U.K. ASYLUM PROPOSAL DENOUNCED: E.U. Ministers Should Reaffirm Refugee Rights

(New York, 9 February 2001) -- Human Rights Watch today condemned asylum
proposals put forward by U.K. Home Secretary Jack Straw.  Straw's plan,
which is being discussed at an E.U. ministers' meeting in Stockholm this
week, calls for a complete overhaul of the 50-year-old international
refugee regime.

"Straw's proposal is a major step backwards for refugee protection and
contrary to international legal norms," said Rachael Reilly, Refugee
Policy  Director at Human Rights Watch. "It is especially ironic that
the U.K is moving to block asylum seekers as we mark the 50th
anniversary of the international refugee regime. These were protections
the U.K. once helped put in place."

In a speech on Tuesday, Straw elaborated on a proposal he made last June
to reform the 1951 Refugee Convention -- the cornerstone of
international refugee protection -- in order to make it more relevant to
modern-day migration movements.  Straw wants to reduce the number of
asylum seekers traveling to Western European countries and curtail
perceived abuse of the asylum system by so-called "economic migrants."
While the proposal aims to control flows of refugees  into Europe, it
gives scant attention to tackling the conditions that force  migrants
and refugees to move in the first place, said Reilly.

Human Rights Watch expressed particular concern about Straw's plan to
set quotas of refugees that European countries would accept from
specific trouble spots, while insisting that the rest find protection in
the region from which they come.

"Such a rigid rule could seriously compromise the security of
refugees," said Reilly.  "Many refugees are simply not able to find
safety in  neighboring countries in their region of origin."

Human Rights Watch also strongly criticized Straw's proposed list of
so-called "safe countries" from which asylum applicants would not be
considered, or would be given a "greatly accelerated" determination.

"The right to seek and enjoy asylum is an individual right. Governments
cannot make a blanket decision to exclude refugees simply on the basis
of their country of origin," said Reilly.  "Such a proposal could result
in returning refugees to countries where they could face persecution,
torture, and even death-without serious consideration of their asylum
claim."

Human Rights Watch urged other E.U. member states to distance themselves
from the U.K. proposal and called on British politicians to refrain from
exploiting the asylum issue in the run-up to the British General
Election in May.

For more Human Rights Watch information on the threats to asylum seekers
in Western Europe see:
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/refugees/section-3-1.htm

For further information, please contact:
In Brussels, Jean-Paul Marthoz: +32 2-732-2009
In New York, Rachael Reilly: +1 212 216 1208 (work), +1 212 222 4869
(home)
In Washington, Elizabeth Andersen: +1 202 612 4326 (work)