convention, arguing that the deportation order against him violated his right
to respect for his private and family life.
Mr Boubaker Mokrani was born in 1962 in
France and grew up in Marseille, where all his schooling took place. He has
lived in France all his life and his parents and his six brothers and sisters,
five of whom have French nationality, also live in France. He declared that for
a very long time he had been in a stable relationship with A., a French
national with whom he had had a child in 1999 and whom he had married in 2001.
On 9 July 1992 the applicant was sentenced
to four years imprisonment, one of which was suspended, for heroin
trafficking. In March 1995 the Minister of the Interior ordered his
deportation. Appeals by the applicant against the order were dismissed. To
date, the deportation order against the applicant has not been enforced.
In order to assess whether the interference
(deportation) was necessary in a democratic society, the Court attempted to
verify whether the deportation order had maintained a fair balance between
applicants right to respect for his family life and the protection of Public
Order.
The Court noted that the deportation order
was based on applicants conviction in 1992 for drug offences, a sphere in
which it understands that States act with great firmness.
Regarding Mokranis links with France, the
Court noted that most of his social ties were there. Still, the court reiterated
that the Article 8 of the Convention might not protect links between adults if
additional factors of dependence, other than normal affective links, had not
been proved.
The applicants deportation order became
final on 15 January 1999 following a decision of the Conseil dEtat. The Court assessed its effects on the
date of that decision and noted that the relationship between A and Mr Mokrani
had existed for more than four years even though the applicant knew the
deportation order had been issued before he started his relation with A. The
Court acknowledged that it would be difficult for the applicant and his wife to
establish a family life in another country taking into account the lack of
links with other countries and the nature of the offence.
Considering these grounds and the intensity of
applicants links with France, the Court considered that the enforcement of the
deportation order would not be proportionate to the aim pursued and its
enforcement would be a violation of the Article 8 of the Convention.
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
On 23 September 2003, the European Court of
Justice held that the Home Office of the UK was wrong to refuse to allow a
Moroccan man leave to remain in Britain because of the EU Community Law on freedom
of movement.
Hacen Akrich applied for leave to remain in
the United Kingdom on several occasions but had always been refused. In 1996,
while he was residing illegally in the United Kingdom, he married a British
citizen and applied for leave to remain because of his marriage status. This was rejected. In August 1997 he
was deported to Dublin where his spouse had been established since June 1997.
His spouse worked in Dublin from August 1997 until June 1998 when she was
offered a post in the United Kingdom commencing in August 1998. At the
beginning of 1998 Mr Akrich applied for residency as the spouse of a person
settled in the United Kingdom.
Again, the UK authorities refused his application.
In its judgement, the Court of Justice
referred to its judgement in Singh, where it held that a national of a
Member State who has worked as an employed person within the meaning of the
Community Law in another Member State may, when he returns to his own country,
be accompanied by his spouse, of whatever nationality. The Court observed the Community Law is
silent as to the rights of a national of a non-member country, who is the
spouse of a citizen of the Union, regarding access to the territory of the
Community.
According to the Court, the spouse must be
lawfully resident in the Member State when he or she moves to another Member
State in order to work there as an employed person and to be allowed to install
him or herself with the citizen of the Union.
Furthermore, the Court stressed that in the
case where a marriage is genuine and where a national of a Member State married
to a national of a non-member country returns to his State of origin (where the
spouse does not enjoy community rights and has not resided lawfully on the
territory of another Member State) the authorities of the nation of the Member
Sate must still take into account the right to respect for family life under
Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
The Court thus held in favour of the applicant,
considering the EU Community Law on freedom of movement and Article 8 of the
European Convention on Human Rights.
ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
UN refugee agency objects to
Austrian asylum proposals
The
UNHCR has stated that proposed regulations to limit the introduction of new
evidence at the appeal stage could result in involuntary return of refugees to
their home countries where they may in fact face persecution.
UNHCR
legal expert Erika Feller said, Appeals are an essential means to ensure that
initial mistaken decisions can be corrected. To ensure that the final decision
is indeed the correct one, appeals must be able to review all the relevant
facts, as well as points of law.
Under
a second proposal, many appellants would not have a right to remain in Austria
during the appeals procedure, which would have disastrous consequences for the
individuals concerned, UNHCR said.
UNHCR
added that if the amendments due to be decided on by a key Austrian
parliamentary committee in the second half of October are adopted unchanged
by parliament, they would be among the most restrictive pieces of legislation
within the EU and could have a negative impact on the vital EU harmonisation
process that is currently under way.
Austria considers renewal of visa requirement
for Romanians
In
August, Austrian Interior Minister Ernst Strasser said his country is
considering reintroducing visa requirement for Romanian citizens.
The
requirement for Romanians who enter the Schengen zone was lifted in early 2002.
Strasser said Austria had then been opposed to lifting it, but was alone in
this among Schengen zone members and did not wish to veto the decision. While
Austria is generally considered to be Europe's safest state, bands of Romanian
and Bulgarian thieves and pickpockets have been threatening that reputation as
of late and are endangering general security.
Strasser
did not mention the possibility of reintroducing visa requirement for
Bulgarians, but he stressed that both Bulgaria and Romania must improve their
internal security checkups if they wish to become EU members. He noted that Austria has worked out a
10-point plan to be discussed with Romanian and Bulgarian authorities. Vienna's
vote on the two countries' EU accession, planned for 2007, will depend on the
implementation of this plan.
Strasser lifts asylum guidelines
Austrian
Interior Minister Ernst Strasser lifted federal guidelines on caring for asylum
seekers, following a recent Supreme Court decision. The move will result
in costs of 12.6 million euros per month.
The
guidelines were introduced last autumn and excluded asylum seekers from certain
countries from receiving state support during their asylum application
proceedings, regardless of circumstances. The lifting of these regulations will
mean that all asylum seekers are entitled to federal care.
New visa regime with Poland
On 1st October Poland introduced visas for citizens of
Belarus in preparation for its accession to the European Union. Belarus turned
down an offer for free visas to Poland, which would have meant giving visa free
travel for Poles wishing to visit Belarus. However, there will be free visas
for some categories of travellers from Belarus including children, students,
pensioners, the disabled and persons visiting family graves.
Hunger
strike of Afghans ends with acceptance that some will have to return
On
14 August 300 Afghan asylum seekers ended a hunger strike that began on 23 July
with their acceptance that some will have to return to their home country next
year if the situation there permits. Both the Afghans and the Minister of the
Interior expressed satisfaction with the deal, negotiated by a mediator, which
will provide the Afghans with more security of residence.
Initially,
the Afghans demanded a collective decision to grant them all a residence
permit. The only concession the
Ministry of the Interior was ready to make was to postpone their repatriation
until March 2004 or the end of June 2004 for families. The Government said it
was prepared to review the cases of those who applied for asylum before 1
January 2000 while an appeal commission reviews the applications of the others.
Under
the deal, the Afghans are to receive some form of temporary protection. Those
who applied for asylum before 1 January 2003 and have had their requests turned
down will be authorised to work. A re-evaluation of the situation in
Afghanistan will take place early next year when the Ministry decides whether
or not to extend their stay in Belgium.
The
Ministry of the Interior reiterated the possibility of asylum seekers obtaining
a residence permit after having waited at least four years (three years for
families with children) and still being in the asylum procedure without
receiving a final decision. It is believed that some 8,000 asylum seekers could
benefit from this semi-amnesty, given that their asylum applicants date back to
before 1 January 2000.
Number of foreigners in Belgium plummets
Belgiums
foreign population has decreased by over 50,000 over the past three years, a
National Institute for Statistics study revealed.
Belgiums
850,077 foreign nationals constitute 8 % of the countrys population of over 10
million inhabitants, but this percentage continues to fall. Between 1998 and 2003,
the countrys number of foreign residents shrunk by 53,000 a phenomenon which
is in contrast to several other European countries.
Further
studies will be carried out by the NIS in order to determine the reason for the
decrease.
People traffickers jailed for eight years
On 12 August 2003, a Belgian judge
sentenced an Albanian national to eight years in prison for smuggling an
estimated 12,000 illegal immigrants into Britain from Belgium over a two-year
period. The majority of the immigrants were Albanian although other
East-Europeans and African migrants were smuggled as well. The operation had
been said to be very well structured: some were drivers, others were in charge
of running safe houses, while others met new arrivals. The case is known to have
dismantled one of the largest human trafficking operations in Europe.
Bulgaria and Croatia refuse asylum camps
Croatia
and Bulgaria have both turned down the controversial UK and Italian idea that
they house asylum camps for immigrants trying to get to the EU.
The
Presidents of both of these future EU member states refused the idea after
bilateral talks.
Croatia's
Mr Mesic said that he thought those who came up with the idea would be better
occupied trying to find solutions to the regional crisis in the Balkans
instead. Mr Parvanov of Bulgaria believes that all EU member states and those
waiting to become members should act together - adding that neither Bulgaria
nor other states could be expected to create "strange ghettos" to
isolate refugees.
The
predominantly British idea for camps in 3rd countries to 'process' those
seeking entrance to the EU was rejected by EU leaders at the Thessaloniki
Summit in June.
Immigrants welcome in Bulgaria
According
to a recent opinion poll carried out by Gallup International, immigrants are
welcome in Bulgaria if they come from Europe or other Balkan states.
While
immigrants from poorer countries in Africa or the Arab world do not face any
negative prejudices in Bulgaria, immigrants from regions regarded as hotbeds of
militant Islamism or terrorism such as Kosovo, Chechnya, Afghanistan, or
Central Asia, are not so well received.
The
largest share of immigrants, or almost 60 percent, comes from Russia, the
former Soviet republics, and Central and East European countries. Fourteen
percent of the immigrants are from the Middle East and about the same share
from Western countries; that is, EU member states or the United States.
Chinese immigrants make up four percent, while three percent come from Africa
and East or Southeast Asia, respectively.
Law on asylum adopted
On 12 June 2003, the Croatian
Parliament adopted a law on asylum and a government-sponsored amendment which
postpones the application of the law until 1 July 2004.
The amendment was put forward in
light of the fact that a reception centre for asylum seekers will be built
outside Zagreb in mid-2004.
Under the law, Croatia will grant
asylum to a foreigner who is outside his/her country of origin and cannot or
does not want to be placed under its protection due to reasonable fear of
persecution on grounds of his/her race, religion, nationality and affiliation
to a social or political group.
Asylum seekers have the right to
accommodation, residence, education, religious practice, legal and social
assistance, assistance to integrating in social life and the right to immediate
family return.
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/print.html?CATEGORY=NEWS&id=3ee991fad
Visegrad
countries agree in Prague to coordinate Schengen Agreement accession
On
11 September 2003, Czech Interior Minister Stanislav Gross, after meeting in
Prague with his counterparts from Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, stated that an
agreement had been reached to coordinate their countries' accession to the Schengen
agreement at the earliest possible date.
The
Visegrad group interior ministers also agreed, however, that border-check
controls cannot be dropped before 2006 due to security risks and the need to
improve protection against illegal immigration. After their May 2004 EU
accession, the Visegrad countries will become EU border-states.
No
Slovak has received asylum in Czech Republic
Not
one Slovak citizen has received asylum in the Czech Republic since
Czechoslovakia was divided in 1993, despite the fact that 2,585 have applied.
Deputy interior minister Koudelny notes that Slovaks most frequently cite
economic reasons for asylum in their applications.
The
number of applicants from Slovakia to the Czech Republic grew sharply in 2000,
when 732 Slovaks applied, as opposed to 13 in the previous year. Last year, 843
Slovaks applied, and 581 have done so in the first half of this year.
Slovaks,
however, most often make use of the possibility of voluntary repatriation, by
which the Czech government pays for them to return to their homeland. Last
year, 568 people returned home through this method, of whom 195 were Slovaks.
Asylum
facilities in the Czech Republic are bursting at the seams, with the capacity
of all 12 centres filled for the entire present half-year. In July 2003 nearly
2,500 people were housed in the asylum facilities. The massive growth in asylum
seekers was primarily caused by the wave of refugees from Chechnya, who left
Polish refugee camps for the Czech Republic. The majority of them, however, have
left Czech facilities and are heading to Austria.
At
present, there are around 800 Chechens in Czech refugee facilities, causing
Russia to be the largest source of refugees in the Czech Republic this year.
The Ukraine, Slovakia, China, and Vietnam are the next largest sources. In
terms of the absolute numbers of asylum seekers since 1990, however, the list
is headed by Ukraine, above Romania and Afghanistan.
The
success rate for asylum seekers in the Czech Republic is a mere 3.6 percent.
The most successful applicants for asylum in the past 13 years have been from
Romania, with 474 receiving asylum. Afghanistan is in second place, followed by
Russia and other countries of the former USSR.
Stateless
man continues his wait
Since
landing in Prague two months ago without proper documentation, the 30-year-old
Ziyad, who claims to be Palestinian, has become a ward of Czech Airlines (CSA).
The airport has been his home since August 2.
It
is not yet known where Ziyad comes from,
(he is believed to be Lebanese), or how he got to Prague without a
passport. He told the Czech News Agency that he bribed his way onto a plane in
Damascus, Syria, and then ate his boarding pass. Ziyad changed planes in
Istanbul, boarding a Prague-bound CSA flight. The airline attempted to send him
back, but Turkish authorities refused to accept Ziyad and he was returned to
Ruzyne.
Because
he remains in the airport's transit area, Ziyad is technically not on Czech
soil and is not the responsibility of the government.
The
Foreigners' Police says that they have nothing to do with Ziyad as he is
technically not in custody. Still, he is not allowed to exit the terminal.
The
Interior Ministry has denied a request from Ziyad for asylum on the grounds
that he does not fulfil the criteria.
The
Foreign Ministry has been working to locate his country of origin, but until it
does, Ziyad remains a CSA ward. The office has been trying to work with the
Turkish and Lebanese embassies.
Anna
Grusova, director of the Counselling Centre for Refugees in Prague, said if
Ziyad's identity is not discovered, he could spend years in the terminal.
Ziyad's
story is not unprecedented in the annals of world travel. An Iranian man
without documentation has been living at Charles de Gaulle International
Airport in Paris for 15 years.
According to Russian media reports, as many as 50 people live at the
Moscow airport at any given time.
Temporary
refugee status Bill adopted
On
8 July 2003 Czech president Vaclav Klaus signed a law on temporary refugee
status. This status will be granted to foreigners from countries hit by wars or
natural disasters and will enable them to stay in the Czech Republic on a
temporary basis. It will not allow them to apply for asylum or a long-term
residence permit.
Klaus
also signed an amendment to the asylum law setting tougher conditions for
asylum proceedings, which raised protests from human rights activists.
This
amendment was introduced as a result of past asylum seekers trying to correct
some data in their file for their benefit in order to obtain asylum. Under this
modification, asylum seekers will not be able to see the final version of their
files compiled by Czech bodies.
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Ban on naturalisation of Iraqi applicants
lifted
In
June 2003, it was announced that the ban on the naturalisation of people of
Iraqi origin had been lifted. This ban was imposed on 2 April 2003 on account
of the countrys participation in the war against Iraq. Under Danish law,
people originating from a hostile country are not eligible for Danish
citizenship.
Age limit on family reunion to be lowered to 15
years
On
16 June 2003, the Minister for Refugees, Immigrants and Integration Affairs
presented a large-scale programme of 114 proposals aimed at arriving at the
better integration of people of immigrant origin and at promoting tolerance and
diversity. One of the proposals is lower the age limit for family reunification
from 18 to 15 years.
Call to drop Refugee Convention
The
anti-immigration Danish Peoples Party again called for Denmark to break away
from human rights conventions. The call was made despite the fact that the
tougher immigration laws, which came into force in July 2002, have resulted in
a sharp fall of about 50 per cent in the number of asylum seekers.
First forced expulsion of two Afghans
On
28 July 2003, Radio Sweden reported that in the preceding week an attempt was
made by the Danish police to forcibly expel 10 Afghans. Eight managed to evade
arrest and have since gone into hiding.
The police ended up escorting only two Afghans to Kabul.
According
to the Danish police, there are more than 2,700 rejected asylum seekers in
Denmark who have an obligation to leave the country.
Finland
No plans to incite departure of Afghans
The
head of the Asylum Unit of the Ministry of the Interior stated that Finland had
no plans to further encourage Afghans to accept voluntary repatriation by, for
example, raising the amount of the financial incentive.
According
to the Refugee and Asylum seeker Unit of the Aliens Board, there are between
500 and 600 Afghans in Finland. Almost all of them arrived in the last three
years, including some 400 who were included in Finlands annual refugee quota.
France to reform Asylum Act of 1952
The
National Assembly adopted a draft asylum bill on 5 June 2003. Following a
threefold rise in asylum applications in France since 1998, the new bill aims
to reduce asylum claim assessment times to two months while also tackling
so-called unfounded cases. All applications will now be dealt with by the
French Office for Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA).
Current
French asylum legislation still allows asylum seekers to apply for territorial
protection at a local government office, and for refugee status at OFPRA. An
asylum decision can take between 18 months to three years. During this time,
asylum seekers have no access to support if they have applied for territorial
protection status. The Coordination for the Right to Asylum fears that even
less protection will be provided for those who do not qualify for conventional
refugee status. The draft bill proposes to grant them one-year leave, with the
option of renewal. Renewal, however, can be denied for various reasons.
Aliens
Bill approved on first reading
On
10 July, the National Assembly approved a new Aliens Bill. Some of the proposed
changes relating to asylum seekers and refugees are explained below.
Under
the Bill, foreigners holding a temporary one-year residence permit, will have
to wait another two years, in addition to the current three years, to apply for
the more permanent 10 year residence card. The card will be issued only if the
applicants are able to prove their integration into French society. The same
conditions will apply to ex-irregular migrants who obtained a residence permit
after proving their presence in France for at least 10 years.
Family
members authorised to re-unite with a foreigner residing in France will no
longer be automatically entitled to unrestricted right of residence. Instead,
they will have to wait five years and will be granted such a right only if they
are able to prove satisfactory integration, which will require the opinion of
the local mayor. Juveniles aged over 16 years born in France but returned to
their home country without having completed a minimum of five years of
education in France will no longer be entitled to family reunion in France. In
addition, those foreign residents who ignore legal procedures and go ahead with
family reunion will have their residence permit withdrawn.
The
new bill authorises the Ministry of the Interior to declare any building,
centre or room close to a place of disembarkation a waiting zone, that is an
area considered to be an international zone outside French territory. This is
the Governments response to the arrival of 910 asylum seeking Kurds on board a
vessel that deliberately ran aground in Southern France in February 2001.
Interpreters
assisting asylum seekers will no longer have to be physically present in a
waiting zone. They will also be able to provide their services via telephone or
video-transmission.
In
order to avoid abusive asylum applications, a person held in remand in a
waiting zone who decides to submit an asylum application within the last four
days of the maximum period authorised by law may be kept there for four more
days.
Minister
of Interior denies that new Alien Bill will penalise those assisting irregular
migrants for humanitarian motives
On
the initiative of an association in support of immigrants/asylum seekers
(GISTI), a number of filmmakers and artists have expressed their support for
petition against a proposed new law, which introduced much tougher penalties
for assisting irregular migrants.
The
new Aliens Bill aggravates the penalty for assisting irregular migrants,
increasing the prison sentence from five to 10 years and the fine from 30,000
Euros to 750,000 Euros. The new penalty is to be applied to individuals and
corporate bodies who have through direct or indirect aid, facilitated or
attempted to facilitate the entry, movements and irregular stay of a foreigner
in France.
Concern
has been expressed that the Bill aims at extending the scope of the provisions
to associations, such as NGOs, whose essential aims are to provide humanitarian
assistance to foreigners, regardless of whether they have any authorisation to
be in France. If convicted, such NGOs would be faced with fines that could very
well put an end to their existence.
The
Minister of the Interior claimed that the new Aliens Bill does not render more
severe the penalties imposed on private persons and associations for
facilitating the entry and stay in France for foreigners without authorisation
to do so. The Minister affirmed that private persons and humanitarian
organisations that provide disinterested support to foreigners are treated with
great tolerance by the police. The measures in question are aimed in reality
at smugglers, employers, and home proprietors who rent out accommodation to
illegal immigrants in contemptible conditions and for an essentially lucrative
purpose.
The
Minister also stressed that it was necessary to propose tougher sanctions to
transpose into French law the obligations arising out of Frances signing of
the 2000 Palermo Convention aimed at combating the trafficking of migrants.
Activist
charged with providing support to irregular immigrants
On 31st May 2003, a member
of a group offering assistance to irregular migrants in the Calais region was
arrested. Mr Lenoir is suspected of having provided accommodation to an illegal
migrant wanting to seek asylum in the UK. Another member of the organisation
was arrested last April, also charged with aiding and abetting in the stay of
illegal immigrants.
Full text: Migration News Sheet, July
2003
Germany
and Italy set immigration controls
Germany
and Italy agreed to cooperate in interior and immigration policy issues, which
include a planned European border police and the deportation of immigrants
whose asylum claims are rejected. The agreement was the result of a meeting
between German interior minister Otto Schily and his Italian counterpart
Giuseppe Pisanu in Sardinia in August 2003.
Schily
and Pisanu discussed ways to coordinate European border controls, a previous
object of contention as Italy has so far rejected a joint European border
police envisaged by Schily. The two ministers agreed that Germany should manage
the control of borders on land, with Italy coordinating airport controls, and
Spain and Greece supervising policing of the Mediterranean. The question of finance was amongst the
issues still unresolved.
Schily
and Pisanu also agreed that in the near future biometric data should be
included in visa documents in order to help in the fight against international
terrorism. Both ministers agreed to the speeding up of a European-wide system
for identifying foreigners via visa. Foreigners in need of a visa would be
asked to provide a fingerprint and a photo before being allowed to enter the
Schengen member states. Both would be stored digitally and in the passport so
that they could be checked against criminal records.
Individual
EU member states have cooperated on immigration policy matters in the past, but
the idea of a European border police had so far been opposed amongst the
European council of ministers. Italy would rather see EU subsidies support its
national border police whilst Schily had rejected requests for extra EU
finances for national police.
UN
in Kosovo deny admission to group of Kosovars expelled from Germany
On
26 June, a group of 64 Kosovars were flown from Dusseldorf to Kosovo. But, after having been denied
readmission by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) they
were taken back to Germany. The authorities in Dusseldorf were apparently
informed before the chartered plane had taken off from Germany that the
Kosovars would not be granted entry.
UNMIK
carefully checks whether those Kosovars to be repatriated can be returned in
view of the fact that the return of members of ethnic minorities is still not
without danger. It has been reported that some countries have even tried to
send Yugoslav nationals originating from Kosovo back to the country.
After
the groups return, most of the Kosovars were brought back to reception centres
in various parts of North Rhine Westphalia.
Lowest
six-month figure of asylum claims since 1987
26,452
asylum applications in Germany were made in the first six months of this
year. That number is 27 percent
less than the figure for the first semester of 2002.
The
three largest groups were Turkish nationals (3,328), Iraqis (3,003) and
nationals of Serbia and Montenegro (2,429). There was a significant fall in the
number of Iraqi asylum seekers, about 37 percent less than the figure for the
second half of 2002.
Out
of 48,045 decisions made in the first semester this year, only 924 received
refugee status and another 1,090 were granted so-called small asylum status.
Another 767 persons received protection from expulsion under the Article 53 of
the Aliens Act. A total of 33,527 (70 percent) applications were rejected in
the first instance and a further 12,504 (26 percent) were shelved because, for
example, the applicant withdrew his/her claim.
German
court rules deportation to countries where police torture exists as legal
On 22 July 2003,
Germany's highest court rejected the complaint of an Indian asylum seeker
saying that foreign criminal suspects can be deported to countries where the
police practice torture.
The suspect was
arrested on an Indian arrest warrant at the end of last year in Munich, on
suspicions of defrauding an Indian bank of more than two million US dollars. A
Munich court had ruled he could be deported to India in so far as he had no
specific reason to fear he would be tortured. The suspect appealed to the
Constitutional Court because of "inhumane conditions" in Indian
prisons and the practice of torture.
The Constitutional
Court ruled that although the mistreatment of inmates and severe prison
conditions are widespread in India, the state itself does not sponsor torture.
Indian police frequently use torture in interrogation but, according to the
Court, human rights violations were not systematic and thus deportation to the
country would be acceptable under German law.
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Kurdish girl suffering from heart disease may stay in Germany,
as may her family
On the 21st August 2003, a
high Administrative Court of Germany cancelled a deportation order issued to a
Kurdish family because one of the children suffers from a heart condition. According to the Administrative Court,
which refuted the decision of the Federal Refugee Office, there is a
possibility that the eight-year-old would not receive sufficient medical attention
in Ankara, due to her Kurdish origin. Thus, it was argued, her expulsion from
Germany could result in her death.
Full text: Migration News Sheet,
September 2003
Court upholds decision to withdraw refugee status from Metin
Kaplan, but rules out extradition to Turkey
On 27th August, the
Administrative Court of Cologne confirmed the decision to withdraw refugee
Status from Metin Kaplan, an Islamic fundamentalist leader. He was granted
refugee status in 1992 by German authorities and is accused by the Turkish
authorities of treason. However, the Court held that Mr. Kaplan could not be
extradited on the grounds that it was uncertain whether a trial in Turkey would
comply with international law.
Full text: Migration News Sheet,
September 2003
UNHCR urges Greece not to expel Iraqis
In
a statement issued on 9 August, the UNHCR representative in Athens urged Greece
not to expel Iraqis, as Iraq is a place of continuing conflict in a number of
areas.
According
to the UNHCR, 2,237 Iraqis had applied for political asylum so far this year.
But there are probably many more in the country who prefer not to apply for
asylum as there are hardly any material advantages in doing so. Asylum seekers
in Greece are not even assured of accommodation and many sleep rough in the
open.
The
UNHCR reported that all Iraqi asylum seekers had been rejected this year but
most had lodged appeals. It said that it did not know whether any Iraqis had
been expelled.
Ireland participates in the Temporary
Protection Directive
The
Council Directive 2001/55/EC on minimum standards for giving temporary
protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons applies to
Ireland as of 3 October. Irish government must bring into force the laws,
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the
Directive by 31 December 2003.
Asylum
seekers from EU candidate countries will be presumed not to be refugees
As
from 15 September, asylum seekers from EU candidate countries will be faced
with the presumption that they are not bona fide refugees. Instead, their cases
will be dealt with under an accelerated procedure and an appeal against a
negative decision can only be lodged in writing.
The
countries concerned are the 10 mainly Central and East European countries which
are to become members of the EU in May 2004, as well as Bulgaria and Romania,
to join probably in 2007. The list of safe countries will be kept under review
and will be amended accordingly.
The
measure is expected to affect Romanians in particular. Of the 5,397 asylum
seekers registered in Ireland in the first seven months of this year, 11 per
cent of them are Romanian nationals.
Ireland
closes immigration hole
Ireland
has formally closed a loophole in its immigration policy, which it said had
lured thousands of foreign nationals to seek asylum at its shores in recent
years.
The
government said applications by non-nationals requesting to remain in Ireland
because their children were born in the country would no longer be considered.
This
policy change follows a January landmark Supreme Court decision that reversed a
1990 ruling under which asylum seekers whose children were born in Ireland were
allowed to stay even if their applications for asylum had failed.
The
government has said the move would not result in "mass deportation"
of a backlog of some 11,000 non-nationals whose applications were pending
before the Supreme Court ruling.
Ireland
received asylum applications running into the tens of thousands last year - a
large proportion of them from Romanians and Nigerians - up from a total of just
40 a decade ago.
Since 1999, 10,000 non-European
Union citizens have been granted residency on the basis that their children
were Irish-born.
The country, with a population of
less than four million, deported more than 1,000 immigrants last year.
3,000
under-aged refugees in past three years
Almost
3000 unaccompanied children have arrived in Ireland over the last three years,
according to a new report published in August 2003.
The
report, by the Irish Refugee Council, says a significant number of these
children, some as young as 14, are now living in hostels without direct
supervision. According to the study, only 5% of the total number of children
who arrive alone are identified by immigration on arrival, suggesting that most
are smuggled into the country.
The
report sites that some of the children are reunited with their families in
Ireland, while others drop out of the asylum process early on.
Italy and Bosnia sign deal on readmission of
illegal immigrants
Italy
and Bosnia signed an agreement on the readmission of illegal immigrants from
Italy, including citizens from third countries, the first such deal between an
EU country and post-war Bosnia.
Under
the accord Italy would use a simplified procedure for sending back to Bosnia
its nationals who have been found illegally residing in Italy, as well as those
from third countries with Bosnian visas or those whove passed through Bosnia
within the past 12 months.
Bosnia
has so far signed similar accord only with Croatia.
Following
Bosnias 1992-95 war, the Balkans country became a major stop-off on illegal
immigrants route to the EU, due to its porous borders. Last year Bosnia
established full control of its borders, leading to dramatic cuts in the number
of illegal immigrants from 35,000 in 2000 to less then 600 in 2002.
Italy
calls for EU policy to fight illegal immigration
Italy
is pushing for a EU-wide immigration policy that includes joint patrols in the
Mediterranean and the establishment of two centres to coordinate the action of
an anti-immigrant force.
The
issue was drawn to attention at an EU meeting in June 2003 in Greece, where
leaders agreed to spend an additional 140 million over the next three years to
boost security along borders with non-EU neighbours.
Italys
proposal involves mixed national patrols along Mediterranean coasts. The
multinational patrol force would be coordinated by two command centres: one in
Spain for operations in Western Europe and the other in Cyprus for the Eastern
part of the continent.
The
costs of the patrol force as well as the repatriation of illegal immigrants
would be shared among all EU partners.
Italy
calls for EU-wide quotas to curb immigration
Plans
for Europe-wide quotas for admission of immigrants are being pushed by Italy,
which holds the EU presidency, in a drive to control the immigrant flow.
Rome
has put the fight against illegal migration at the top of its agenda, claiming
that agreed entry quotas with developing countries could help to secure their
cooperation in fighting human trafficking.
Italy
estimates 500,000 illegal immigrants arrive in Europe each year and insists
that managing this flow through quotas would be to the advantage of European
economies.
Italy
Libya agreement on combating irregular migrants
On
4 July, Italy and Libya signed an agreement to combat illegal immigration to
Italy. Under the terms of the agreement, both countries pledged to combat those
organisations responsible for human smuggling and provide better cooperation in
carrying out rescue operations. Italy will provide financial support to assist
Libya in combating illegal migration.
Previous
denial by Tripoli that such an agreement was being negotiated was probably due
to the premature announcement made by the Italian Prime Minister, who declared
that Italian soldiers would be allowed to carry out checks in Libyan ports.
This is believed to have infuriated Libya and there is no longer any talk of
sending Italian soldiers to Libyan ports.
KOSOVO
Serbs return to Kosovo
Some
24 Serbian families that fled Kosovo in 1999 returned to the village of Belo
Polje near Peja on 15 July 2003. Milorad Todorovic, who is responsible for
refugee returns within the Kosovo government, hailed the return as
exceptionally important, irrespective of the security situation.
In
related news, the Kosovo parliament amended its recent resolution calling for
refugees to come home to specifically include people who fled the province
after the conflict ended in June 1999.
Kosovar
Romany refugees leave Macedonian-Greek border
After
almost three months of protests, some 500 Romany refugees from Kosovo began
leaving the Macedonian-Greek border checkpoint of Medjitlija on 9 August. The
Roma left Kosovo during the 1999 conflict and subsequently lived in a camp
outside Skopje. They left their temporary shelter in May, when the UN decided
to shut down the camp, and demanded political asylum in an EU country. After
lengthy negotiations, the Roma accepted the UNHCR's offer of financial aid and
will find accommodation in Macedonia.
Adoption of a Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection
On 16 July 2003, the Macedonian
Assembly adopted a Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection with 67 votes
"for" and one restrained.
The law regulates the conditions and
procedure for obtaining or cancelling the right for asylum to foreigners or
persons without citizenship in Macedonia. It also determines the conditions
under which Macedonia can offer temporary protection as well as the rights and
obligations of persons under temporary protection.
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Home
Affairs Minister adamantly against freeing illegal immigrants
Malta was not prepared to follow the lead of some
European countries and set illegal immigrants free, even if the problem cost
the government around Lm 500,000 in 18 months. The government aimed to clear
the backlog of asylum seeker applications by the end of the year.
The government did its utmost to draw up a new refugee law
two years ago, ensuring that asylum seekers could not be deported. But until
that status is determined by an independent refugee commissioner, the
immigrants remain in detention.
There are currently over 600 people in detention and open
centres.
Tough legislation against illegal immigration was one of
the factors behind this years drop in the number of illegal immigrants
entering Malta. Last year, a total of 1,680 illegal immigrants landed in Malta.
The number this year is down to 180.
The government is currently engaged in talks to establish
a readmission agreement with Libya. It has been established that the vast
majority of illegal immigrants reaching Malta depart from Libya.
New coalition Government announces stricter
immigration policy
The new governing coalition agreement reached in May 2003
states that everyone is expected to observe fundamental Dutch values and norms
and show respect for differing points of view. Those wishing to settle in the
Netherlands must participate actively in Dutch society, must learn to speak
Dutch, understand Dutch values and comply with Dutch norms. Refugees will not
be awarded permanent residence permits until they have passed an examination to
demonstrate integration.
First of two controversial deportation centres is
ready
On 27 June 2003 the first of two deportation centres
with an initial capacity to hold 200 persons was opened at Rotterdam Airport.
The second, which will be able to hold up to 100 persons, will be opened at
Amsterdams Schiphol Airport later this year. The capacity of both centres will
later be expanded to 600.
Criticised by human rights groups as being little
different from prisons, the two centres will hold illegal immigrants and rejected
asylum seekers, including women and children, pending their deportation.
37 reception centres to be closed down in December
With the falling number of asylum seekers, the number of
places in reception centres is to be reduced by almost half to 37,000, the
estimated number required in 2004. 37 centres are to be closed down and the
capacity of three others are to be reduced.
The closure of these centres has inevitably led to a
drastic reduction in staff.
The sharp fall in the number of places in reception
centres is said to be the consequence of the new and tougher asylum policy.
Fewer asylum seekers, but more positive decisions
In the first semester of this year, some 7,500 asylum
seekers were registered, almost 33 per cent less than the figure for the same
period of last year (11,135). On the other hand, relatively more requests have
been granted positive decisions. Between January 2002 and June 2003, over 50
per cent of asylum applications were granted, compared to one out of every
three in previous years.
The two top countries of origin are Angola and Sierra
Leone. In April and May this year, many Iraqis applied for asylum because of
the Gulf War.
No expulsion of Iraqis or Liberians until 1 February
2004
Asylum seekers from Iraq and Liberia will not be expelled
from the Netherlands for the time being. The Government has decided to suspend
all decisions on their asylum applications and possible expulsion until
February 2004.
For several months there has been a moratorium on
expulsions of asylum seekers from central and northern Iraq on account of the
Gulf War.
New reports on the situation in Liberia and Iraq are
expected in December this year.
Angola and the Netherlands discuss repatriation
The Governments of Angola and the Netherlands discussed the
possibility to carry out a voluntary repatriation of 4,500 illegal Angolan
citizens resident in the Netherlands.
The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Interior and
Social Welfare and the Deputy Foreign Minister who said the first step is to
identify the people awaiting repatriation.
Most of the Angolans travelled to the Netherlands on the
consent of that countrys authorities and so far there has been no
investigation as to whether they are Angolans or not. The process will be long
and voluntary, as no one will be forced to return.
There are currently about 600,000 Angolan refugees in
worse conditions in neighbouring countries.
Repeal of the Remigration Act
A proposal concerning the repeal of the Remigration Act
has been submitted to the Lower House of Parliament on 1 September. Existing
claims to the benefits provided by the Act will be respected but no new
applications may be filed.
Under the Remigration Act, financial and other benefits
are provided to members of ethnic minorities who return to the country of
origin, in cases where they are unable to realise the remigration themselves.
The Netherlands is the only country in the EU with such a statute.
Iraqi Kurd leader will receive damages from Dutch
State
On
5th August 2003, a Court in Haarlem ruled that the Dutch State must
pay 4,970 Euros in damages to the Iraqi Kurd leader Mullah Krekar, for wrongful
imprisonment. Mullah Krekar was arrested at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam on 12
September 2002 en route to Norway where he has lived as a refugee since 1991.
He lost this status when he returned to his country without requesting
permission from authorities. After his arrest, Jordan submitted an extradition
request to the Dutch authorities, accusing Mullah of association in the heroin
trade. The Netherlands refused the extradition request and deported Mullah to
Oslo, where he arrived on 13 January 2003. The Dutch authorities also rejected
his application for asylum.
On
9 April 2003, a court in Amsterdam held that his asylum application had been unjustly
denied while another court ruled that he was wrongfully imprisoned.
Full
text: Migration News Sheet, September 2003
Rejected Somali asylum seekers cannot be expelled
because criteria for amnesty still unknown
On
4th August 2003, a Court of Maastricht overruled an expulsion order
issued to a Somali woman, as the criteria for granting residence permits to
asylum seekers was still unknown. She had applied to benefit for the amnesty
but she was denied and ordered to leave the country.
The
Ministry of Justice announced it would lodge an appeal against the courts
decision.
Full
text: Migration News Sheet, September 2003
Grace period proposed for long-term asylum seekers
The Immigration Directorate has proposed that asylum
seekers without a known homeland should be given permanent residency in Norway
after 10 years.
This position is opposed by the Conservative Party and the
Progress Party. Norway has stricter regulations for permanent residency for
asylum seekers than both Sweden and Denmark. Asylum seekers who have had their
applications turned down, and who cannot be returned to their homelands, do not
have the right to work or to study in Norway.
Record number of people admitted for family reunion
last year
The Immigration Directorates annual report for 2002
reveals that more than 14,000 persons entered Norway last year for the purpose
of family reunion: an all-time record (in 2001 it was 12,000). Some 300 people
were granted a residence permit on humanitarian grounds and 1,335 refugees arrived
under the annual quota system.
Only 332 persons granted refugee status last year
According to the Immigration Appeals Boards yearbook for
2001/2, only 332 people were granted refugee status last year and another 2,958
asylum seekers were granted a residence permit on humanitarian grounds. 9,066
applications were turned downs and the large majority have probably lodge an
appeal. 3,763 asylum seekers were sent back to the first country in which they
had applied for asylum.
The rate of successful appeals is around 4 per cent. Of the 8,185 rejected asylum seekers
who lodged an appeal in 2001/2, only 336 were successful.
Too few asylum seekers granted refugee status
The Immigration Directorate has set up an internal working
group to look into the reasons why so many asylum seekers who should qualify
for refugee status end up receiving only a residence permit on humanitarian
grounds. According to a report by the Ministry for Local Government, this may
be due to the poor training of staff that lack knowledge in the field of
international human rights. It is also claimed that caseworkers sometimes grant
humanitarian status in order to save time.
Regularisation of illegal migrants
On 1 September 2003, the situation of aliens illegally
residing on the territory of Poland was opened to a regularisation procedure.
Persons who arrived before 1 January 1997, and who have since been continually
illegally resided in Poland, are able to come forward to local authorities and
apply for one-year temporary residence.
The permit is to be granted on condition of the person
proving a connection with Poland, and that she or he will not constitute a
burden on the system of social security. If the person meets the requirements
he or she will have the right to apply for extended stay and permanent
residency. A person who chooses to leave within the period of one-year
temporary residence permit will not be placed on the register of aliens banned
from re-entering Poland.
Another form of regularisation is also aimed at persons
residing in Poland illegally on 1 September 2003. Those who come forward to
authorities will be given instructions to leave Poland, but without having to
suffer the consequence of being banned from re-entering legally in the future.
This form of regularisation will only be available from 1 September to 31
October 2003.
The procedures are introduced as a result of the
introduction of the new Law on Aliens and Law on the Protection of Aliens on
Polish Territory, in force since 1 September for the purposes of compliance
with EU standards.
Poland introduces visa for Russians
As of 1 October, Poland has introduced entry visas for
citizens of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It was noted that the move does not
reflect the will of either Moscow or Warsaw, but is a requirement of the
European Union, which Poland expects to join next May.
Although the introduction of visas "is causing no
enthusiasm," Russia has managed to reach an acceptable arrangement with
Poland regarding the issuance of visas to its citizens. The application process
will be simple, and many categories of Russian citizens such as business
people, government officials, students, people under age 17, and people over
age 70, will be exempted from paying visa fees.
Currently, about 3.5 million people a year travel between
Russia and Poland.
More than 9,000 Romanians lose right to travel for
five years
The Romanian border police reported in July that they had
withdrawn the passports of more than 9,000 of their citizens deported from West
European countries. These people have thus been banned from travelling abroad
for five years.
Poland and Russia reportedly agree on special visa
regime for Kaliningrad exclave
Residents of Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast will travel to
Poland on free visas after Poland introduces a visa regime for Russian citizens
on 1 October 2003. The agreement, reached during consultations on consular
problems between the Russian and Polish Foreign Ministries, reportedly provides
for a simplified procedure for issuing visas to Russian citizens who
permanently live in Kaliningrad Oblast. Visas, including multi-entry, will be
issued free of charge for up to 12 months without the submission of an
invitation. Poles entering the Kaliningrad exclave will not have to pay for
their visas.
20,000 refugees refuse to return to Chechnya
More than 20,000 Chechen refugees have refused to return
to their war-torn Russian republic and instead will stay in neighbouring
Ingushetia.
Some 98,000 refugees from Chechnya, including ethnic
Chechens, Ingush and Russians, are today living in Ingushetia, some 17,000 of
them in tent camps, according to the office of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights. They fled following fighting that erupted in their north Caucasus
republic when Russian troops poured in to quell what the Kremlin called a
separatist insurgency in October 1999.
With the Kremlin keen to show that the war is over ahead
of presidential elections, the camps are all due to be shut by October 1, four
days before a Moscow-organised presidential poll in Chechnya. According to the
Ingush government, some 3,000 Chechen refugees have returned to Chechnya during
the past month.
Moscow tries to allay Chechens' fears over
repatriation
Russia is intensifying efforts to repatriate Chechen
refugees back to Chechnya as local presidential elections loom in the war-torn
region.
A Russian delegation visited Georgia on September 1-2 to
hold talks with Georgian authorities on the return of Chechen refugees living
in Pankisi Gorge. According to the latest census held by the Georgian Ministry
for Refugees and Accommodation in cooperation with the UNHCR, up to 3,800
Chechens are in Georgia at the moment.
It was said at the meeting on 2 September that the Russian
Government is ready to grant compensation payments for housing and unemployment
benefits in the case of repatriation. The Russian government has also allocated
5 billion rubles to reconstruct the houses of Chechen refugees.
Despite Russian authorities' claims that the situation in
Chechnya has improved, many Chechens are cautious about the repatriation to
their homeland, where terrorist acts and armed clashes between Russian troops
and rebels still occur.
The Georgian authorities, as well as UNHCR, support
Chechen repatriation on a voluntary basis only.
Murdered Chechen womans family flees abroad
The family of
Elza Kungaeva, the young Chechen woman who was murdered in March 2000 by
Russian Army Colonel Yurii Budanov, arrived in Norway on 27 August where they
have been granted refugee status. The family has lived for the past three years
in a displaced persons' camp in Ingushetia. Kungaeva's father, Visa Kungaev,
said the family has received repeated threats of reprisals from Russian troops.
The North Caucus Military Court sentenced Budanov last month to 10 years'
imprisonment for the murder.
Moscow administration plans more deportation centres
Anatolii
Batrukin, head of the Moscow Interior Ministry's directorate for migrant
issues, told city legislators on 13 October that six detention centres capable
of housing up to 500 foreign citizens are being set up in the city to hold
illegal immigrants until they can be deported. According to Batrukin, there are
already three such centres, with a total capacity of 329. Since April, these
centres have processed about 1,100 people.
OSCE Mission supports refugee return accord between
Belgrade and Sarajevo
The head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro,
Ambassador Maurizio Massari, welcomed the agreement on refugee returns, signed
6 October between Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The OSCE Mission is committed to facilitating agreement on
a tri-lateral return process between Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina
and Croatia before the end of 2003.
"The agreement signed today is an important step in
facilitating return of refugees in the region," said Ambassador Massari,
who was present at the signing of the agreement.
Appeal against compensation
awarded to forcibly conscripted refugees
On
26th September, the Humanitarian Law Centre (HLC) appealed against
the amount of compensation awarded by Belgrades First Municipal Court to a
group of Serbian refugees who fled from Croatia in August 1995. They were
recruited by force into the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina and detained
by Serbian police who exposed them to degrading treatment.
The
HCL expects the Belgrade District Court will award 400,000 dinars to each
refugee, instead of the 200,000 dinars previously awarded by the Municipal
Court, in compensation for the mental and the physical pain they suffered and
the violation of their rights.
http://www.hlc.org.yu/english/Facing_The_Past/Reparation/index.php?file=630.html
slovakia
Slovakia to harmonise asylum procedures with EU
The harmonisation of Slovakia's asylum procedures with the
EU's is the aim of a project launched in September by the Slovak Interior and
Justice Ministries in cooperation with the Dutch Immigration Bureau.
Backed by the EU PHARE twinning programme, the project
should prepare the groundwork for implementing the Dublin Convention on Member
States Responsible for Examining Asylum Requests and related database system
EURODAC (European Automated Fingerprint Recognition System), which registers
fingerprints of asylum applicants in the European Union.
A major change is expected following Slovakia's accession
to the EU next May. With the majority of asylum seekers quickly leaving
Slovakia and heading further west, as of May 2004 Slovakia will have to accept
the persons back and carry out a full asylum procedure. Involved in the project
are Slovakia's Migration Office, Office of Border and Foreigners Police, and
the Interior Ministry's Institute for Criminology and Expertise.
Official end to temporary protection for Bosnian refugees
The Government decided to officially end temporary
protection offered to citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina as of 1 August
2003. The persons concerned had until 15 August 2003 to leave the country.
Due to the wars in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, some
70,000 people had fled to Slovenia since 1992 and were granted temporary
protection in accordance with the recommendation of UNHCR. The law on temporary
asylum was adopted in 1997. In 1999 Slovenia also offered temporary protection
to 4,000 persons from Kosovo. All those offered temporary protection had the
opportunity of applying for permanent residence in Slovenia.
Of the some 2,300 Bosnians who were in Slovenia at the end
of 2002, 1,985 had obtained a permanent residence permit, 200 opted for
repatriation and 42 persons still remained under temporary protection at the
end of March 2003.
More restrictive immigration law to be introduced
The Spanish government is planning to introduce tougher
immigration laws in order to reduce the number of north Africans landing
illegally in the south of the country.
The Bill will withdraw certain civil rights currently
granted to foreigners on the territory of Spain. The legislation will be in
force as of January 2004 and will authorise the expulsion of immigrants refused
permission to stay in Spain. Migrants with or without residency papers will not
be denied medical care and education; however, those without papers will be
banned from attending demonstrations and joining unions or striking.
Spain to train Nigerian immigration officers
The Nigeria Immigration Service is to send six of its
senior officers to Spain in October for intensive training on immigration
duties and effective policing of the countrys entry points.
The programme was part of a bilateral agreement signed in
2001 between the Spanish and Nigerian immigration services. Six other officers
had earlier benefited from the programme.
The Spanish government bears the entire cost of the
training.
New readmission agreement with Rabat
On 20 June 2003, the Council of Ministers gave their
approval to an agreement on migration to be signed by Madrid and Rabat. The
agreement requires each side to readmit into its territory any person who does
not satisfy or has ceased to satisfy the conditions of entry. The text also
specifies the procedure of repatriation.
The agreement is likely to replace the bi-lateral
readmission agreement from February 1992.
It was also announced that the Government had signed an
agreement with Algeria on the movement of persons. The text is aimed at
facilitating the repatriation of the nationals of either side caught staying
without authorisation.
Readmission agreement between Spain and Mauritania
In July, Spain and Mauritania signed a bi-lateral
agreement under which the latter accepted to readmit not only its own nationals
caught trying to enter Spain or staying there illegally, but also other African
nationals who have transited through Mauritania in making their journey to
Spain.
There are not many Mauritanian nationals who immigrate
clandestinely to Spain. Madrids problem is mainly with other sub-Saharan
nationals, such as Malians, Nigerians and Senegalese, who use Mauritania as a
stepping-stone because it is geographically located near to Spains Canary
Islands.
Most sub-Saharan migrants cannot be expelled from Spain
because they have no documents proving their identity and/or Madrid has no
readmission agreement with their country.
Providing assistance to irregular migrants on an
individual basis will become punishable
Under the terms of the new Aliens Bill, providing
assistance to irregular migrants on an individual basis will become punishable.
At present, a penalty is imposed only on those who are members of an
organisation or gang providing assistance in return for financial gain.
Explaining the proposed measures, the Minister of Interior
said that it was aimed at, for example, vehicle owners who waited near beaches
for boat migrants to disembark clandestinely so as to negotiate with them on
a fee to be taken elsewhere in Spain.
Only about 5 per cent of asylum seekers get
protection
In a report published by the Spanish committee for Aid to
Refugees, it was revealed that only 5 per cent of the 6,203 persons who sought
asylum in Spain last year were granted protection. Only 175 received refugee
status and a further 150 were granted permission to stay on humanitarian
grounds.
Last years figure of the number of asylum seekers was 35
per cent less than in 2001 (9,490). The fall was due to the introduction of
entry visas for Columbian nationals and airport transit visas for Cubans. In
the past, Cubans took advantage of their stopover in Madrid while on a flight
to Moscow to apply for asylum.
Most of the asylum seekers in 2002 were Nigerians (23 per
cent), followed by Cubans (19 per cent) and Columbians (17 per cent).
Hospitality towards refugees in on the decline
According to a survey carried out by the Society, Opinion
and Media Institute Gotenborg, Swedes are becoming increasingly reluctant to
accept more refugees. The results showed that when asked whether it was a good
idea to take on fewer refugees, 50 per cent of the 3,700 persons interviewed
last October responded affirmatively, while only 25 per cent disagreed and the
remaining 25 per cent had no opinion.
Conservative voters were most opposed to accepting more
refugees; Liberal supporters are still favourably inclined to receiving
refugees.
About 500 less asylum seekers in first period
14,136 asylum seekers were registered in the first six
months of this year, which represents a drop of about 500 when compared to the
same period of last year.
Asylum seekers from Serbia and Montenegro (2,396) were the
largest single group, followed by Iraqis (1,748) and Somalis (985).
Increasing number of rejected asylum seekers
disappear
The Migration Board estimates that around 1,000 asylum
seekers disappear from the system every month. This is three times the number
three years ago. It has been predicted that the total number for this year may
well reach 10,000, compared to some 5,000 last year. Most of them have had their application rejected.
The sharp rise in the number of rejected asylum seekers in
hiding is explained by the increase in the number of asylum seekers, with very
few qualifying for a residence permit. Among those who disappear, persons from
the Balkans predominate. The Migration Board estimates that a third remain in
Sweden in hiding, the remainder either return home without registering that
they have left Sweden or turn up in other countries either as asylum seekers or
as illegal residents.
Rejection of the appeal of a
Bosnian girl suffering from an eye disease
On
4 July 2003, the Aliens Appeal Board rejected the appeal of Ms Immamovic, a
young Bosnian girl who suffers from a serious eye disease. According to the
Social Welfare Board there is no treatment or cure for the disease Nadina is
suffering from, but care and support can make a difference.
The
Appeal Board referred to the expert opinion and support available in Bosnia and
concluded that Nadina would not be subjected to any irreparable harm if she
returned to her home country where her father lives.
Full
text: Migration News Sheet, August 2003
Swiss issue list of 38 safe countries to block
asylum requests
Switzerland has for the first time published a list of
countries from which it will no longer accept asylum requests. Asylum
applications from 38 safe countries, where human rights are deemed to be
respected, would automatically be rejected.
The list, which has been applied from 1 August 2003, comes
three months ahead of the general elections, with asylum laws and the treatment
of refugees among the most sensitive issues on the political agenda.
Eleven percent of the 26,125 asylum requests recorded last
year were made by people coming from safe countries. Balkan states like
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia are on the list, as well as the 10 mostly
Eastern European countries that will join the EU in 2004. The African nations
of Senegal, Ghana and Gambia are also listed, along with Liechtenstein, Norway,
Iceland, Lithuania, Mongolia, India, Albania, Bulgaria and Romania.
Correspondents say the inclusion of EU member states on
the lists will help Swiss authorities prevent an influx of groups like the
Roma.
Anti-immigration party calls for a third referendum
to tighten asylum policy
Having failed last November by a very narrow margin of a
little more than 4,000 votes in its second attempt to drastically restrict the
right of asylum, the anti-immigration party UDC/SVP will until September 2003
collect signatures for the organisation of a third referendum on drastically
restricting the right of asylum.
The party says that, if necessary, steps should be taken
to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.
The UDC/SVP demands that responsibility for asylum seekers
would stay with the Federal Government for the whole period of their stay, and
not be assigned to the various cantons. The party also wants all rejected
asylum seekers, even those admitted in the procedure, to be denied social
benefits. It also calls for the strict implementation of the safe third country
rule and the expulsion of all asylum seekers arriving from such a state,
regardless of whether the country agrees to their readmission. In addition, any
asylum seeker having entered the country without authorisation or valid
identity documents would have their claims declared inadmissible.
Two tough proposals concerning asylum are adopted by
a parliamentary committee
On 4 July, the Committee on Political Institutions of the
Federal Parliament adopted two proposals concerning asylum seekers. They will
now be examined further in view of their insertion into the Aliens Bill
currently before parliament.
One proposal aims at enabling the authorities to detain
asylum seekers when there are indications that the identity assumed is false or
when there are doubts concerning the declared identity. Detention would be
applied if the person concerned does not provide the documents establishing
their true identity within a specified period, or refuses to cooperate.
The other proposal calls for the negotiation of
readmission agreement with the home countries of asylum seekers. Assistance, in
particular development aid for such countries, would be denied if they refuse
to cooperate or fail to readmit their nationals.
House of Representatives throws out asylum cuts
Plans to cut spending on asylum by SFr137 million ($104
million) have been rejected by the House of Representatives.
An alliance of Left and Right called for a review of the
effect the cuts would have on Switzerlands asylum system. The cuts are part of
government proposals to save SFr3.3 billion in spending over the next three
years.
The proposals will now go back to the Senate for further
discussion. They go hand-in-hand with a change to the system whereby asylum
seekers who have had their applications turned down would no longer be entitled
to government-funded support, and the deadline for appeals will be shortened.
The new measures mean that around 8,000 people would be
thrown on to the streets next year here in Switzerland, said Jrg Schertenleib
of the Swiss Refugee Council.
Ukraine signs visa agreements with Poland and Hungary
Ukraine and
Poland signed an intergovernmental agreement on 30 July regulating travel
between those countries by their respective citizens. The agreement provides
for free visas for Ukrainians and visa-free travel to Ukraine for Poles. The
new regime came into force on 1 October. The document was signed on the first
day of Polish Premier Leszek Miller's visit to Ukraine. Miller said Poland
intends to maintain free visas for Ukrainians after it joins the Schengen zone
in 2006. The immediate result was a drop in some 70-90 per cent of incoming
traffic on Polands eastern border-crossing points, although it is thought that
it will be some months before the real effects of the measures are known.
Deputy
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Oleksandr Motsyk and Hungarian Foreign Ministry
deputy state secretary Krisztina Berta signed a visa accord on 9 October in
Kyiv. The agreement envisages visa-free entry to Ukraine for Hungarians and
free Hungarian visas for Ukrainians. The agreement will come into force on 1
November 2003. Ukrainians will need no formal invitation to obtain Hungarian
visas and can apply for the cost-free Hungarian visas as of 15 October.
EU, Ukraine hold annual summit
The
EU and Ukraine held their seventh annual summit on 7-8 October in Yalta. The
summit issued a 26-point joint statement that covered a wide range of issues,
including next year's expected EU enlargement; EU assistance to Ukraine;
implementation of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement; and regional
conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Moldova, Iraq, and Israel-Palestine. The
statement also focused upon concrete policies that Ukraine should be working
upon. These areas include reform of the judiciary and "strengthening and
ensuring stability of democratic institutions, the rule of law, and respect for
human rights."
New refugee route set up
The first UN-nominated victims of the Liberian civil war
will come to Britain as refugees in November. Up to 500 Liberian refugees will
be admitted to Britain under a new legal route into the country. The government
has agreed to accept the refugees, who are living in Sierra Leone, under a
scheme run by the UNHCR.
The refugees fled to their West African neighbours from
fighting in Liberia 13 years ago. They are expected to arrive in Britain in
November, paving the way for more refugees to use this resettlement scheme as
an official route. The aim is to prevent refugees using illegal traffickers.
Similar schemes exist in the US, Canada, Netherlands and
Denmark. Those selected will undergo classes to learn about British life,
culture and the English language. They will be provided with temporary housing,
counselling and essential help.
Legal aid cuts endanger asylum seekers
The Department for Constitutional Affairs has issued a
consultation paper: Proposed Changes to Publicly Funded Immigration and Asylum
Work. The aim of the proposals is to severely restrict the time that lawyers
can spend in preparing and representing asylum cases. Only five hours for
initial asylum application will be allowed; similarly, only four hours is to be
dedicated to preparation of an appeal. Further restrictions are planned for
immigration cases.
Amnesty International claims that that this may be a
direct obstacle to case preparation, which can be particularly complex in
asylum cases. It will erode legal protection for asylum seekers and heighten
the risk of people being wrongly returned to countries such as Iraq and Somalia
where access to justice is regularly denied.
Amnesty has submitted a response to the government's
Department for Constitutional Affairs, warning that the cuts will result in the
closure of reputable legal firms dealing with asylum.
UN attacks plans to limit legal aid for asylum
seekers
The United Nations has protested to the government over
plans to cut publicly funded legal advice to asylum seekers from 100 hours to a
maximum of only five hours work to help them make their case to an immigration
officer.
The proposal to limit legal aid in asylum and immigration
cases is proving the most controversial part of a package of reforms to
criminal and civil legal aid announced in June. It has been criticised by human
rights groups as well as lawyers' organisations.
The asylum changes, which will restrict publicly funded
advice to five hours for the initial decision and four hours for any subsequent
appeal are designed to save 30m a year.
UNHCR has warned ministers that access to effective legal
counselling and representation is a key procedural safeguard. A purely
cost-orientated approach aimed at limiting the hours of legal advice available
would very likely harm very deserving cases along with abusive cases, while
likely not reducing overall costs in the long term, it said.
UNHCR pointed out that feelings of fear, shame, culturally
motivated taboos and trauma are all reasons why refugees require some time
before being able to talk in detail about why they have fled to Britain.
It argues that complaints about "over-claiming"
and "shopping around" by asylum seekers for lawyers would be better
dealt with by the introduction of more effective sanctions against lawyers who
abuse the system by providing poor quality legal advice.
New law will curb asylum appeal rights
The rights of asylum seekers to appeal against decisions
to deport them are to be dramatically curtailed under plans to be published by
the Government in October.
The controversial proposals, which will spark protests
from backbench Labour MPs and refugee groups, will mean asylum seekers will
only be allowed one appeal against decisions to remove them from the country.
The proposals, which will be included in the Queen's
Speech in November, are part of a government drive to 'kill the issue' of
asylum before the next general election, expected in 2005.
A government consultation paper will lead to new
legislation, probably by the middle of next year.
At present asylum seekers are able to appeal to the
Immigration Appellate Authority, if they feel the decision by the Home Office
to reject their application is wrong. More than 75 per cent of rejected
applicants decide to appeal.
If the initial appeal fails they can take their case to
the Immigration Appeals Tribunal. Each of the stages can then be referred to a
judicial review, in a process that can stretch to many years.
Undocumented asylum seekers may be prevented from
seeking protection
In June the Home Secretary warned that asylum seekers who
got rid of their identity and travel documents upon arrival in the UK or used a
false identity could, in future, be prevented from seeking protection. The Home
Office is looking seriously at legislation to stop people who have destroyed
their documents trying to claim. It did not, however, explain what would happen
to such asylum seekers.
It is expected that such a Bill on sanctioning
undocumented asylum seekers would include measures aimed at establishing their
country of origin, such as recognition and language tests.
49 Afghans sent back to Kabul
Despite fears that Afghanistan remains unstable and
unsafe, British authorities have deported another group of Afghans to the
country that failed to obtain asylum in the UK.
About 2 million Afghans have returned home since the
former Taliban government was ousted in 2001. At least 2 million more remain in
exile.
UNHCR stated that many are afraid to return because of an
ongoing insurgency in the south and east, and factional fighting in other
parts. Many returning refugees have ended up squatting in ruins in Kabul.
Refugees in prison despite Blunkett pledge
130 asylum seekers are being held in prison despite a
pledge by the Home Secretary to abolish the practice of incarcerating refugees.
Many are behind bars because the Government has not
arranged for them to be deported, they do not have genuine documents or there
are fears they may abscond.
Refugee groups and opposition MPs have protested, saying
that it is immoral to mix asylum seekers with criminals.
The Home Office said some asylum seekers were being sent
to prison rather than a detention centre because it was believed they could be
disruptive. In one case, an asylum seeker sentenced to several weeks for an
offence was still behind bars nine months later because the immigration service
had not dealt with his case.
Tim Baster, of Bail for Immigration Detainees, said
refugees in prison had no rights to bail or access to legal help.
Detention of refugee children 'must end'
The government must stop holding the children of asylum
seekers in detention centres for long periods, the chief inspector of prisons
has said. Anne Owers warned that their welfare and development were
"compromised" while they were kept in custody. They should be locked
up only in exceptional circumstances and for no more than a matter of days, she
said.
Her comments come in her report on the controversial
Dungavel detention centre in Lanarkshire. The government's policy of locking up
the families of failed asylum seekers has been attacked in recent weeks after a
public outcry at the treatment of a family of Turkish Kurds. The Ay family,
with four children aged eight to fourteen, were held at Dungavel for more than
a year before being deported to Germany.
Campaigners say the report vindicates the growing calls to
have the centre closed down. The Home Office minister Hazel Blears said:
"It is regrettable that any families with children have to be detained at
all, but it is sadly the actions of the adults in the family that make this
necessary. It is not typical for families to be detained for a long period of
time. Those that are have often strung out the appeals process and have
exhausted all legal right to remain in this country."
Tories unveil asylum plans
Asylum seekers would be dealt with inside six weeks of
making an application to live in the UK, under plans being considered by the
Conservative Party.
The measures, unveiled in September, include enabling
refugees to apply for asylum at British embassies overseas. Shadow Home
Secretary Oliver Letwin published a report which suggests that people would be
prevented from entering the country illegally if they were forced to use
embassies and consulates. Claims would then have to be processed at application
centres in "safe" neighbouring countries.
The report recommends creating application centres,
offshore but in the British Isles, for those asylum seekers who have already
arrived in the UK.
Asylum would be granted on a temporary basis. If the
country of origin were still considered unsafe after five years, asylum would
be granted permanently.
State persecution would be considered the only legitimate
reason for granting asylum, rather than non-state persecution, the report says.
This would weed out applicants attempting to enter the country for purely
economic reasons, it says.
People would have to apply for a "green card"
similar to the US system to prove they had genuine grounds for working in
Britain.
The report suggests that an independent application board
should be set up to deal with asylum claims, and be under the control of
Parliament.
It is the next step on from the Conservative's policy of
introducing a quota system where a maximum of 20,000 asylum seekers are allowed
into the UK each year.
Blunkett to close asylum loophole
The Home Secretary is to extend an existing law that
allows a refugee or asylum seeker jailed for more than two years for a serious
offence to be deported at the end of his sentence.
In future those who receive a prison sentence of less than
two years for a serious crime will also be liable for deportation. The law will
apply to those who have been given refugee status and those who are still
seeking asylum.
Powers already exist for people convicted of a serious
offence and given more than two years in jail to be deported. The serious
offences for which a refugee or asylum seeker will be liable to deportation
include crimes of violence such as manslaughter, kidnapping and possession of a
firearm, sexual offences, importation or production or supply of hard drugs
such as heroin and cocaine, and terrorist offences.
People convicted of most of these offences would in the
vast majority of cases receive more than two years in jail, but the latest
initiative is intended to ensure that anyone who receives less than two years
is also deported.
Sri Lanka anger at UK visa moves
The British High Commission introduced the six-month
project to fingerprint all visa applicants wanting to travel to the UK in July
as part of a drive to reduce fraudulent asylum claims. The programme is
intended to help British officials detect asylum seekers who destroy their
passports once they reach the UK.
The Home Office intends to roll out the use of biometric
data to other countries if the pilot scheme is deemed successful.
Opposition MPs said Sri Lanka's Government had sacrificed
the country's "dignity and self respect" by agreeing to the pilot
scheme. One opposition MP has filed a court case alleging that Sri Lankan
citizens are being treated like criminals.
Asylum scheme draws ID fire
A new scheme to tackle illegal immigration has drawn
criticism from civil rights groups for possibly helping to introduce identity
cards through the back door.
Prime Minister and Home Secretary have launched plans to
extend the use of biometric ID chips on visas for entering the UK. A pilot
scheme using biometrics - which uses fingerprints, iris or facial recognition
data contained in a microchip - has already been launched in Sri Lanka.
The Home Office confirmed yesterday that, in a separate
development, a pilot scheme testing biometric information for use in the new
generation of "smart passports" would get underway in the UK. The
date and venue of the six-month trial is yet to be confirmed.
But the technology has been attacked by civil rights
campaigners claiming it could be used for a new national ID card.
Secret plan to tag asylum seekers
The Government is in talks with security companies about
tagging asylum seekers so that they cannot abscond while their claims are being
assessed.
The Independent has learnt that Securicor, which already
has a contract to tag criminals, has met Home Office and Immigration Service
officials to discuss controversial plans to fit electronic tags to immigrants.
Tagging options include setting up a voluntary programme,
and legislation allowing immigration officials to tag asylum seekers without
their consent.
Securicor confirmed that discussions had taken place with
officials. "It would be for people who have come into this country and are
being assessed for asylum," said an insider.
It has emerged that a Home Office official helped develop
a similar scheme in the US for tracking immigrants who were about to be
deported. The programme was devised by the Vera Institute of Justice in New
York. The US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the new
Department for Homeland Security, has also piloted an electronic tagging
programme for immigrants in Alaska and Florida.
A senior Home Office source said the Government had no immediate
plans to introduce tagging, but "nothing is ruled out".
Keith Best, head of the Immigration Advisory Service,
branded electronic tagging "deeply offensive".
Asylum figures down
Asylum applications between April and June numbered
10,585, 34 per cent fewer than in the previous three months, according to the
Home Office.
The same period last year saw 20,090 new applications. The
overall figure, including dependants such as spouses and children, was 12,510
for the second quarter of this year, compared with an estimated 20,600 from
January to March.
The number of Iraqis seeking refugee status in the UK fell
by 70 per cent to 635 after leading the nationality league table since the
beginning of 2002.
The Prime Minister has promised to cut the number of asylum
applications by 50 per cent by this September. Ministers chose October 2002 as
the benchmark by which to measure the fall - a month which saw 8,900
applications, the highest on record. The figures subsequently fell 32 per cent
between the final quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year. Home
Office figures, for the period between April and June, show a further decrease.
But the independent Immigration Advisory Service (IAS)
warned that the fall in applications could mask an increase in illegal
immigration, with people coming into the UK simply going underground instead of
claiming asylum.
Across the EU the overall number of asylum applications
fell by 14 per cent.
Britain ignores Bangladeshi persecution
The British government has effectively closed the door on
asylum seekers from Bangladesh despite having seen a dossier detailing more
than 700 attacks by fundamentalists on ethnic and religious minorities in the
country.
The document offers compelling evidence that serious
persecution of Hindu, Christian and other minorities is rising. It includes
reports on tortures, extra-judicial killings, gang rapes, the looting and
burning of temples and churches, evictions, beatings, theft of land,
destruction of property, financial extortion and threats of physical violence.
Yet the Home Office apparently ignored the dossier when it
announced last month that Bangladesh, along with five other countries, was
being added to the "white list" of 24 countries from where asylum
applications are presumed from the outset to be unlikely to succeed.
Amnesty International, which has expressed grave concern
to the Bangladeshi government about mounting human rights abuses, said
Britain's decision to put Bangladesh on the white list "made no
sense". The Bangladeshi government has admitted that some atrocities have
taken place, but insists that the violence is not religiously motivated.
Northern
Ireland asylum conditions criticised
The detention of asylum seekers in Northern Ireland at a
high-security prison must end, a report by the Law Centre has said.
The report calls on the government to end the practice of
keeping asylum seekers at Maghaberry jail in County Antrim while their
applications are being dealt with. The prison population mainly comprises
paramilitary inmates.
According to the report, the number of people detained in
prison has increased by 20 per cent since previous research carried out in
November 2000.
The
report, which tracks progress on recommendations made three years ago, calls
the decision to keep asylum seekers in the prison "nothing short of a
disgrace".
Trafficked woman granted refugee status, as
protection in Albania deemed insufficient.
On
7 July 2003, an Immigration Appeal Tribunal accepted the appeal of a woman at
risk of being trafficked from Albania. The claimant was a woman who submitted
her family sold her to a man with a view for him to marry her. However they
never were legally married and the claimant was convinced her husband planned
to take her to Italy where he would force her into prostitution. Thus, she fled
to the United Kingdom in December 2001 and claimed asylum.
According
to the tribunal, if the claimant was sent to Albania she would not be able to
find protection from her family and therefore it would be disproportionate to
require the Appellant to leave the country and seek entry clearance from
abroad. The tribunal also took into account the situation in Albania, where
trafficking is still not eliminated, as well as the established family life of
the appellant in the UK. Indeed, she is married to a Yugoslav who has refugee
status in the UK and with whom she had a child in August 2002.
http://www.iaa.gov.uk/2003_ukiat00023_k_albania.pdf
Support for
disabled asylum seekers
On 9 July 2003, a Court of Appeal judgement held that
local authorities have a duty to provide support to destitute asylum seekers
who have a disability and therefore need care and attention. The decision was
taken under Section 21 of the National Assistance Act 1948, which limits the
assistance to asylum seekers whose need for attention has not arisen solely
because of their destitution.
In this case,
an Algerian asylum seeker aged 24 years old suffers from a congenital
abnormality of his right leg, which is about one-half the length of his left leg.
His mobility is impaired despite the use of a prosthetic extension, and he
experiences pains when he walks or undertakes basic tasks. Between November
2000 and August 2001 the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), a division of
the Home Office, accommodated the applicant. However, since 2001, the claimant
declined NASSs further offers of accommodation and instead asked to be
accommodated by the local authorities of Lambeth. Yet, the Lambeth Council
denied their liability for housing the claimant.
According to
the Court of Appeal, a destitute asylum seeker who has a disability which
requires attention and which has not arisen solely because of his destitution
must be supported by local authorities regardless of whether he/she fulfils the
conditions to receive accommodation.
In the
present case, the applicant has a need for care and attention that has not
arisen solely because he is destitute but also because he is ill. Thus, the
Court of Appeal held that Lambeth Council was liable to accommodate the applicant
under Section 21 of the National Assistance Act 1948.
www.courtservice.gov.uk/judgmentsfiles/j1850/mani_v_lambeth.htm
Council must
investigate into the age of asylum seekers
On 15 July
2003, a high court held that local authorities are in charge of examining the
age of an asylum seeker and they should not just go on the way they look,
especially for young and unaccompanied asylum seekers.
The
applicant, who claimed he was 17 years old, was not considered an asylum seeker
by institutions under the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, in so
far as the Act applies to those who are at least 18 years old. He was directed
to Merton Borough Council, as local authorities have a duty to provide him with
accommodation under the 1989 Children Act. However, the local authorities
considered the applicant was aged at least 18, and on that basis decided not to
accommodate him.
The
claimant sought judicial review of the determination of his age, submitting
that the inquiries made by the Council were inadequate.
The Court
thus ruled in favour of the applicant, stating that the local authorities are
responsible for the determination of asylum seekers age.
B, R (on the
application of) v London Borough of Merton; Case No: CO/881/2003
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2003/1689.html
High Court rules Home Office in breach of Human
Rights Convention
On 31 July
2003, a High Court Judge ruled that the authorities breached Article 3 of the
European Convention on Human Rights by refusing to provide three asylum seekers
with social welfare support and accommodation, pursuant to Section 55 of the
Immigration, Nationality and Asylum Act 2002.
According to
the Home Office, the applicants did not apply for asylum as soon as reasonably
practicable, which in most cases means immediately upon arrival, and
subsequently were denied state support, including food and shelter.
According to
Mr Justice Kay, in the present case the degrading treatment threshold had been
reached leading to the violation of Article 3 of the Convention. The judge
admitted that refusal of welfare assistance will not inexorably lead to a
breach of Article 3. It also depends on the support asylum seekers will obtain
from charities, knowing that the less assistance asylum seekers will get, the
more likely they will face a situation affecting their human dignity.
The Court
ruled in favour of the three asylum seekers, condemning the Home Office for a
breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
A full copy
of the decision can be found at:
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2003/1941.html
Council loses asylum case
On 29 August
2003, a high court ruled that four asylum seekers who reached the age of 18
were eligible for support under the Children Leaving Care Act 2000. Under this
Act, authorities have an obligation to provide support for those leaving care
from the age of 18 until they are 25.
The
applicants arrived at Heathrow airport during 2000 as unaccompanied asylum
seekers and therefore were referred to the social services department of the
local authorities. The council claimed that although it cared for them when
they arrived in the country at 16 years old, its responsibilities ended once
the applicants reached adulthood.
According to
Mr Justice Sullivan, unaccompanied asylum seekers should be treated in the same
way as local children when they reach 18.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3192831.stm
Asylum granted to Russian tycoon
On
Wednesday 10 September 2003, Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky was granted
refugee status in the UK. Mr Berezovsky was arrested in London in March 2003 in
connection with Russian charges that he had defrauded a regional government of
the equivalent of US$ 13 million in 1994 and 1995, by stealing cars from
Russian largest automaker, Avtovaz. On the basis of those charges the Russian
government had introduced an extradition request.
In
March 2003, Boris Berezovskys first application for asylum had been rejected,
although he submitted that charges were politically motivated and he would be
in danger if he were returned to Russia. The Home Office did not give any
explanation as to what had led them to reverse their previous decision. On
Friday 12 September 2003, a judge held Boris Berezovsky could not be extradited
now that he has been granted refugee status.
Home Office
is right to deny support to those who do not apply immediately for asylum
On
22 September 2003, the Court of Appeal ruled that the Home Office was within
its rights to refuse benefits to a Malaysian man who applied for asylum six
days after arriving. Under Section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and
Asylum Act 2002, the government can refuse support to persons who do not apply
for asylum as soon as reasonably practicable after their arrival in the
United Kingdom.
According
to the Court, although the applicant was sleeping rough and not provided with
assistance, he still had access to food and shelter. Thus, he was not suffering
from inhuman or degrading treatment and there was no violation of Human Rights
Act.
This
decision reversed the judgment held by a high Court on 31 July, although the
Home Office only appealed in one of three cases won in July by asylum
seekers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3131680.stm
Compensation
for wrongful jailing
In
February 1999, a couple that fled Kosovo were arrested in London en route to
Canada. They were travelling on forged passports and trying to board a flight.
The couple were sentenced to six months imprisonment, although Ms B, who was
four months pregnant, served two months and her husband served three.
However,
a high court ruled that prosecution of asylum seekers for travelling on false
papers violated Britains obligation under the Refugee Convention; Article 31
stating that asylum seekers should not be penalised for entering a country
illegally. In June 2000 the convictions were reversed, and they applied for
compensation from the Home Office. Mr and Ms B, who are still waiting for the
outcome of their asylum application, were awarded 130,600 for loss of liberty,
conditions of imprisonment, injury to feelings and aggravating factors as well
as post-traumatic stress disorder.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1053718,00.html
ECRE material
Press Release
rejecting Asylum Procedures Directive, 30 September
ECRE
issued a press release in advance of the JHA Council of 2-3 October expressing
its serious concerns about the draft Asylum Procedures Directive, calling on
the JHA Council to ensure that the Directive complies with standards of
international law and best national practice. In particular, ECRE expressed
concerns that in certain cases, asylum seekers may be denied entry into the
territory, access to the asylum procedure, and the opportunity for a personal
interview with the competent authority, as well as the right to a suspensive
right of appeal. ECRE confirmed its intent to call for a rejection of the
Directive if these concerns are not addressed. Full statement available at:
http://www.ecre.org/press/jha300903.shtml
Recommendations to the Asylum Working Party on Asylum
Procedures Directive, 4-5 September
ECRE
submitted comments to the Asylum Working Party for its meeting on 4-5 September
on the proposed Directive for Minimum Standards on Procedures in Member States
for Granting and Withdrawing Refugee Status. ECRE raised a number of concerns,
including the discretion left to Member States to derogate from the basic
principles and guarantees enshrined in the Directive in the case of subsequent
applications and applications made at border points. ECRE also recommended that
the AWP amend Article 28, which relates to returning applicants to safe third
countries, to require the third country to give its express consent to re-admit
the applicant. ECRE further urged the AWP to omit the concept of special border
procedures and to guarantee a suspensive right of appeal in all situations.
ECREs Response to the Communication from the
Commission on Immigration, Integration and Employment, September 2003
ECRE
submitted comments on the European Commissions Communication on the
integration of third country nationals, including refugees and people granted
international protection. ECRE expressed its support for the Commissions holistic
approach to the integration challenge. ECRE agreed with the Commission that
third country nationals must have access to the labour market and recommended
that refugees be granted unconditional rights to employment and automatic
access to work permits. ECRE also agreed that education and language skills are
crucial to refugees integration. Regarding housing and urban issues, ECRE
urged local governments to attempt to integrate immigrants into the host
community. ECRE expressed its regret that refugees were excluded from the
long-term resident directive. Finally, ECRE urged Member States to search for
new programmes through which to integrate third-country nationals into society.
Full response available at:
http://www.ecre.org/statements/integration.shtml
SUMMARY OF PROGRESS IN EU ASYLUM
AGENDA
Qualifications Directive
Agreement
on the Directive is still blocked by Germany. Due to the close connection with
the new German law on immigration, which is currently under discussion by the
Conciliation Committee of the German Parliament, the position of the German
government in relation to lifting its reservations to the Directive will be
very much influenced by the outcome of this debate within the German
Parliament.
A
group of seven EU-based NGOs (including ECRE) wrote a joint letter to the Chair
of the German Conciliation Committee, the members of the Working Group on
Immigration Legislation and to the Members of the Europe Committee of the
German Parliament. The letter focused on the need for the EU to reach agreement
on asylum matters that is respectful of international refugee and human rights
law and best practice, and on the role that Germany plays in this process. In
the letter, they stressed the importance of the German immigration legislation
being in line with international obligations and standards for refugee
protection, in particular with regard to protection against persecution by
non-state actors and the status of individuals under subsidiary protection.
Asylum Procedures Directive
After
reaching political agreement on the first two chapters of the Directive at the
JHA Council of 5-6 June, the Council has been negotiating the remaining parts
of the proposed Directive. The Asylum Working Party discussed the proposal at
its meetings on 4-5 September, 16-17 September and 7-8 October. SCIFA and
COREPER discussed certain issues at their meetings on 22 and 24 September,
respectively. The 2-3 October JHA Council discussed some elements of the
Directive. The Council decided to have a legally binding common list of safe
countries of origin. However, the mechanism and criteria to designate the
countries in such a list is still under discussion. The Council, on the
contrary, did not find agreement on a legally binding common list of safe third
countries. The main controversial points under discussion relate to the appeals
chapter (in particular, on the right to a suspensive appeal and on the nature
and jurisdiction of the appeal body) and the scope of the provisions on
accelerated procedures, on border procedures and on inadmissibility. While the
Italian Presidency had hoped to reach political agreement on this Directive by
the end of the year (in line with the deadlines of the Seville and Thessaloniki
European Councils, confirmed by the Brussels European Council on 16-17
October), negotiations will likely continue during the Irish Presidency.
On
22 September 2003 the Council of the European Union formally adopted the
Directive on the right of third country nationals legally established in a
European Union Member State to family reunification (OJ L251/12, of 3 October).
It determines the conditions under which family reunification is granted to
third-country nationals residing lawfully in the territory of an EU Member
State, as well as the rights of the family members concerned. Specific criteria
will apply to refugees (Chapter V). Within the transposition period, over the
next two years, Member States will have to enact/amend legislation at national
level in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Directive.
A
group of NGOs working in the area of family rights is currently lobbying the
European Parliament to take the case before the European Court of Justice. One
of the grounds on which the case could be taken would be a breach of the
consultation procedure, since the Council (who cannot reach decisions in the
field of asylum before having consulted with the Parliament) defined a general
approach to the Directive on 27 February 2003, that is, before the Parliament gave
its opinion in April. Under the overall framework of the European Coordination
for Foreigner Rights to Family Life, the NGO group wrote a joint letter to the
President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, asking the Parliament to take
action before the ECJ. The Citizens Rights Committee of the European
Parliament is due to discuss the matter.
PRESIDENCIES OF THE EU
The
Italian Presidency
Italy holds the Presidency of the EU until the end of the
year. Within the field of JHA, the Italian Presidency has prioritised combating
illegal immigration rather than asylum policy. While, according to the
deadlines established by the European Council, the Presidency was expected to
finalise the pending pieces of legislation, namely, the Qualifications directive
and the Asylum Procedures directive, this goal seems unlikely.
The Presidency, together with the Italian Refugee Council
and co-funded by the European Commission, organised a seminar in Rome on 13-14
October entitled Towards more orderly and managed entry in the EU of persons
in need of international protection. The seminar gathered representatives of
the EU governments, accessing countries, the US, Canada and Australia, as well
as representatives of NGOs, including ECRE. The purpose of the seminar, where
Peer Baneke made a presentation, was to discuss resettlement and protected
entry procedures. The Presidency intends to use the conclusions of the seminar
as preparatory work for the forthcoming JHA Council conclusions on these
matters. The Commission will then use them, together with the feasibility
studies that it commissioned on both subjects, as the starting point to
elaborate on the matter in the report that it needs to present by June 2004,
according to Conclusion 26 of the Thessaloniki European Council.
The Irish Presidency
Ireland will take over the EU Presidency in January 2004.
The priorities of the Presidency have not been made public yet. However, it is
expected that the Irish Presidency will focus the negotiations on the European
Refugee Fund, and on the Directive for minimum standards on returns. Depending
on the outcomes of the Italian Presidency, the Irish Presidency will possibly
have to continue negotiations on the Qualifications Directive and the Asylum
Procedures Directive.
Brussels
European Council 16-17 October
The
European Council reached several conclusions in the field of Justice and Home
Affairs. In line with the Presidency priorities, the conclusions focus on
controlling external borders and migratory flows. With respect to asylum, the
Council called upon the JHA Council to complete its work urgently on the
Qualification and Procedures Directives in order to comply with the deadline
set by the Seville and Thessaloniki Councils (end of 2003) and thereby enable
the EU to tackle asylum abuse and inefficiency while fully respecting the
Geneva Convention and its humanitarian traditions.
Managing External Borders
The
European Council stressed the common interest of Member States in controlling
the EUs external borders, particularly in light of the forthcoming
enlargement. To that end, the European Council welcomed the Commissions
intention to allocate 140 million euros from 2004-06 to support the management
of borders, implementation of the return action programme and development of the
Visa Information System. The European Council welcomed a proposal from the
Commission on the creation of a Border Management Agency and invited the JHA
Council to draw up a work programme on maritime borders to be adopted by the
end of the year.
Controlling
Migratory Flows
The
European Council confirmed the top political priority ascribed to migration
issues and reaffirmed its commitment to balancing the fight against illegal
migration and the trafficking of human beings and the reception and integration
of legal immigrants. It committed itself to strengthened partnerships in third
countries in order to accomplish its strategy. In that context, the European
Council urged the Commission, Council and Member States to make every effort to
facilitate the successful conclusion of readmission agreements, and invited the
Commission and Council to submit a report on the readmission policy in early
2004. The European Council also reaffirmed the importance of a common return
policy and invited the Commission and Council to give the highest priority to
implementing the November 2002 action plan. Additionally, it welcomed a
proposal from the Commission on providing financial support for repatriation of
illegal immigrants and unsuccessful asylum seekers. The European Council called
upon the JHA Council to reach political agreement by the end of 2003 on the two
Commission proposals for Regulations on biometric identifiers and to take the
necessary decisions on the development of the Visa Information System and
Schengen Information System II. The European Council invited cooperation with
the Commissions study on the relationship between legal and illegal
immigration.
Full
conclusions available at the Councils website:
http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/ec/77679.pdf
JHA
Council 2-3 October
At
its 2-3 October meeting, the Councils debate on the Asylum Procedures
Directive focused on the safe country of origin concept and the safe third
country concept. The Council agreed to establish a minimum list of safe
countries of origin that will be binding on all Member States and to allow
Member States to supplement that list with their own national list. There will
be an individual examination of all applications. All delegations except one
agreed on the criteria for designating a state a safe country of origin. The
Council noted a clear preference for establishing the list by qualified
majority after consultation with the European Parliament, although the criteria
and mechanism are yet to be decided. The Council instructed its preparatory
bodies to work on establishing the list with a view to approving it at the same
time as the Directive, if possible. At the same meeting, the Member States
asked the Commission to come up with a proposal in November on the creation of
a European agency for border management. The JHA Council also reached agreement
on the creation of a European network of immigration officers posted in third
countries, which will gather information on immigration and cooperate with
these countries in the fight against illegal immigration.
Conclusions
of the JHA Council available in full at:
http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/jha/77479.pdf
Informal
JHA Council 12-13 September
In
order to combat immigrant smuggling and international terrorism, the enlarged
European Unions 28 interior ministers agreed, in a two-day informal meeting in
Rome, on a plan envisaging legal immigrant quotas; a common border control
system under a European agency that will coordinate existing maritime, land and
air bodies; closer liaison between European police chiefs including
intelligence sharing; and sharing costs. The European Commission is expected to
prepare a feasibility study of the Italian Presidencys plan by the beginning
of 2004. Under the plan, the 25 Member States of the enlarged EU would set immigration
quotas. Based on the individual country figures, the EU would set a Union-wide
quota and would then negotiate agreements on returning illegal immigrants to
their countries of origin. The plan also envisages the creation of an agency
that would coordinate existing centres on land-, air- and sea-border control.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Afghanistan Co-ordination Return
Group
A meeting of
representatives of EU Member States organised by the European Commission on 25
September 2003 discussed options for facilitating the return of Afghans from
Europe. Representatives of DG Relex (EU adviser on political matters and
manager of development aid in Afghanistan), IOM, UNHCR, Amnesty International
and ECRE were also present.
According to
UNHCR almost 2.2 million Afghans have returned since the beginning of 2002
(391,000 in this year). It was acknowledged that the security situation,
particularly in the south of country, is deteriorating, with strong resurgence
by the Taliban. The major problems are the absorption capacity of the country,
the question of landownership, law and order in general and harassment by
commanders.
It was
reported that 60 per cent of the south is inaccessible for aid programmes and
some EU projects had to be suspended. 13 million euros had been allocated to
programmes for the integration of refugees and for UNHCRs protection work.
Most of the
returns from Iran and Pakistan are voluntary, although harassment has been
reported. 244 Afghans have returned from Europe under the various programmes,
including the Return of Qualified Afghans Programme. A large percentage of
these have been forcibly deported from the UK.
The IDP
population has been reduced but some of them are not able to return to their
areas of origin. 200,000 IDPs are likely to remain in the south due to security
problems or drought.
Amnesty
International concluded that active promotion of voluntary returns is not in
order in a situation in which the judicial system is barely functioning. It
suggested that the EU has not been consistent in its policies, both pushing for
returns and expressing concerns about the deteriorating security situation.
UNHCR
discourages returns to certain areas but is not stopping the provision of
assistance to those who want to return voluntarily. The agency is developing a
concept paper on the major trends for return.
A
representative of Afghanistan stressed that security in the country must be
improved, as well as alternatives to the black economy and opportunities for
the diaspora to contribute to reconstruction need to be provided.
Commissions
initiatives regarding infringement procedures against Member States
The
Commissions register of documents lists recent or imminent reasoned opinions
to be issued to Member States for failure to implement the following asylum and
migration directives:
2001/40 on mutual recognition: France, Belgium,
Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Greece
2001/51 on carrier sanctions: France, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Greece, Spain and Italy
2001/55 on temporary protection: France, United
Kingdom, Portugal, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Greece, Belgium and Spain.
For
further information:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/regdoc/recherche.cfm?CL=en
Commission
adopts proposal on biometric identifiers for visa and residence permit for
third country nationals
On
24 September 2003, the Commission adopted two proposals on the modification of
the Regulations laying down a uniform format for residence permits of third
country nationals and visas. Its aim is to bring forward the final date for the
implementation of the photograph in the uniform format for visas and the
residence permit in sticker form from 2007 to 2005. It is also to require
Member States to integrate biometric identifiers into the visa and residence
permits for third country nationals in a harmonised way, thus ensuring
interoperability. Full text of the proposal is available at:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/lip/latest/doc/2003/com2003_0558en01.doc
On
17 September 2003, the European Commission adopted its position paper on the
draft European Constitution. In its view the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC)
starting on 4 October should not reopen the compromise reached at the Convention.
The IGC needs to improve and clarify a limited number of areas and complete
unfinished work. It should avoid setting in stone the policy provisions of the
Constitution. An effective, credible European Commission must also include a
full member from each country. A large Commission will need to streamline its
internal organisation accordingly.
Full text of
the communication at:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/pdf/2003/com2003_0548en01.pdf
The
European Commission is expected to prepare a feasibility study of the Italian
Presidency's plan to introduce quotas for immigration into the European Union,
designed to control the flow of illegal immigrants by the beginning of 2004.
Under the plan, the 25 Member States of the enlarged EU would set immigration
quotas. Based on the individual country figures, the EU would set a Union-wide
quota and would then negotiate agreements on returning illegal immigrants to
their countries of origin.
Commission
proposes concrete measures for facilitating local traffic at the land borders
of the Union
The
Commission adopted on 1 September 2003 two proposals for Regulations on
"local border traffic", that is, the crossing of borders by nationals
of third countries who live in border areas and regularly travel for legitimate
reasons to a Member State of the Union without constituting a threat to
security. The first draft regulation is designed to facilitate local movement
at the land borders between the Member States and neighbouring third countries,
whereas the second extends these mechanisms to the borders between two Member
States that have not yet abolished checks on persons at their common borders.
The Council should adopt the two proposals after consultation of the European
Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions. Full text of the proposal at:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/lip/latest/doc/2003/com2003_0502en01.doc
Commission
proposes to the Council EC ratification of UN Convention Against Transnational
Organised Crime and its Protocols on smuggling and trafficking in human beings
On
1 September 2003, the European Commission has proposed to the Council the
ratification, on behalf of the Community, of the UN Convention Against
Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC), its supplementing Protocol to prevent,
suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and
its supplementing Protocol against the smuggling of migrants by land, air and
sea. If the Council of Ministers agrees the European Union will join the 40
countries that have already ratified the Convention, which will enter into
force on 29 September 2003. Full text of the Convention and its Protocols is
available at:
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/crime_cicp_convention.html
Commission
proposes a programme for financial and technical assistance to third countries
The
Commission has adopted on 13 June 2003 a proposal for a Regulation establishing
a programme for financial and technical assistance to third countries in the
area of migration and asylum. It contains a programme for 2004 to 2008, with an
overall expenditure of 250 million euro. The draft regulation gives effect to
the Commission's communication on "Integrating migration issues into the
EU's external relations" issued in December 2002. This communication
stated that co-operation with third countries in the area of migration called
for a balanced overall approach addressing the root causes of migratory movements,
a partnership on migration stemming from a definition of common interests with
the countries concerned, and specific and concrete initiatives to help these
countries to increase their capacity in the area of migration management. Full
text of the proposal is available at:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/lip/latest/doc/2003/com2003_0355en01.doc
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
At the
plenary session on 4 September the Parliament adopted the resolution presented
by Fod Sylla, for the Citizens Rights Committee, on fundamental rights in the
EU, covering the year 2002. The draft resolution focuses on conditions of
arrest and detention, protection of personal data, the right of asylum and
media concentration. It argues that the situation in 2002 gave cause for
concern in many respects and even seems to have deteriorated in some ways. This
own-initiative resolution is based, like the two previous annual reports, on
the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The draft resolution welcomes, in
particular, the action taken by the United Kingdom in circulating to all civil
servants a code of conduct to be adhered to in relations with all members of
the public, whatever their origin, with a view to promoting equal treatment.
However, the committee is critical of the UKs detention of minors, whether in
prison, secure re-education centres or holding centres for immigrants. Minimum
standards should be guaranteed for the health and living conditions of prisoners,
and detention procedures should be examined to ensure that human rights are not
violated. In reference to trafficking in human beings, the committee wants to
establish a European database focusing on disappeared persons who are believed
to be victims of human trafficking. It calls for more effective judicial
protection of victims through the adoption of the Directive on short-term
residence permits for victims of trafficking who co-operate with the
authorities. Read the report in full at:
http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade2?L=EN&OBJID=30537&LEVEL=3&MODE=SIP&NAV=X&LSTDOC=N
Parliament
adopts resolution rejecting Austrian initiative on safe third States
As
recommended by the rapporteur, Olle Schmidt, the Parliament rejected at its
plenary session on 23 September the Austrian initiative. According to the
rapporteur, the initiative does not contain a proper review procedure for
adding or removing countries from the list; its concept of safe European third
states should not be the object of a separate Regulation - if a common list is
in fact deemed desirable - but be addressed within the general framework of the
Directive on Asylum procedures; it does not resolve how the establishment of a
list by Community law relates to the Geneva Convention's principle of
individual examination. Read the report in full at:
http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade2?L=EN&OBJID=30268&LEVEL=3&MODE=SIP&NAV=X&LSTDOC=N
Parliament
adopts report on assistance in cases of transit (removal by air)
The
European Parliament adopted on 24 September a non-binding resolution in support
of the German proposal to organise assistance between Member States for the
transit of illegal immigrants being deported by air. The report by British
Conservative Timothy Kirkhope makes a few minor changes to the proposal for the
purpose of clarifying the text and the role of Member States. Eight MEPs
submitted a minority opinion to the report, expressing serious concerns about
the possibility of human rights violations resulting from such efficient deportations,
notwithstanding the introduction of a human rights clause into the proposal
that purports to halt deportations to countries where human rights violations
may occur. Read the report in full at:
http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade2?L=EN&OBJID=30582&LEVEL=3&MODE=SIP&NAV=X&LSTDOC=N
EUROPEAN CONVENTION FOR THE FUTURE OF
EUROPE
General developments
Parts
I and II of the draft Constitutional Treaty, as agreed by consensus by the
European Convention, were submitted to a European Council meeting in Thessaloniki
on 20 June 2003. Part III, after finalising some technical work, was submitted
to the Presidency of the EU in Rome on 18 July 2003. The Heads of State or
Government of the EU (as well as the new Member States) officially started the
work under the intergovernmental conference (IGC) on 4 October 2003 in Rome and
met again on 14 October in Brussels, on the fringe of the European Council
meeting. The negotiations are based on the draft treaty agreed by the European
Convention last June/July.
The main areas of disagreement among States are the future voting system
and the size of the future Commission. The smaller countries raised the issue
of equality, fearing that the Constitution might favour the large Member
States. With so much division, it seems unlikely that the IGC will be concluded
before the end of the Italian Presidency, and might have to be finalised during
the Irish Presidency.
Further information available at:
http://ue.eu.int/igc/doc_register.asp?lang=EN
Asylum and migration provisions
Part
III, Section 2 of the draft treaty deals with policies on border checks, asylum
and immigration. The relevant provisions in the field of asylum and migration
can be found in the following articles: III-166, III-167, III-168 and III-169.
The
final draft treaty can be found at:
http://european-convention.eu.int/docs/Treaty/cv00850.en03.pdf
EU
Enlargement
Referenda in the Accession Countries
Estonia
(14 September 2003) and Latvia (20 September 2003) were the last of the 10 new
EU Member States to hold a referendum. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania,
Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia have voted in favour of EU membership.
Cyprus is not holding a referendum.
Estonia
On 14 September, Estonians voted in favour of joining the
European Union. According to official results released by the National
Electoral Committee on 15 September 2003, 66.9 per cent of Estonian voters said
yes to EU membership, while 33.0 per cent said no. The turnout was 64.0 per
cent of 850,000 voters. The result is legally binding. No minimum turnout was
required, and a simple majority was all that was needed for Estonia to join the
EU.
Latvia
Latvians have voted by an overwhelming majority to join
the European Union. In a referendum on 20 September, 67.0 per cent voted in
favour of EU membership, while 32.3 per cent voted against, according to the
results released by the Central Election Commission.
The turnout
was 72.5 per cent - slightly more than in the last general elections. The
result is legally binding. This paves the way for the former Soviet republic to
join the EU with nine other countries on 1 May 2004.
As the last accession country to vote on membership, the Latvian result
means that from 1 May 2004 the European Union will have 25 Member States and a
population of over 450 million.
The opening of the European Unions Intergovernmental
Conference in Rome on 4 October marked the first formal EU session where the
acceding states took a full and equal part.
Malta,
Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia and the Czech Republic
voted in favour of EU membership in national referenda earlier this year.
Cyprus did not hold a referendum but will join the EU next year also.
ECREs
policy and advocacy Publications
News Release: Tuesday 30 September 2003 Justice and
Home Affairs Council 2-3 October 2003: Refugee-NGOs in more than 30 European
countries reject draft Directive on Asylum Procedures
ECRE called
on EU Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) to urgently address the very
serious flaws in the current draft of the Directive on Asylum Procedures
presented to them for negotiations. ECRE urged the JHA Council to make
appropriate changes to ensure that this proposal fully complies with
international law and UN standards on refugee protection. Should its concerns
be ignored, ECRE will have to call on the Commission to withdraw its proposal.
http://www.ecre.org/policy/press_releases.shtml
ECRE Annual Report 2002/3
The ECRE
Annual Report for 2002/2003 was published in September. The report focuses on
ECREs activities in the past year and presents a list of ECRE member agencies,
ECRE financial statement and information about ECRE staff and the ECRE
Executive Committee.
http://www.ecre.org/about/reports.shtml
ECRE Country Report 2002
The Country
Report 2002 is intended to provide a summary of the major points raised by the
ECRE member agencies in their individual country reports, and to comment on
some of the common themes that emerge from them. It also presents statistics
illustrating trends across Europe.
http://www.ecre.org/publications/countryrpt02.shtml
Legal and Social Conditions for Asylum Seekers and
Refugees in Western Europe 2003 reports
Six chapters
(Austria, France, Switzerland, Ireland, Greece and Spain) have been completed
and are now available at:
http://www.ecre.org/conditions/index.shtml
Integration
ECRE Response to the Communication from the Commission
to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social
Committee and the Committee of the Regions on immigration, integration and
employment COM (2003) 336 final
Available at:
http://www.ecre.org/erfproject/index.shtml
ECRE Good Practice Guides, 2002
These Good
Practice Guides have been developed by ECRE member agencies active in the field
of reception and integration of refugees. The Guides cover educational advice
to refugees, working with older refugees, and assisting traumatised
child-refugees. The guides
represent the culmination of two years work of thematic networks in these
areas, during which practitioners have discussed and developed the guiding
principles that should underpin work with asylum seekers and refugees.
http://www.ecre.org/factfile/publications.shtml
other PUblications
UN
UN Special Rapporteur final report:
Prevention of Discrimination The rights of
non-citizens, E/CN.4/sub.2/2003/23
Includes a
synthesis of the general principles of, and specific exceptions to, the rights
of non-citizens under international human rights law together with a brief
identification of some of the areas in which these rights are not being
respected.
Available at:
http://www.unhcr.ch/pdf/55sub/23av.pdf
United Nations System: A Guide for NGOs
10th
edition, January 2003
The guide is
designed to assist NGOs in gaining access to the UN system by providing contact
points and information on the type of materials and services available from the
agencies, programmes and funds of the UN system.
UNHCR
UNHCR Statistics
2002
Statistics on asylum seekers, refugees and others of concern to UHNCR are now
available. This publication includes about 100 pages of data on population
categories, new arrivals, voluntary repatriation, resettlement, asylum seekers,
refugee status determination, gender and age, locations (camps, urban) and
origin in more than 150 countries of asylum.
Published July-August 2003 and available at:
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/statistics
UNHCRs Three-pronged proposal (26
June 2003)
This proposal
offers a narrative explanation of the three pronged working proposal to improve
the availability of protection and solutions for refugees in regions of origin
while addressing certain asylum dilemmas confronting host States.
The document is available at:
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgibin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.pdf?CATEGORY=RSDLEGAL&id=3efc4b834
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees,
Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons Guidelines for Prevention and
Response
The book is a
revision of the first edition published in 1995. While the original version
focused on issues related to sexual violence like rape, the revised guidelines
have been expanded to include other forms of gender-based violence such as
trafficking, domestic violence, female genital mutilation and demands for
sexual favours in exchange for offers of services or assistance.
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.pdf?CATEGORY=RSDLEGAL&id=3edcd0661
Guidelines on International Protection No. 5:
Application of the Exclusion Clauses: Article 1F of the 1951 Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.pdf?CATEGORY=RSDLEGAL&id=3f5857684
Background Note on the Application of the Exclusion
Clauses: Article 1F of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.pdf?CATEGORY=RSDLEGAL&id=3f5857d24
Guidelines
on International Protection: "Internal Flight or Relocation
Alternative" within the Context of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention
and/or 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees
These
Guidelines are intended to provide interpretative legal guidance for
governments, legal practitioners, decision-makers and the judiciary, as well as
UNHCR staff carrying out refugee status determination in the field.
Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialised Countries,
January - July 2003
The report
provides an overview of the most recent monthly asylum applications in 28
countries by country of asylum and detailed origin.
Resettlement Statistics 2002, June 2003
Global Report 2002
UNHCRs fifth
report on achievements and impact in 2002 published in August 2003
All documents available at:
http://www.unhcr.ch
Council of
Europe
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
(ECRI)
8 July ECRI
released five new reports examining racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and
intolerance in Armenia, Iceland, Luxemburg, Slovenia and Spain. All reports
include a specific section related to asylum seekers and refugees.
The reports are available at:
http://www.coe.int/T/E/human%5Frights/Ecri/
Current Trends in International Migration in Europe by John Salt
http://www.coe.int/t/e///social%5fcohesion/migration/documentation/Publications_and_reports/TopOfPage
European
Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia
EUMC Internet Guide on organisations combating racism
and xenophobia in Europe
This Internet
Guide contains a selection of websites from organisations and institutions
actively doing important work to combat racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or
Islamophobia on international and/or national level in all EU Member States.
Annual Report 2002
http://eumc.eu.int
US
Committee for Refugees
The World Refugee Survey 2003
The survey
reviews refugee conditions and government policies affecting refugees and
displaced persons in 134 countries worldwide.
http://www.refugees.org
International
Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF)
Still In a State Of TerrorChechnya After the
Referendum
In the report
the IHF states that the security situation in Chechnya remains abysmal and does
not provide the minimum conditions necessary for conducting free and fair
elections. Based on a fact-finding mission to Chechnya and Ingushetia, the
report demonstrates that citizens continue to live in a state of terror,
despite Russian government claims of a political process leading to
normalisation.
The report
can be downloaded at: www.ihf-hr.org
International
Organisation for Migration
World Migration 2003
This report
presents a wide-ranging record of reference data and background analysis on
population movements. Policy responses to specific migration issues are
discussed in a series of essays with both a geographical and a thematic focus.
Elusive Protection, Uncertain Lands: Migrants Access
to Human Rights
This study
focuses on the particular vulnerability of migrants to human rights abuses, and
the need to strengthen the recognition and protection of their human rights in
international and national law as well as in practice.
Protection
Schemes for Victims of Trafficking in Selected EU Member Countries, Candidate
and Third Countries
The overall
project has contributed to raise awareness regarding the policy and operational
approaches of protection schemes among officials involved in combating
trafficking, as well as those serving this target population; to improve the
level of expertise of participants on assistance to and protection of victims
of trafficking, to strengthen and extend cooperation and exchange of
information on good practices; to devise and disseminate durable solutions and
recommendations regarding the protection of and assistance of victims of
trafficking in human beings.
http://www.iom.int
Human
Rights Watch
Spreading Despair: Russian abuses in Ingushetia
September
2003
Available at:
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/russia0903/russia0903.pdf
Broken Promises: Impediments to Refugee Return to
Croatia
This report
describes the plight of displaced Croatian Serbs and urges that progress on
return be made a condition of Croatias application to join the European Union.
It is based on two years of research involving a comprehensive review of local
legislation and extensive interviews with returned refugees, national and local
governmental bodies, international organisations, and Croatian human rights
groups. The report includes recommendations to the Croatian government and the
international community to facilitate the return of Serb refugees.
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/croatia0903/
Norwegian
Refugee Council
Profile of Internal Displacement: Turkey
16 July 2003
Compilation
of the information available in the Global IDP Database of the Norwegian
Refugee Council.
Also
available at: http://www.idpproject.org
UK Home
Office
The Impact of Enlargement on Migration Flows
This report concludes that
enlargement is likely to increase immigration to Britain by 4 to 10
percent. The report concludes
that, if Germany imposes seven-year restrictions on migrants and the UK does
not, most migrants will be diverted to Austria rather than the UK.
The document is available at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/rdsolr2503.pdf
Home Office Research Study 259 An assessment of the
impact of asylum policies in Europe 1990-2000 - June 2003
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hors259.pdf
Home Office Research Study 271 Country of origin
information: a user and content evaluation
September
2003
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hors271.pdf
Asylum
Statistics: 2nd Quarter 2003 United Kingdom
The
publication includes data for period April to June 2003.
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/asylumq203.pdf
More
information at Research and Development Statistics Immigration, Asylum and
Nationality:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
British
Refugee Council
Country Information
There is now
more information on asylum seekers countries of origin at Refugee Councils
online Info Centre. Regularly updated information on the situation in some of
the countries from which asylum seekers come, including Afghanistan, Sri Lanka,
Somalia, Zimbabwe, Kashmir and Iraq.
More
information available at
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/infocentre/country/coun002.htm
Inexile Magazine
The September
issue focuses on refugee women, investigating persecution specific to women
worldwide as well as problems they face once in the UK. Also featured is an
update on the implementation of gender guidelines, an analysis on the failure
of the state to protect refugee women from domestic violence, case studies, and
refugee voices.
To subscribe to Inexile, visit http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/publications/index.htm
The Institute for Public Policy
Research
Asylum in the UK: an IPPR fact file
The fact file
aims to debunk myths about where people seeking asylum come from, why they
leave their countries of origin, why they come to the UK and whether the UK
receives more than its fair share of people seeking protection. It also pulls
together existing statistical information about the number of asylum seekers in
the UK and Europe, the effectiveness of the procedures for determining claims
and the cost of the asylum system.
The document is available at
http://www.ippr.org/research/files/team19/project158/asyff.pdf
States of Conflict: Causes and patterns of forced
migration to the EU and policy responses
Stephen Castles,
Heaven Crawley and Sean Loughna
The
publication is available from the IPPR media office (journalists only) or from
Central Books on 0845 458 9910
Immigration
Advisory Service
Home Office Country Assessments: An Analysis
September
2003
A new detailed
report on the country information assessments issued by the Home Office to
assist in deciding asylum applications reveals highly selective use of source
material. By excluding information that might help asylum seekers, a positive
spin is often put on reports by NGOs that are in reality very critical of the
countries concerned. The assessments are also riddled with inaccuracies and
out-of-date material.
For more
information, visit:
http://www.iasuk.org/
Other publications
Problems of Protection: The UNHCR, Refugees and Human
Rights by Niklaus Steiner, Gil Loescher and Mark Gibney
The
publication addresses the shortcomings of relying on an international system in
which the richest countries often set the agenda, shifting attitudes among
affected countries, and the difficulty of rebuilding societies in which the
refugee situation continues to intensify.
Published by
Routledge, New York, May 2003
Spreading the Burden by Roger
Andersson, Sako Musterd and Vaughan Robinson
A comparative study on dispersal policies
in the UK, the Netherlands and Sweden.
More information at:
http://www.bris.ac.uk/Publications/TPP/pages/bm022.htm
A comparative analysis of the
anti-trafficking legislation in foreign countries: Towards a Comprehensive and
Effective Legal Response to Combating Trafficking in Persons by Mohamed Y. Mattar
Available at:
www.sais-jhu.edu/mattar_testimony62503.pdf
Rethinking Refugee Law by Niraj
Nathwani
Kluwer Law
International, The Hague, London, New York 2003
Asylum from the gender perspective. Evaluation and
recommendations for the treatment of female refugees
www.ywca.be
This report
looks at the institute of residence registration in Russia (propiska) from its
conception to the present day and the effect it continues to have on peoples
lives, freedom of movement and access to essential services and rights. The
report also explains the current difficulties following the introduction of the
new law On the Legal Situation of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation.
For a copy of the report in Russian or English, please contact Claire Rimmer (crimmer@ecre.org) or Rachel Bugler (rbugler@ecre.org).
Events
ECRE/ELENA International Course on the Relevance of the
ECHR for Asylum Law
23 - 26 October 2003, Palais des Congrs & IBIS Centre
"Aux Ponts Couverts", Strasbourg
The course will analyse the relevance of the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) for national, European and international
asylum law. The course will focus on a detailed study of procedural and
substantial legal questions, in particular the role and jurisprudence of the
European Court for Human Rights. It will also provide an overview of other
international instruments, examine scope of application and dispute settlement
mechanisms.
ECRE/ELENA International Introductory Course and
Refugee and Asylum Law
4 7 December 2003, Hotel Morje, Portoroz, Slovenia
This course will introduce international refugee law in
relation to current asylum trends in Europe. The course will be dedicated to the study of the main
articles of the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees as
well as relevant human rights treaties.
For registration forms for both courses see the ECRE
website (www.ecre.org) or contact Geri McKenna, European Council on Refugee
& Exiles Tel: +44 (0) 20 7729 5152 , Fax: +44 20 7729 5141
OSCE to host Europe's largest human rights conference
in Warsaw 6 to 17 October
More than 500 international experts, government
representatives and human rights activists will gather in Warsaw, Poland to
take part in this year's session of Europe's largest human rights and
democratisation conference.
The two-week meeting will review the progress made by the
55 participating States of the OSCE in implementing their international
commitments in the field of human rights and democratisation, including
commitments to respect fundamental freedoms, conduct democratic elections,
combat trafficking in human beings, and ban the use of torture.
This year, daylong special sessions will be devoted to the
prevention of discrimination, racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism (14
October); to national minorities (15 October); and to migrant workers (16
October). Other topics to be discussed include: the protection of victims of
trafficking; protecting and strengthening fundamental freedoms, such as the
freedom of expression, religion, and movement; the right to a fair trial; and
the prevention of aggressive nationalism and ethnic cleansing.
http://www.osce.org/odihr/meetings/2003/hdim/
Strengthening
Refugee Participation in European Asylum Policies and Programmes (SHARE
project)
12 14 November 2003, Gent, Belgium
This consultative seminar will involve over 60 refugee
participants from all EU countries in workshop discussions.
On 14 November an open conference will take place where
representatives of NGOs, the EU institutions and decision makers will discuss a
common European asylum policy.
The North-South
Centre of the Council of Europe
The Lisbon
Forum 2003 on human rights and rights of migrants - 7 to 9 November 2003
More information at:
http://www.nscentre.org
The Cicero
Foundation
International
Seminar for Experts European Migration and Refugee Policy
Rome 13 to 14 November 2003
More information at:
http://www.cicerofoundation.org
The Immigration
and Nationality Law Committee of the International Bar Association Section on
Legal Practice
Global
Business Immigration Conference
20 and 21 November 2003, The Law Society, London
More information is available at:
http://www.ibanet.org/general/ConferenceOverview.asp?ID=672
Marcelle Reneman from the Dutch Refugee Council spoke at a conference organised by the Memorial Migrants
Rights network in Moscow in April. The conference was dedicated to the new Laws
On Citizenship and On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens on the Territory
of the Russian Federation and their application, which have caused problems
for different groups of migrants in Russia. The conference was attended by
lawyers from non-governmental organisations and representatives from the
Ministry of Interior Affairs concerned with registering, granting citizenship
to and deporting foreign citizens from Russia. Given the seriousness of the
situation in Russia at the moment for migrants and asylum seekers, it was a
timely conference indeed. Marcelle spoke a little about the history of
migration in the Netherlands as a background to current migration policy before
going on to describe the Dutch system of residency, citizenship and asylum procedures.
ECRE is grateful for all support given by member agencies and would like to
thank Marcelle Reneman for all her help.
Information Centre about
Asylum and Refugees
www.icar.org.uk
ICAR re-launched its website, including a new feature Mapping
the UK which provides users with information about asylum and refugee issues
as they relate to specific cities and towns in the UK
Danish Ministry of
Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs has launched a new database that provides a comprehensive overview of
existing research on the integration of foreigners in Denmark.
http://www.integrationsdatabasen.dk