ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
Policy developments........................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
UNHCR............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Global Consultations.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
UNHCR Publications:............................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
UNHCR statistics................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
New Issues in Refugee Research........................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Council of europe..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Upcoming sessions of Parliamentary
Assembly committees................................................................................................................... 5
Commissioner for Human Rights....................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Report on Kosovo.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
European Commission Against Racism
and Intolerance.......................................................................................................................... 6
Report on Portugal................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
osce.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
10th Ministerial Council, 6-7 December,
Porto, Portugal........................................................................................................................ 6
OSCE commitment to prevention of
terrorism................................................................................................................................................ 6
Trafficking –............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Ukraine’s first free national
telephone hotline service to fight human trafficking.................................................................................... 6
NGO anti-trafficking network in
south eastern Europe.................................................................................................................................. 6
Victims of trafficking assistance
initiative in Albania.................................................................................................................................... 7
EU Enlargement........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7
The Irish Referendum............................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Referenda in the accession
countries............................................................................................................................................................... 7
The reunification of Cyprus................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Kaliningrad................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Polish borders........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Freedom of movement from the date
of accession...................................................................................................................................... 8
Legal Developments.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
european court of justice.................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Is a stepson a family member?............................................................................................................................................................................ 9
COUNCIL OF EUROPE............................................................................................................................................................................................ 9
European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture and Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
CPT announces its programme of
periodic visits in 2003.............................................................................................................................. 9
CPT reports: Armenia........................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Belgium.................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
Estonia.................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Greece..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Latvia...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Liechtenstein......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
The Netherlands................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Ukraine................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
EUROPEAN COURT OF
HUMAN RIGHTS....................................................................................................................................... 12
Violation of Article 8 ECHR,
balancing the interests, criminal record............................................................................................ 12
National Developments.............................................................................................................................................................................. 14
Austria.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
NGOs refuse to co-operate on new
policy of federal assistance to asylum seekers – evictions from reception
centre continue................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Belgium......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Inmates at detention centres can
complain................................................................................................................................................. 14
Learn Dutch or lose, immigrants
told............................................................................................................................................................ 14
Afghans to be offered financial
assistance for return.............................................................................................................................. 15
Expelled juveniles to be escorted
to their home country........................................................................................................................ 15
Bulgaria...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Tighter measures to stop illegal
migration.................................................................................................................................................. 15
Croatia......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
OSCE mission welcomes Croatia’s
adoption of minority law............................................................................................................. 15
Czech Republic......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Claims that the Czech Republic is
unsafe are “laughable”. No reintroduction of British visas for
Czech nationals...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Denmark....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Asylum seekers not participating in
language classes will get less money..................................................................................... 15
Danish political leaders ask for
the end of female genital mutilation (FGM)............................................................................... 16
Finland......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16
New influx of Slovak asylum seekers
of Roma origin.............................................................................................................................. 16
France........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Closure of Sangatte and related
measures.................................................................................................................................................. 16
Georgia......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Aliens Bill................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Germany....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
New immigration law soon going into
effect.............................................................................................................................................. 17
Greece............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 17
Passport required for those who
want to legalise their stay................................................................................................................. 17
Residence permits of immigrants
after five years of indefinite duration.......................................................................................... 17
Ireland.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Residence permit granted to parents
of Irish child.................................................................................................................................. 18
Border checks between UK and
Ireland....................................................................................................................................................... 18
Abolition of the advisory board for
the Reception and Integration Agency................................................................................... 18
Inadequate supervision for asylum
seeker children................................................................................................................................. 18
Italy................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 18
Another process of legalising
migrants is taking place.......................................................................................................................... 18
Lithuania..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Expulsion of Chechens........................................................................................................................................................................................ 19
The Netherlands..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
More deportations planned................................................................................................................................................................................ 19
Integration classes for ‘all
immigrants’....................................................................................................................................................... 19
Residence permit checked at schools............................................................................................................................................................. 19
Norway......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Increasing numbers of missing
asylum seekers – ferry checks............................................................................................................ 19
Iraqis allowed to work......................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Romania and FRY.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Romania and FRY signed an Ethnic
Minorities Accord......................................................................................................................... 19
Russian Federation............................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Closure of refugee camp in
Ingushetia......................................................................................................................................................... 20
New law on foreigners in force........................................................................................................................................................................ 20
Slovenia....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
New asylum centre................................................................................................................................................................................................ 20
Spain............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Schengen visas for Ecuadorian
nationals negotiated.............................................................................................................................. 20
More funds for expulsions.................................................................................................................................................................................. 20
Concerns over treatment of migrants
and inadequate procedures.................................................................................................... 20
Residence permits granted to
irregular migrants who denounced their employer...................................................................... 20
Switzerland............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Examination of West Africans’
asylum applications and repatriation to be accelerated......................................................... 21
Proposal to sanction countries
refusing to accept rejected asylum seekers – financial incentives for
cantons efficiently implementing expulsion orders................................................................................................................................... 21
Proposal to deny asylum to those
coming from safe third countries narrowly rejected by national referendum............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Asylum seekers from Angola can
return....................................................................................................................................................... 21
Practice concerning non-state persecution................................................................................................................................................. 21
Exclusion clause not applicable in
embassy procedure......................................................................................................................... 21
Turkey........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Turkey is preparing for a possible
Iraqi humanitarian crisis.............................................................................................................. 22
United Kingdom....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum
Bill receives royal assent........................................................................................................ 22
Accommodation centres...................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Government announces "ending
of Exceptional Leave to Remain"................................................................................................... 22
Detention of asylum seekers does
not break with human rights legislation................................................................................... 23
Government policy to leave
thousands homeless and hungry.............................................................................................................. 23
Closure of Sangatte and related
measures.................................................................................................................................................. 24
British Government imposes visa
restrictions on Zimbabwean nationals....................................................................................... 24
Abolishment of visa requirements................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Asylum granted to Jamaican
homosexuals.................................................................................................................................................. 24
Illegal immigrant, 13, denied
operation....................................................................................................................................................... 24
Kurds lose appeal on detention in
centre..................................................................................................................................................... 25
Immigrants who seek British
citizenship will have to take lessons in tolerance........................................................................... 25
Straw announces free movement of
people rights to EU Candidate countries on accession................................................... 25
Mobile Detection Unit to become
operational by March...................................................................................................................... 25
Armed French Frontier Guard at
Waterloo................................................................................................................................................ 26
Health Warning...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26
Akhmed Zakaev’s release
pending extradition hearing.......................................................................................................................... 26
Brussels Developments.............................................................................................................................................................................. 27
PRESIDENCIES OF THE EU.............................................................................................................................................................................. 27
The Danish Presidency........................................................................................................................................................................................ 27
The forthcoming Greek Presidency................................................................................................................................................................ 28
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION...................................................................................................................................................... 28
The JHA Council on 28-29 November........................................................................................................................................................... 28
Qualification Directive........................................................................................................................................................................................ 28
Reception Conditions Directive........................................................................................................................................................................ 28
Dublin II Regulation............................................................................................................................................................................................ 28
Safe Third Country Statement........................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Afghanistan Return Plan..................................................................................................................................................................................... 29
EU Return Action Programme.......................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Readmission agreements.................................................................................................................................................................................... 29
JHA Council on 20 December........................................................................................................................................................................... 29
The EU annual report on human
rights................................................................................................................................................... 29
EUROPEAN COMMISSION................................................................................................................................................................................ 29
Community Return Policy.................................................................................................................................................................................. 29
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT................................................................................................................................................................................ 30
Evans Report on "Asylum:
common procedure and internal security" rejected........................................................................... 30
Lambert Report on the Refugee
Definition and complementary protection................................................................................... 30
Draft Report on the situation
concerning human rights in the European Union (2001)........................................................... 30
EUROPEAN CONVENTION FOR THE FUTURE
OF EUROPE........................................................................................................ 31
Integration of the Charter of
Fundamental Rights and EU Accession to the ECHR.................................................................. 31
External Action....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Area of Freedom, Security and
Justice......................................................................................................................................................... 32
Preliminary draft Constitutional
Treaty....................................................................................................................................................... 32
ECRE............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
ECRE Projects.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
ERF Project Update............................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Good Practice Guides.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Networking............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Policy work.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 34
Refugee Participation.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
The Central European Fundraising
Project........................................................................................................................................ 35
Publications, websites and events................................................................................................................................................. 36
Publications.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 36
ECRE Publications............................................................................................................................................................................................... 36
IOM Publications.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 36
UK Home Office publications........................................................................................................................................................................... 36
UK Foreign & Commonwealth
Office publications................................................................................................................................. 36
Human Rights Watch publications.................................................................................................................................................................. 36
British Refugee Council
publications............................................................................................................................................................ 37
Other publications................................................................................................................................................................................................. 37
New websites............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 38
Forced Migration Online (FMO).................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Online resource on Colombian
displacement............................................................................................................................................. 38
events............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 38
Symposium on trafficking of human
beings................................................................................................................................................. 38
Caritas Europa Migration Forum 2003....................................................................................................................................................... 38
Eighth International Metropolis
Conference.............................................................................................................................................. 38
Courses organised by the Refugee Studies
Centre, University of Oxford....................................................................................... 39
ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVIC
UNHCR
Global Consultations
Report on Pre-ExCom
Consultations with NGOs, 25-27 September 2002, is now available at: www.unhcr.ch (Donors/Partners - Partners –
NGO).
UNHCR Publications:
UNHCR
statistics
Trends in Asylum
Applications, January – October 2002: Europe, North America, Australia,
New Zealand and Japan, have been published. In
October, monthly applications increased by 8% in the 28 countries. In 23
European countries the monthly increase was 4%, in 5 non-European countries
23%.
Statistical
Yearbook 2001. Refugees, Asylum
Seekers and Other Persons of Concern – Trends in Displacement, Protection
and Solutions was published in October.
New
Issues in Refugee Research
The following new working
papers are available online:
UNHCR’s supervisory
responsibility, Volker Turk (Working Paper No. 67): http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.pdf?tbl=RESEARCH&id=3dae74b74&page=research
Common burdens and standards:
legal elements in assessing claims to refugee status, Brian Gorlick
(Working Paper No. 68): http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.pdf?tbl=RESEARCH&id=3db7c5a94&page=research
Prima facie status and
refugee protection, Bonaventure Rutinwa (Working Paper No. 69): http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.pdf?tbl=RESEARCH&id=3db9636c4&page=research
Council
of europe
Upcoming sessions of
Parliamentary Assembly committees
The Committee of Experts on the Legal Status and the Rights of Migrants (MG-ST)
will meet on 9-10 December in Strasbourg.
The 4th reunion of the Committee of Experts on the
Management of Migratory Flows
(MG-FL) will take place on 10-11 December in Strasbourg.
A reunion of the Pilot Group
on the project “Education of Roma/Gypsies” will take place on 12-13
December in Strasbourg.
The Committee on Migration,
Refugees and Demography and the Sub-Committee on Refugees will have a Hearing
on the Situation of Palestinian Refugees in Europe on 16-17 December in
Budapest.
The Committee on Migration,
Refugees and Demography and the Directorate of Youth and Sport will have a
Hearing on the Situation of Young Refugees on 18 December in Budapest,
organised in conjunction with UNHCR, the Hungarian Parliament, the Ministry of
the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The 25th
Conference of European Ministers of Justice will take place next spring in
Sofia.
Commissioner for Human
Rights
Report on Kosovo
A report entitled: Kosovo :
the human rights situation and the fate of persons displaced from their homes,
was prepared at the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe to examine these issues in the context of the adhesion of the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia to the Council of Europe. It contains considerable criticism of
the performance of the international presence in certain areas. For information
relating to the report please contact Mr John Dalhuisen, Private Secretary to
the Commissioner for Human Rights, Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 23 13, email: john.dalhuisen@coe.int.
European Commission
Against Racism and Intolerance
Report on Portugal
The European Commission
against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Council of Europe's expert body on
combating racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance, released on 4
November its second report on Portugal. ECRI recognises that positive
developments have occurred in this country and notes that, over recent years,
Portugal has taken a number of steps to combat racism and intolerance. At the
same time, the report details continuing grounds for concern for the
Commission, notably in the application of anti-discrimination laws and the
treatment of immigrants. This new report forms part of a second cycle of
monitoring of Council of Europe member states' laws, policies and practices in
order to combat racism. ECRI's country-specific reports are available on the
internet site: www.coe.int/ecri
in English and French.
osce
10th
Ministerial Council, 6-7 December, Porto, Portugal
OSCE
commitment to prevention of terrorism
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
Portugal's Foreign Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz, called in his opening
speech at the 10th Ministerial Council for the adoption of a Charter
on Preventing and Combating Terrorism to reaffirm the OSCE's strong commitment
in this area. Portugal had made the prevention and fight against terrorism a
central theme of its Chairmanship in 2002.
The Ministerial Council,
which is convened on years when there is no OSCE Summit, is the central
decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. At the Ministerial Council,
OSCE Foreign Ministers review and assess the activities of the Organisation.
All official documents
adopted at the 10th Ministerial Council by the Heads of Delegation
of the 55 participating States can now be viewed at: http://www.osce.org/news/generate.php3?news_id=2958&uid=2.
Trafficking –
Ukraine’s
first free national telephone hotline service to fight human trafficking
The hotline is initiated and supported
by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). It was officially launched on 18
November. The new hotline, operated by the non-governmental organisation La
Strada, is a free service that provides information and support not only for
victims of trafficking, but also for persons planning to go abroad for work,
marriage or other reasons.
NGO
anti-trafficking network in south eastern Europe
Representatives of 23
non-governmental organisations from 11 different countries discussed the
creation of a network of NGOs working on anti-trafficking issues in South
Eastern Europe at a conference in Belgrade on 23-24 November, organised by the
OSCE Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the
non-governmental organisation ASTRA. The event aimed at initiating a regional
network of NGOs that is able to co-ordinate victim assistance, prevention and
education activities and to join forces to lobby international, regional and
national governments and organisations. Participants agreed to develop common
action plans over the next six months.
Victims
of trafficking assistance initiative in Albania
The OSCE Victims Assistance
Team initiative was launched on 27 November in Albania, to offer immediate care
and advice to victims of trafficking who had just been sent back from Italy. It
was carried out in co-operation with the International Organisation for
Migration (IOM) and the Albanian Ministry of Public Order.
EU
Enlargement
The Irish Referendum
62.89% of Irish voters said
"yes" and 37.11% said "no" at the second Irish referendum
on the Nice Treaty held on 19 October. The turnout was much higher than 15
months ago and reached 48.45% of the electorate. Ireland’s approval of
the Nice Treaty removed the final formal obstacle to the accession of new
member states.
Referenda in the
accession countries
The Prime Ministers of the
“Visegrad Group”, comprising the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland
and Slovakia, agreed on 5 September 2002 to hold referenda on EU membership
between April and June 2003. They decided to co-ordinate their EU membership
referenda so that they are held in close succession.
Here is latest information on
enlargement referenda in the candidate countries, drawn from: http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/?targ=1&204&OIDN=500664:
|
Candidate country
|
Indicative date
|
|
Bulgaria
|
|
|
Cyprus
|
|
|
Czech Republic
|
May 2003
the referendum has to be held 30 days after the signature of the EU Accession
Treaty (16 April 2003), according to the new referendum law
|
|
Estonia
|
A referendum law has to be
amended first
|
|
Hungary
|
12 April 2003
|
|
Latvia
|
|
|
Lithuania
|
|
|
Malta
|
spring 2003, perhaps in
March
suggested by Prime Minister Fenech Adami
|
|
Poland
|
11 May 2003
proposed by Prime Minister Leszek Miller; Parliament has to decide on the
final date
|
|
Romania
|
|
|
Slovakia
|
7 June 2003
proposed by Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan
|
|
Slovenia
|
end of May or in June 2003
|
|
Turkey
|
|
The reunification of
Cyprus
The United Nations plan for
comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem has been accepted by the Greek
Cypriot side and Greece as a “basis for talks”. The outline deal
would mean Cyprus reunited into a single country with two equal states and a
loose federal government with a rotating Presidency. Its terms include
concessions on territory, property, sovereignty, security and resettlement of
Greek Cypriots in Turkish Cypriot territory. The plan foresees a referendum on
both sides in March 2003.
Under the agreement reached
at the EU-Russia Summit on 11 November in Copenhagen, the inhabitants of
Kaliningrad will need an inexpensive, multi-entry travel transit document to
travel to mainland Russia. Travellers using trains will be able to obtain
transit documents at the border. Lithuania will be able to refuse transit to
undesirable passengers or illegal immigrants. The EU also agreed to undertake a
feasibility study on non-stop trains between Kaliningrad and Russia that would
remove the need for transit documents.
Polish borders
Speaking at a conference on
borders held in Warsaw on 18 October, the Minister of the Interior Krzysztof
Janik affirmed that surveillance of his country’s borders would be able
to “come up to 98% of EU standards by the end of 2003, before joining the
EU in 2004, if everything goes according to schedule”. Poland will have
an EU external border of 1,140 km. Mr Janik informed that extra border posts
would be built, the ultimate aim being to have a checkpoint every 25 km. Each
border post will be equipped with the most modern surveillance equipment.
Freedom of movement
from the date of accession
UK Foreign Secretary Jack
Straw announced in a written ministerial statement to Parliament on 10 December
that citizens of the new EU Member States will gain the same full rights to
work in the UK as enjoyed by existing EU citizens from the date of their
planned accession on 1 May 2004 rather than having to wait for two to seven
years. Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Greece have already stated
their intention to open their labour markets from accession.
ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
Reference for a preliminary
ruling has been made by the Administrative Court Stuttgart to the European
Court of Justice to find out whether a stepson, under 21 years of age, can be
considered as a member of a Turkish migrant worker within the meaning of
Decision no. 1/80 of the EEC-Turkey Association Council (Case C 275/02). The
case is still pending.
The European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
plans to organise periodic visits to the following countries during 2003:
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Croatia
* Estonia
* Finland
* Georgia
* Luxembourg
* Portugal
* Spain
* Sweden
* United Kingdom (Scotland)
and the Isle of Man.
It is expected that a similar
number of ad hoc visits will be organised by the CPT in 2003.
The CPT's field of operations
encompasses all 44 member States of the Council of Europe. The Committee is entitled
to visit, at any time, any place where persons are deprived of their liberty by
a public authority, and to interview detained persons in private. On the basis
of its findings, the CPT pursues a dialogue with the States visited in order to
strengthen the protection of detained persons from ill-treatment.
A delegation of the Council
of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out its first visit to Armenia from 6 to
17 October 2002. The visit took place shortly after the entry into force, in
respect of Armenia, of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture
and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
During the visit, the CPT's
delegation focused its attention on the treatment of persons detained by the
police, on the conditions of detention in Armenian penal establishments and on
the situation in military detention facilities. The delegation also visited a
psychiatric establishment where it examined, in particular, the wards for
compulsory treatment and for forensic psychiatric assessment.
No report has been made
public yet.
In a recent report published by
the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) the treatment of
persons deprived of their liberty in Belgium is assessed. The Belgian
authorities have given their green light to the publication of the report,
which concerns a visit carried out at the end of 2001.
A limited number of
allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials were heard; the CPT
has recommended that the Belgian authorities remain particularly vigilant in
this area. As regards fundamental safeguards against ill-treatment, the CPT
considers that the time has come, having in mind the momentum for change
generated by the comprehensive reorganisation of the police forces, to put into
practice certain positions adopted at political level, in particular concerning
access to a lawyer during police custody.
In its report, the CPT deals
with the use of force and means of restraint during the removal of foreign
nationals by air. The Committee's findings indicate that these operations
involve a manifest risk of inhuman and degrading treatment. The CPT has taken
note of the numerous measures taken by the Belgian authorities in order to
reduce this risk to a minimum, including the prohibition of any techniques
which might obstruct the respiratory tract. The CPT has highlighted other
dangers associated with the procedures and methods used, in particular "positional
asphyxia". The Committee has also recommended that any foreign national
whose removal by force has had to be interrupted undergo a comprehensive
medical examination.
As regards the prison system,
the CPT criticises the situation in respect of psychiatric care. It has taken
note of the Belgian authorities’ decision to close Lantin Prison
Psychiatric Unit, as well as of the plans to regroup patients and resources in
the prison psychiatric sector. The CPT has also expressed concern as regards
the phenomenon of inter-prisoner violence at Andenne Prison and the chronic
overcrowding at Antwerp Prison.
For the first time in
Belgium, the CPT carried out a visit to a psychiatric hospital, Jean Titeca
Hospital in Brussels, as well as to a juvenile institution, at
Braine-le-Château.
In two reports published in
October 2002, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)
assesses the treatment of people detained in Estonia. These reports, published
with the approval of the Estonian authorities together with their responses,
concern two visits carried out in 1997 and 1999.
During the 1997 visit, the
CPT found that in recent years, there had been a marked improvement in the
manner in which detained persons were treated by the police. However, extremely
poor conditions of detention prevailed in many police arrest houses. Detainees
were held for prolonged periods in unhygienic and overcrowded cells, with no
mattresses and a meagre amount of food. During the follow-up visit carried out
in 1999, the CPT noted the first positive steps taken by the Estonian
authorities to improve this situation.
The conditions of detention
of remand prisoners observed at Tallinn Central Prison in 1997 were
intolerable. Deplorable material conditions were compounded by a total absence
of activities. In their responses, the Estonian authorities provide detailed
information on the measures taken to improve conditions of detention in the
establishment and throughout the prison system.
Many allegations of
ill-treatment of patients were received at Valkla Social Welfare House during
the 1997 visit. Further, the establishment was not adequately resourced,
particularly in terms of staff. During the follow-up visit in 1999, the CPT
noted that the situation had significantly improved. No allegations of
ill-treatment were heard, and special training had been organised for staff.
The Greek government has
requested the publication of the report of the Council of Europe’s
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) on its periodic visit to Greece
in September/October 2001, together with the authorities’ response. The CPT
reviewed the treatment of persons detained by law enforcement officials and
conditions of detention in police stations, transfer centres, border guard
posts and holding facilities for aliens. As regards prisons, it reexamined the
situation with respect to overcrowding and the regime provided to prisoners. In
their response, the Greek authorities provide information on the measures being
taken upon the CPT’s report.
A delegation of the Council
of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out a visit to Latvia from 25 September
to 4 October 2002. It was the CPT's second periodic visit to Latvia.
During the visit, the
CPT’s delegation reviewed the measures taken by the Latvian authorities
following the recommendations made by the Committee after its 1999 visit.
Particular attention was paid to the treatment of persons detained by the police
and border guards, as well as the conditions of detention of life-sentenced
prisoners and juvenile prisoners on remand. For the first time in Latvia, the
delegation visited a social care home.
No report has been made
public yet.
The Government of the
Principality of Liechtenstein has requested the publication of the report of
the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) on
its periodic visit to Liechtenstein in May/June 1999, together with the
authorities’ response.
It was the Committee's second
periodic visit to Liechtenstein, the first being organised in 1993. The
Committee reexamined the safeguards against the ill-treatment of persons in
police custody and the activities available to inmates at Vaduz Prison. In
their response, the Liechtenstein authorities provide information on the
measures which have been taken upon the CPT’s report.
The authorities of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands have made public the report of the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture (CPT) on the visits carried out in February 2002 to the
Kingdom in Europe and to the Netherlands Antilles.
In the Kingdom in Europe, the
CPT received no allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials. Some
recommendations were made regarding conditions of detention in police
establishments (e.g., concerning access to outdoor exercise for remand
prisoners) and fundamental safeguards for persons in police custody (as
regards, in particular, access to a lawyer during the initial period of
detention for interrogation purposes). The CPT reviewed the situation at the
Extra Security Prison (EBI) in Vught; it recommended measures in order to
prevent inter-prisoner violence, improve the regime and define more precisely
the conditions under which placement in this establishment may be extended.
Other recommendations were made as regards the treatment of persons suspected
of carrying drugs in corpore, held at
Bloemendaal Special Detention Facility.
During the visit to the
Netherlands Antilles, the CPT reviewed the situation at Bon Futuro Prison in
Curacao and visited, for the first time, Pointe Blanche Prison and the Central
Police Station in Sint Maarten. The conditions of detention in that police
station were unacceptable, and the authorities made a commitment to take
measures immediately to remedy this situation. At Bon Futuro Prison, the
material conditions had improved, but a severe shortage of staff had numerous
negative consequences; in particular inter-prisoner violence and the absence of
a regime. Conditions at Pointe Blanche Prison were generally more favourable,
despite critically low staffing levels
In three reports published
today, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)
assesses the treatment of people detained in Ukraine. These reports, published
with the agreement of the Ukrainian authorities together with their responses,
concern the three visits carried out between 1998 and 2000.
During each visit, the CPT
heard numerous allegations of physical ill-treatment of detainees by members of
the criminal police ("opierativniki"); mainly kicks, punches and
truncheon blows, but also asphyxiation with a gas mask, suspension by the legs
and/or arms and beatings on the soles of the feet. In their most recent
response, the Ukrainian authorities set out a range of measures aimed at
preventing ill-treatment, including the reform of recruitment procedures and
reinforcement of police training.
The 1998 and 1999 reports
severely criticise conditions of detention in police central holding facilities
(ITTs), where people can be detained for prolonged periods. In its report on
the 2000 visit, the CPT notes certain efforts made by the authorities, such as
the provision of bedding, the removal of shutters from cell windows with a view
to improving access to natural light and the creation of exercise yards.
A series of recommendations
have been made concerning the systemic overcrowding in prison establishments,
poor material conditions and the treatment of prisoners suffering from
tuberculosis. The authorities describe various reforms adopted in 2001 intended
to reduce considerably the prison population and improve conditions of
detention; for instance, the shutters have also been removed from cell windows
in prison establishments in order to improve access to natural light and fresh
air. Since July 2001, specific measures have been taken to fight tuberculosis.
In its report on the 2000
visit, the CPT welcomes the formal abolition of the death penalty in Ukraine;
however, it stresses that the treatment of prisoners sentenced to life
imprisonment remains a major source of concern. Measures taken by the
authorities in response include more out-of-cell time per day and an increase
in the number of parcels and visits.
The CPT will return to
Ukraine later this year.
For the full text of the
judgments see: http://www.echr.coe.int
Yildiz v. Austria
(application no. 37295/97). In this case the Court concluded that the
authorities failed to strike a fair balance between the right of family life and the interest of the
Austrian State and that the
interference with the applicants’ right to respect for their family life
was not proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued.
Mehmet Yildiz, Güler
Yildiz and Yesim Yildiz are all Turkish nationals, born in 1975, 1976 and 1995
respectively. When they introduced the application, they were all living in
Austria.
Mr Yildiz went to Austria in
1989 to live with his parents and siblings. As from 1994 he cohabited with
Güler, who was born in Austria and has lived there all her life. They
married under Muslim law in April 1994 and under Austrian civil law in March
1997. Yesim, their daughter, was born on 14 August 1995.
In 1993 Mr Yildiz, while
still a minor, was convicted twice by the criminal courts, once for
shop-lifting with a sentence of three days’ imprisonment suspended on
probation, and once for theft without a sentence being pronounced. Between 1992
and April 1994 he was convicted seven times of traffic offences, in particular
driving without a licence and once ignoring a red light and high speeding. The
fines imposed on him totalled 28,000 Austrian schillings, equivalent to 2,035 euros
(EUR).
On 21 September 1994 Dornbirn
District Authority imposed a five-year residence ban on Mr Yildiz. His
subsequent appeal was dismissed on the ground that a residence ban has to be
issued against an alien, among other things, if he has been convicted more than
once for similar offences by a domestic or foreign court, or if a fine has been
imposed on him more than once for a grave administrative offence by an
administrative authority. Despite Mr Yildiz’ high degree of integration
in Austria, it was also found that the public interest in issuing a residence
ban outweighed his interest in staying. This decision was served on Mr Yildiz
on 8 February 1995.
On 11 May 1995 he was taken
into detention with a view to his expulsion.
Mr Yildiz lodged a complaint
with the Administrative Court. He submitted that the contested decisions
violated his right to respect for his private and family life and that Austria
was bound by an agreement between the European Union and Turkey, which granted
Turkish workers who had been legally employed in an EU member State for a
certain period a residence permit. The Administrative Court dismissed both
complaints, noting that the rights contained in the agreement in question
applied only after a certain number of years of lawful employment, which the
first applicant had failed to prove in his case.
On 16 June 1997 an order to
leave Austrian territory was served on the first applicant, with which he
complied on 1 July 1997.
Mr Yildiz is currently living
in Turkey. The validity of his residence ban expired in September 1999.
However, he claims that the possibilities of legally returning to Austria are
very limited and involve long waiting periods. In March 2001 Mr and Ms Yildiz
divorced.
The applicants complained
that the residence ban issued against Mr Yildiz violated their right to respect
for their family life, as guaranteed by Article 8 (right to respect for family
life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. They also contended that the
interference with their family life was not "in accordance with the
law", since the relevant domestic law was overruled by EU law. They
further claimed that the residence ban was disproportionate, especially as Mr
Yildiz had all his family ties in Austria and had only been sentenced to modest
penalties for offences of a petty nature.
The European Court of Human
Rights observed that Mr Yildiz was not a second-generation immigrant; he came
to Austria in 1989 at the age of 14 and had therefore to have links with his
country of origin and to be able to speak Turkish. On the other hand, he was
still an adolescent when he came to Austria, where his close family was still
living. In December 1996, when the Administrative Court confirmed the residence
ban against him, he had been living in Austria for seven years, he had been
working there and had been co-habiting for a little less than three years with
Ms Yildiz, a Turkish national, who was born in Austria and had lived there all
her life. Their daughter, the third applicant, was one year and four months old
at the time. In fact, the Austrian authorities issuing the residence ban
acknowledged that Mr Yildiz had reached a high degree of integration in
Austria. Nevertheless, the Court considered that, regarding the possible
effects of the residence ban on his family life, the authorities failed to
establish whether Ms Yildiz could be expected to follow her husband to Turkey,
in particular whether she spoke Turkish and maintained any links, other than
her nationality, with that country. While it was true that the
applicants’ family situation had changed in the meantime, the Court had
to make its assessment in the light of the position when the residence ban
became final.
Concerning the offences
committed by the first applicant, the Court found that, though they were not
negligible, the domestic authorities considered them to be of a minor nature,
as was shown by the modest penalties imposed. Moreover, Mr Yildiz did not
commit any further offences between April 1994 and December 1996, when the
residence ban proceedings were terminated. The Court concluded that the
authorities failed to strike a fair balance between the different interests
involved and that the interference with the applicants’ right to respect
for their family life was not proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued.
The Court, therefore, held,
unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 8.
.
ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
Austria
On 10 October negotiations between
the Ministry of Interior and humanitarian NGOs on the future provisions of
federal assistance for asylum seekers broke down. The Minister of the Interior
Ernst Strasser informed that he had signed a contract with a private German
firm “European Homecare” to provide advice on repatriation to
rejected asylum seekers evicted from the reception centre in Traiskirchen. The
firm is catering for several reception centres in Germany, but has itself
admitted that it does not have experience in providing advice to asylum
seekers. Evictions continue. Apparently the authorities are determined to evict
from the Tsaikirchen reception centre about 100 asylum seekers per week and
1,000 by Christmas, including minors and mothers with small babies. On 15
October, following the weekly cabinet meeting, Chancellor Wolfgang
Schüssel said at a press conference that the measure of denying federal
assistance to certain categories of asylum seekers considered to be from
“safe countries” had helped to curb the influx of people seeking
asylum in Austria.
Under the terms of the new Royal
Decree published at the end of September and setting out the rules in detention
centres for asylum seekers, a committee is to be set up to receive complaints.
The committee is, however, not obliged to have a representative permanently
present in a detention centre and some asylum seekers may therefore find
themselves without anybody to complain to.
Unemployed immigrants who refuse
to engage in language classes or job training will forfeit their social
security payments, it has been announced.
The Newspaper De Standaard said
Flemish Employment Minister Renaat Landuyt intends to ensure immigrants own up
to their "responsibility" and that the governing coalition party
Agalev approved the move.
But Landuyt remains committed to
ensuring better employment for immigrants and dreams of the day when the
jobless rate among the migrant community is equal to that of the native
population. The minister said if the jobless rate among the native population
is 7 percent, it is unacceptable for the immigrant jobless rate to be 30
percent.
The Flemish government also said
it is committed to omitting the requirement that immigrants hold Belgian
nationality before being able to be employed as a public servant.
Landuyt also said a budget of EUR
2,500 per immigrant will be allocated to the Flemish Service for Employment and
Vocational Training (VDAB) to provide Dutch language classes, job application
lessons and technical or vocational training.
The minister said the courses will
be compulsory and anyone who refuses to participate will be deemed to have
refused work and their social security payments can be temporarily or
permanently cancelled
On 15 October the Commissioner
General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRA) Pascal Smet announced that
Afghans would be offered a return ticket and a cash payment of 500 Euros per
adult and 250 Euros per child to encourage them to accept voluntary
repatriation. He also said that his office would send a letter to all Afghans
to inform them about the voluntary repatriation programme.
On 21 October the Aliens
Department announced that juveniles expelled from Belgium would in future have
an escort. The decision came several days after a five-year old Congolese girl
was sent back to her home country without being accompanied by anyone and was
left stranded when she arrived in Kinshasa.
On October 22, the Bulgarian
government announced tighter measures to stop illegal migration to Western
countries in the hope that the country can avoid renewed visa restrictions on
its citizens. After the EU lifted
visa requirements for Bulgarians in April 2001, about 500 Bulgarians a month
were apprehended in Western Europe and returned. About 6,561 Bulgarians have been arrested and expelled from
EU counties, the US and Canada between April 2001 and October 2002.
Deputy Interior Minister Boiko
Kotsev said that Bulgaria was "determined to stop the Bulgarians who hurt
the country's image and possibly prompt a change in the free travel
status" by expanding from one to two years the period during which
Bulgarians expelled from the EU for, for instance, working without
authorization must stay home, and taking new steps to prevent Bulgarians who
have been expelled from EU countries from changing their names and then heading
back to the EU. There has
been a large increase in the number of Romanian Roma apprehended in the EU for
unlawful work since it lifted visa requirements for Romanians in January
2002.
Croatia has adopted a new
Constitutional Law on National Minorities. The adoption of a good minority law
has been a longstanding commitment. “It is now essential that the
Constitutional Law is consistently implemented throughout the country,"
said Ambassador Semneby of the OSCE. "It appears that a largely acceptable
solution has been found to the key question of minority representation in
Parliament." Other important elements of the law are those that provide
conditions for minority participation in public life on the local and regional
level.
For full text see: http://www.osce.org/news/generate.php3?news_id=2959&uid=2
According to CTK, Czech news
agency, the British Home Secretary David Blunkett had, after a meeting with the
Czech Minister of the Interior Stanislav Gross in London on 22 October,
affirmed that claims describing the Czech Republic as unsafe and suggesting
that citizens must fear for their lives are ungrounded and laughable. Mr
Blunkett also assured Mr Gross that he no longer wanted to introduce entry
visas for Czech nationals as a means of curbing the arrival of Czech asylum
seekers.
A measure that was declared
illegal by the courts will come into force on 1st January 2003, but
this time as a law and not as a decision of a local mayor. Under the measure,
asylum seekers not taking part in language courses or other activities will
receive less pocket money. Moreover, asylum seekers will have to do work at
their reception centre.
Introduced by the Minister of
Integration, Bertel Haarder, it received the support of also the opposition
Social Democrats as well as the ‘Radicals of the left’ who are,
however, reducing the amount of pocket money.
The idea belongs, in fact, to the
municipality of Hanstholm which, a few years ago, took over the local reception
centre for asylum seekers, thus breaking the monopoly of the Danish Red Cross
in providing accommodation. Asylum seekers accommodated there had their pocket
money reduced as a sanction for not attending Danish classes. The measure was
subsequently deemed illegal by the courts and Hanstholm had to pay back
withheld sums to the asylum seekers concerned.
An angry debate started in Denmark
when imams representing the Somali immigrant community demanded that girls be
circumcised, as one declared that FGM was a “religious duty”. The
imams said Islamic tradition should take precedence over Danish law.
The imams’ declarations were
followed by a series of angry reactions, prompting proposals for Muslim girls
to be inspected by school doctors, the application of the criminal law against
“parents whose daughters had been operated on”; or the placement of
girls who were “circumcised” in foster homes and the expulsion of
their parents from the country. The medical sector fear however that such
proposals will keep girls away from medical examinations undermining the
identification of other health problems.
The debate illustrates the
difficulties in raising awareness against FGM in migrant and refugee
communities in western countries.
In theory all forms of FGM are illegal under the Danish penal code. But despite a series of information
programmes since the 1990s and support from some members of the Somali
community, in many cases the authorities have been unable to prevent parents
sending their daughters “on holiday” for the procedure.
Danish health authorities estimate
that 3,000 girls up to the age of ten are at risk.
On 15 October Seppo Hakkinen of
the border police stated that there had been a very significant increase in the
number of Slovak asylum seekers, all of Roma ethnic origin. Of the 171 who have
applied for asylum since the beginning of this year, 150 had done so since 26
September and 73 since the beginning of October. Some of the latest arrivals
are the very same who applied for asylum about two years ago and were rejected.
They were then banned from entering Finland for two years and this period has
now expired for most of the unsuccessful applicants of the past.
On 5 November, 10 days ahead of
schedule, the three-year old Sangatte Red Cross centre was closed to new
arrivals. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees identified current
residents of the centre, fingerprinted them and issued registration cards in
preparation for interviewing them to determine who is a refugee. Those found
not to be refugees will be asked to leave France, with a compensation of about
2,000 Euros given to those who leave voluntarily. The complete closure of
Sangatte was agreed between the UK Home Secretary David Blunkett and the French
Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy on 2 December, to take place on 30
December 2002. The French government will take responsibility for the remaining
people at Sangatte, estimated to be around 300, as well as those who are being
housed elsewhere, and those who continue to turn up in the area.
Other measures announced on 2
December included:
by Christmas, every vehicle
travelling through Calais will be searched;
agreements to enable UK
immigration officers at Calais to operate full UK border controls are being
negotiated between the two countries;
the UK will provide detection
equipment for use at French ports.
The Georgian Ministry of Justice
is developing a draft bill on the legal status of foreign citizens, Caucasus
Press reported (14 November). The aim of the draft law is to bring together all
existing laws and acts regulating the presence of foreign citizens in Georgia.
The new law will also regulate the movement of foreigners within the country.
The law will provide for two types of residence for foreign citizens, permanent
and temporary.
Germany’s new immigration
law is scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2003. However, Germany’s
major opposition parties have asked the Constitutional Court to declare the law
unconstitutional because it was approved with Brandenburg casting both yes and
no votes in the upper house; a decision is expected by December 2002.
In mid-October, the Ministry of
Interior issued another decree aimed at facilitating legalisation of the stay
of migrants, including an extra criterion. The circular was said to be issued
in order to clear up any confusion relating to the earlier announced
legislation. However, rather than facilitating the procedure, the decree is
leading to worry and confusion because it now requires migrants to annex to
their application a photocopy of their valid passport. In the initial phase of
the present legislation procedure, when a migrant applied for an initial
six-month residence permit, they were not required to have a valid passport.
Only some official document to prove their identity was sufficient, be it a
passport, another kind of travel document, a birth certificate or any other
identity document.
Three reasons have been given for
the late introduction of the need to have a valid passport. The photocopy of
the passport will, in fact, be sent to local police departments to verify
whether the holder poses any threat to public order and security. Another
reason is to check whether the applicant was issued with an expulsion order
between June 2000 and June 2001. If this is the case, it will be assumed that
(s)he have not been in Greece during that period which is a requirement of the
legislation process.
The third reason is that the EU
Council Regulation 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permit
for third country nationals, adopted on 13 June 2002, will come into force on 1st
January 2003. According to the Regulation, it should be issued as a sticker
attached to a foreigner’s passport.
Residence permits of immigrants
who have resided in Greece for more than 5 years will become permits of
“indefinite duration”, according to announcements of Minister of
the Interior Kostas Skandalidis, after the meeting of the Executive Board of
the Institute for Immigration Policy (IMEPO).
As the Minister of the Interior
stressed, the three gates that express Greece's overall national immigration
policy are the complete handling of immigrant flows, social integration of
immigrants and deterring illegal immigration.
Mr. Scandalidis and Deputy
Minister of the Interior Lambros Papadimas mentioned that from now on,
immigrants will have to pay approximately 147 Euro in order to receive their
new residency status.
This amount will have to be paid
annually during the first five years of residency in order to renew their
permit. Then their permit will become of “indefinite duration”.
Mr. Papadimas pointed out that
there is still a problem with immigrants who are unable to present any
travelling documents or passports, documents required for them to be granted a
residency permit. These are the cases of immigrants from countries that are
unable to supply them with such documents or are in a state of war, and thus
Greece has contacted these countries in order to reach a solution of some
kind.
As a result of a 1989 decision by
the Irish Supreme Court, the so-called Fajujonu decision, foreigners with
Irish-born children have generally not been deported. Article 2 of the Irish
Constitution, as amended following the 1988 referendum on the Belfast
Agreement, grant Irish citizenship to children born in Ireland. The Court ruled
that migrant parents from Nigeria and Morocco who had been in Ireland for about
seven years could remain there because their Irish child had the right to the
‘care, company and parentage’ of its parents.
As from November, Irish and
British immigration officials agreed to work together to ensure that air and
sea passengers travelling to Ireland from the UK are in possession of the
necessary documents (valid passport or other required documentation). The
checks are considered necessary to deal with the growing flow of illegal
migrants from Britain to Ireland.
According to UNHCR News (13
November), the Irish Minister for Justice Mr McDowell has abolished the
advisory board for the Reception and Integration Agency, the main body
responsible for co-ordinating services for asylum-seekers and refugees. He
stated that the continued existence of the board, which included
representatives from a wide variety of backgrounds, had become unwarranted and
that the board would not receive separate statutory footing, as previously
proposed. Although the board had powers of recommendation only, some members
pointed out that the board served as the only instance of consultation in the
Irish refugee system, in light of the fact that the Irish Government is still
to set up the Refugee Advisory Board, envisaged by the Refugee Act 1996. Mr
McDowell also said that he had no plans to introduce changes to either the
Refugee Applications Commissioner or the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.
According to www.online.ie (25
November), the Irish Refugee Council has warned that
approximately 600 unaccompanied minors, most of whom are asylum seekers, are in
danger because of inadequate supervision. The minors, who are largely
concentrated in Dublin, often live in hostels with just a security guard to
supervise them at night. Peter O'Mahony of the Irish Refugee Council said that
more resources are needed if the teenagers are not to come to harm.
In spite of repeated affirmations
to the contrary another process of legalising migrants is taking place.
Presented as a limited amnesty when it was announced, the opportunity provided
to undocumented migrants to legalise their stay in Italy has turned out to be a
massive one, at least in so far as the number of applications are concerned.
From 9 September until 11
November, undocumented migrants have the possibility of legalising their stay
and, according to the Minister of Employment, about 300 000 had done so by 9
October, out of some 800 000 undocumented migrants according to estimates by
the Catholic Church agency, Caritas (450 000, according to the Ministry of
Interior).
The conditions are rather
different, if not stricter, from past amnesties. This time it is not the
undocumented migrant who applies, but rather the person who promises to employ
him/her. The employer then requests the migrant, if he so wishes, to reimburse
him the fee paid in submitting the applications, which is 40 Euros for a
domestic worker (house-cleaner, baby-sitter, providers of care for the elderly,
etc.) and 100 Euros for an employee.
The employer must then pay a
forfeit sum to avoid subsequent prosecution for having employed a foreigner
without a work permit. The sum ranges form 290 Euros for a domestic worker to
700 Euros for an employee.
Moreover the employer must
undertake to offer his legalised employee a contract valid for at least one
year. This amnesty, which initially took the form of a decree, was subsequently
converted into law by Parliament. After having obtained the approval of the Senate
on 26 September, it was passed by the Lower House on 9 October 2002 with 257
votes in favour, 200 against and 4 abstentions.
The Lithuanian government expelled
17 Chechens who entered the country illegally on 5 November, the first large
group to be apprehended after arriving on foot. UNHCR expressed concern about
reports that Chechen asylum seekers were barred from Lithuania and Poland after
the theatre siege in Moscow, according to MIGRATION NEWS, Vol. 9, No. 12, December
2002.
On 10 October Dick Schoof,
Director of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) announced that his
service was planning to deport 13,000 illegal immigrants and rejected asylum
seekers, this year. The quota for the next year was not mentioned, but that for
2004 should be 25,000. In order to realise this ambitious target more staff
will be recruited. The practice of chartering an aircraft to carry out group
expulsions will be used more frequently.
The Dutch government’s
Integration Task Force, formed two years ago, gave its recommendations on
integration classes to Immigration Minister Nawijn on 4 December. Integration
classes would not only be compulsory for newly arrived immigrants, but also for
those who have lived in the Netherlands for an extended period of time. It is
advised that the government invest more money into the scheme as at present
there are not enough spaces on the course.
As of 1st October,
school boards must report on the pupils registered at their institution to the
municipality, including the residence status of children in newcomers groups.
The obligation stems from the new Aliens Act that came into force in March
2001. Some schools have made known their objections and are reluctant to
cooperate. They say that their task is to provide education, not check
residence permits, which is a task of the aliens police.
More than 3,600 asylum seekers
have disappeared from Norwegian reception centres so far this year. It is an
increase of 85% over the number of would-be refugees who disappeared from the
country's asylum centres last year. Immigration authorities have launched a
crackdown, and now, for example, are checking every truck on board the ferries
that travel between Kristiansand in southern Norway and England.
Persons who came in 1999 from
North-Iraq are now given a temporary work permission, since the authorities
have no possibility to force anyone back. The Norwegian authorities don’t
have an agreement with neighbouring countries of Iraq to let them pass their
country. The Iraqis will not have the right to get social support of any kind,
nor are they entitled to family reunion.
Romania and the Former Republic of
Yugoslavia signed a co-operation agreement on national minorities protection.
The agreement stipulates the right of the Romanian minorities living in the
FRY, and reciprocally, of the Serbian minority in Romania, to participate in
the decisions of their interest and make use of their mother language both in
society as well as in private life. As a result of this agreement, they can be
acknowledged as an ethnicity, and not only as an ethnic group. President
Vojislav Kostunica explained that the accord, and the recently voted law of
ethnic minorities, would satisfactorily regulate the status of minorities in
the two countries. The following steps, said Kostunica, could be bilateral
documents on matters of culture and education, introducing the right to
education in their native language for ethnic Romanians in Serbia. However, the
President did not indicate whether the widening of rights of ethnic minorities
could extend to the designation of a representative in the federal Parliament,
as is the case in Romania.
Russian authorities have closed
down Ingushetia's Aki Yurt camp, evicting some 1,500 displaced Chechens despite
appeals by UNHCR, which is now trying to follow up on their location and
condition. According to initial estimates by local monitors in the camp, just
under half of Aki Yurt's population remains in Ingushetia, presumably living
either with host families or in existing temporary settlements. Up to 300
people – many of them elderly – are living in six temporary
settlements adjacent to Aki Yurt camp. Another 21 families continue to live in
mud brick houses they had managed to build on the former campsite. Recent
statements by Russian authorities indicate that they intend to close down all
tent camps in Ingushetia by the end of the year. For now, military presence is
still in place near the four tent camps in Sleptsovskaya, Ingushetia.
On 1 November a new law defining
the legal status of foreigners in Russia came into force. The law stipulates
that non-residents must carry immigration cards. Further, according to the law,
foreigners intending to stay in Russia for more than three months must purchase
special $100 cards. The law prohibits temporary- and permanent-residence status
for drug addicts, people who are HIV positive, people with serious criminal
records in their country of origin, people who were previously expelled from
Russia, or those testing positive for dangerous infectious diseases
The “temporary”
refugee centre in Vic, Ljubljana, was closed down on 15 October and a new one
is to be built on the same site, to be completed by April 2004. Although the
number of asylum seekers has fallen considerably, a significant number of those
who arrived years ago still require accommodation in reception centres due to
difficulties in obtaining rented homes in the private sector.
On 10 October the junior Minister
responsible for Immigration Ignacio González informed that the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs was negotiating with its counterparts in other Schengen
states to include Ecuador in the list of countries whose nationals require
entry visas.
On 10 October the junior Minister
responsible for Immigration Ignacio González announced that a sum of
8,617,000 Euros would be set aside in the 2003 budget for the purpose of
expelling irregular migrants. He said that the amount, which is 186% more than
the current year’s budget, was justified in view of the increasing number
of expulsions being carried out.
The UN Committee Against Torture
reviewed Spain’s periodic report on 12-13 November. In a letter to the
Committee, Human Rights Watch urged the international experts to question the Spanish
government about its treatment of migrants. Particular concern was expressed
about conditions in immigration detention and in residential centres for
migrant children that amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and about
the manner in which repatriation and expulsion proceedings are carried out. As
a result, Human Rights Watch has found, migrants are often prevented from
accessing asylum procedures as well as complaints mechanisms in cases of
ill-treatment or discrimination. Human Rights Watch also raised the issue of
the widespread abuse of unaccompanied migrant children in the two Spanish
cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla.
On 8 October, eight Ecuadorians and
two Colombians were granted work and residence permits for having co-operated
with the judiciary in the conviction of the owner of a construction firm in
Valencia who had charged them 900 Euros each in exchange for a false promise to
have their situation in Spain legalised. The newly legalised migrants informed
the authorities that the former employer had received such a fee from at least
45 irregular migrants. Under the terms of a provision (Article 59) of the
Aliens Act, residence and work permits may be issued to those illegal
immigrants who collaborate with the authorities and enable the conviction of
members of gangs who exploit immigrants. The 10 migrants received their
residence and work permits on the basis of this provision.
According to an announcement made
by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Police on 11 October, asylum
applications submitted by nationals of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Sierra Leone and Guinea will be dealt with by a special unit set up within the
Federal Refugee Office (ODR), which would mean accelerated processing of their
claims. In addition, the repatriation division of the ODR has been ordered to
do “all it can to expedite the repatriation to Africa of people sentenced
by the courts or whose behaviour is anti-social”. Among all West African
countries, however, only Senegal has signed a readmission agreement with
Switzerland.
In an interview with the Sunday
edition of a German-language daily NZZ am Sonntagt (13 October), the Director
of the Federal Refugee Office (ODR) Jean-Daniel Gerber has proposed that there
be a reduction in development aid for those countries refusing to co-operate in
taking back their nationals denied asylum in Switzerland. On the other hand, he
advocated increasing development aid to the main sending countries of asylum
seekers and mentioned Angola in particular. At the same time, Mr Gerber
proposed that social assistance be reduced to the strict minimum for rejected
asylum seekers who could reasonably be sent back to their home country, but whose
departure was rendered impossible by their refusal to co-operate and to reveal
their true identity. Mr Gerber is also considering whether to put in a
financially advantageous position those cantons which quickly implement federal
expulsion orders as opposed to those who hesitate or delay in doing so.
On 24 November the Swiss voters
narrowly rejected a proposal to stop granting asylum to foreigners who arrive
overland via a country Switzerland considers safe. The vote was 50.1 to 49.9%,
the closest vote on an initiative since 1891. The voter turnout was 46.7%. All
of Switzerland's neighbours are considered safe, and with new carrier
sanctions, approval would have made it extremely difficult for foreigners to
apply for asylum. The People's Party that initiated the proposal has 15 seats
in Parliament, and is the second biggest party in the four-party coalition
government, after the left-of-centre Social Democrats.
The Federal Office for Refugees
(ODR) said that asylum seekers can return to Angola. However, the humanitarian
situation in different parts of the country as well as the particular situation
of vulnerable groups will be taken into account.
The Swiss Asylum Appeal Commission
(SAAC) will not change its practice related to non-state persecution. In a
recent decision (EMARK 2002/16 www.ark-cra.ch/emark/index/htm) they refused to
acknowledge the refugee status of a person who was not persecuted by a
non-state or quasi-state actor.
In an unpublished decision the
SAAC decided that in the embassy-procedure the Federal Office should not deny
an entrance permission only because there is a possibility that the asylum
seeker could fall under the asylum exclusion clause. In this state of the
procedure the office has only to decide whether it is reasonable for the asylum
seeker to await the decision of his demand in the country where it was
deposited or whether one should enter Switzerland (Decision of the 15 August
2002, N 411 879).
On 5 October Ertan Gonen, a senior
official of the Red Crescent, stated that his organisation was getting prepared
to face a major influx of Iraqi asylum seekers in the event of an American
attack against Iraq. However, it is believed that if the crisis breaks out
‘tent cities’ will be set up in northern Iraq, rather than in
Turkey.
On 8th of November the
Government's Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill has completed its passage
through Parliament and received Royal Assent. The majority of the measures in
the new Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 will need ministerial
orders to bring them into force. Similarly, much of the important detail in the
Act will only become clear as regulations and other pieces of secondary
legislation are passed.
The key provisions of the Act are,
according to the Home Office, to:
· Establish
an effective and efficient end-to-end asylum process, with a system of
induction, accommodation and removal centres.
· Speed
up the asylum process, improve contact management and reduce opportunities for
abuse of the system.
· Strengthen
the integrity of the borders by ensuring that the immigration controls are
sufficiently robust to exclude those who are an immigration or security risk,
but to be efficient, flexible and responsive so as to speed the entry of the
many people who are coming legitimately.
· Tackle
illegal working, people trafficking and fraud.
· Update
nationality laws and enhance the importance of citizenship.
Although the Government has
certified the Act as being compatible with the European Convention on Human
Rights, Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights has identified twenty-two
possible breaches of human rights in the new Act. It is likely that court
challenges on a number of aspects - such as the issue of appeals from abroad -
will be brought in the next few years.
The Bill faced considerable
opposition from MPs and Peers over its powers establishing large accommodation
centres in isolated locations. In particular, plans to prevent children in
these centres from going to mainstream schools were strongly criticised by
many. However, despite a rebellion of forty three Labour MPs - the biggest
since last year's General Election - and opposition from refugee agencies,
child protection organisations, teaching unions and others, ministers were able
to force the issue through Parliament.
One of the main achievements of
the Refugee Council and other organisations has been to force the Government to
provide in the Act that asylum seekers will be able to leave accommodation
centres if they have not had a decision on their applications within six
months.
See for more information about
the new law: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/news.asp?NewsID=213
The Home Office has announced that it wants to "tackle abuse of
the system by ending the policy of Exceptional Leave to Remain". A review
of Exceptional Leave to Remain (ELR) was announced on 7 November this year and
the outcome of this review was made public last Friday, with a statement which
said that the category of ELR would be replaced by one named 'humanitarian
protection'.
Whilst the Government have made it clear that they hope to reduce
the numbers of people granted what until now has been referred to as ELR, it is
not yet clear what the difference between ELR and the new category will be,
given that ELR is granted to people who do not qualify under the strict criteria
of the Refugee Convention 1951, but which takes into account the UK's other
international obligations, for example the European Convention on Human Rights,
the UN Convention Against Torture of 1984 and the International Covenant on
Civil and Political rights 1996. As the Refugee Council points out in its news
statement on the measure, ELR has always been a humanitarian status.
The new leave to
remain will be granted for 3 years, a change from the current policy, which has
been in operation since 1998, of granting leave for 4 years.
This is the
latest in a series of announcements drawing public attention to tough
immigration and asylum measures lately, including the announcement that the
withdrawal of support to most in-country applicants is to be implemented in
January, the closure of Sangatte refugee camp, and the tightening of UK border
controls, such as the expansion of UK immigration controls to French soil.
Law lords rule
that detention of asylum seekers whose cases are being considered does not
break with human rights legislation.
In response to
yesterday's ruling, that allows the Government to detain asylum seekers while
their cases are being considered, Nick Hardwick, Chief Executive of the Refugee
Council said: “We are disappointed by the judgement and remain convinced
that it is fundamentally wrong to detain innocent people for purely
administrative reasons, and especially wrong that children are being detained.”
“In general, we are highly worried about the overall trend
which shows the Government is detaining more and more innocent people -
including women and children - for long periods of time, without even the
suggestion that they have committed a crime.”
Further information: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/news/nov2002/relea090.htm
From 8th
January, the majority of asylum seekers who apply for asylum once they are
inside the UK (rather than upon arrival, at a port) will not be entitled to
government support. According to refugee and homelessness organisations, this
will lead to large numbers of people being left destitute.
The Refugee
Council states that this openly flouts international law - recognised by the UK
Government- and allows for the clandestine arrival of people seeking asylum, as
many would be prevented from fleeing their countries if they made themselves
known to their authorities.
"We are
appalled by these new measures which will throw thousands of asylum seekers
into destitution and add to the chaos in the asylum system", said Fazil
Kawani, Communications Director of the Refugee Council, responding to the huge
implications of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.
"Although
the Government has said families and individuals with special needs will be
exempt, the reality is that in the harshest winter month, they will be out on
the streets while they wait to get the documents from the Home Office which
will entitle them to accommodation. It is a completely unacceptable way to
treat refugees who may be fleeing for their lives after traumatic
persecution."
People without
any means of food and shelter could include:
- pregnant
women who will not be entitled to support until after their babies are born;
- people
with disabilities or special needs will have to wait for an assessment from
their local authority, which typically takes at least six weeks before support
is granted;
- families
with children could be without shelter overnight, or longer, while the Home
Office consider their case for support;
- teenage
children who arrive without parents and claim they are under 18, but are not
believed by the Home Office (termed 'age dispute' cases) could be denied
support (this group is comprised of people aged 15 upwards).
The Refugee
Council believes these measures will result in a worse chaos than a similar
decision made by the previous Government in 1996, which the 1999 legislation
was partly designed to rectify. At that time, the Refugee Council, other
agencies, and faith groups had to set up emergency soup kitchens and night
shelters to deal with the number of people sleeping rough and left destitute.
In effect, the
majority of in-country asylum seekers will not be entitled to state support,
regardless of whether they are destitute. According to 2001 figures 64.7% of
asylum applicants or 46,387 applied in-country. In the same year 65% of
in-country applicants were granted protection by the same Home Office now
threatening to withdraw support from this group of people.
On Monday 2 December the Home
Secretary David Blunkett met with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy to
discuss the future of the Sangatte refugee camp and migration controls. The complete
closure of the Red Cross camp on 30 December 2002 was agreed. It was also
announced that the UK had made a commitment to take responsibility for around
1,000 Iraqi Kurds who will be brought to the UK on work visas, not as asylum
seekers. The UK will also admit around 200 Afghans identified by UNHCR, which
has had a presence in Sangatte since it stopped accepting new arrivals on 5
November, as having strong family links, to the UK. Also see earlier update on France.
The Home Secretary announced on 7
November that from 8 November, Zimbabwean visitors to the UK will require
visas. David Blunkett said,
"I have decided to bring in a visa programme for Zimbabwe to deal with
what is very significant abuse of our immigration controls by Zimbabwean
nationals - large numbers are refused entry to the UK and returned, others are
granted short term entry, many as visitors, but fail to return home. In
addition, the UK has experienced increasingly large numbers of unfounded asylum
claims from Zimbabwean nationals".
In January this year, the British
Government halted deportations to Zimbabwe, in recognition of the very serious
danger some people face on return.
The Home Office is to abolish the
requirement of people from the Maldive islands, Papua New Guinea and Mauritius
to have a visa before visiting the United Kingdom. The move applies to about
10,000 people a year who travel from Mauritius, 300 from the Maldives and 500
from Papua New Guinea.
Two Jamaican homosexuals have been
granted asylum on the grounds that their lives are in danger in their home
country where there is severe homophobia. A third one has been granted exceptional
leave to remain. The applications of seven other Jamaican homosexuals are still
pending.
In the case of the two who
received asylum, evidence submitted showed homosexuals in Jamaica had been
threatened and even murdered with the use of machetes. Moreover, homophobia is
reinforced and encouraged by leading Jamaican musical groups, like Capelton,
TOK and Elephant Man. Homosexual men in Jamaica are not accepted in society and
those found guilty of having practised sexual intercourse face up to 10 years
of hard labor.
An Iraqi boy is being denied a
life-enhancing operation at a National Health Service hospital because he no
longer has permission to stay in Britain. Ali Salih, 13, was granted a 12-month
temporary visa to enter Britain to seek private medical treatment for
congenital muscular dystrophy.
When his family realised they
would be unable to meet a £13,000 bill for corrective surgery, they
turned to the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, for help. Doctors are
unable to intervene because he is technically an illegal immigrant and not a UK
resident. They also doubt whether the treatment requested would be successful.
The only way he would become eligible for free treatment would be if asylum
were granted by the Home Office.
Ali arrived in the country 18 months ago and is staying with his
uncle Mohammed al-Saraf, an oil rig worker, in South Shields, South Tyneside.
Until recently, he had been attending a special school with South Tyneside
district council meeting the cost of social work support.
He was admitted
to South Tyneside district hospital with a chest infection and his uncle
described his condition as desperate. Mr al-Saraf said: "If he does not
have this operation soon the curvature in his spine will crush his lungs."
Ben Hoare, the family's solicitor, has appealed to the Home Office for leave
for Ali to stay until he has the operation. Ali currently receives only
emergency treatment, in accordance with Home Office guidelines, and has had several
consultations at the Freeman.
Under NHS regulations overseas visitors are charged for treatment
under the health service. In a statement the hospital said: "While the NHS
has provided necessary urgent care and support during Ali's stay in this
country, the very complex treatment, rehabilitation and ongoing care is not
available on a non-fee paying basis to someone who is not ordinarily a
resident."
Four asylum seekers who claimed that David Blunkett, the Home Secretary,
had no power to detain them while their applications were being considered lost
their appeal to the House of Lords. Last year, a High Court judge ruled in
favour of the four Iraqi Kurds who had complained that their detention for up
to 10 days at Oakington reception centre, Cambs, was a breach of the Human
Rights Convention.
Further information: http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=3dc648208&page=news
Immigrants
wishing to become British citizens will have to take courses in modern family
life and be taught about tolerance of different ethnic groups, unmarried
couples and homosexuals.
A team of
experts appointed by David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, to devise a
"Britishness" course has decided that it should explain how Britain
has changed since the 1950s and portray the UK as a multicultural, democratic
and tolerant society. All immigrants, including those who have arrived with a work
permit, will be presented with a booklet translated into several languages
about "How to live in the UK".
The
asylum-seekers are likely to be told that in Britain boys and girls are
educated, forced marriages are unacceptable and single mothers, unmarried
couples and homosexuals are protected from persecution.
Immigrants will
also have to show they understand enough English to function in an
"unskilled job", and will be told about the laws they must obey, how
to vote, and that they must pay taxes. The citizenship panel will publish its
preliminary conclusions in January and a final report at Easter.
Citizens of the new EU Member States will gain the same full rights
to work in the UK as enjoyed by existing EU citizens from the date of their
planned accession on 1 May 2004 rather than having to wait for two to seven
years, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced on 10 December 2002.
See for more information:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391638&a=KArticle&aid=1039457282989
Mobile Detection Unit to
become operational by March
It is planned that a team of
immigration officials will be based at Dover but with a brief to be able to
travel within hours to any European Union border with a view to tackling
illegal immigration. Members of the “Mobile Detection Unit” will
use the latest equipment to find people hidden in lorries, cars, trains, planes
and boats. They will act on tip-offs from local police that specific smuggling
operations are being planned. The proposal is part of wider EU moves to tighten
border controls and increase co-operation between member states in tackling the
flow of illegal immigrants into Europe. The scheme should be operating by next
March. The Home Office has identified five key areas along the border with the
EU where the Mobile Detection Unit would seek to be deployed. Two of the routes
lie in Eastern Europe, with one going from Russia, through the Baltic States
and into Germany, while another goes from Ukraine into Austria. The three other
areas of concentration would be
the sea borders of Greece and Spain and a smuggling route through the Balkans
and into Italy and Austria. A recent British-Italian operation in Bosnia
targeted Sarajevo airport and resulted in a 90% drop in unaccounted arrivals
there, mainly from Turkey.
Since the beginning of October an
armed team of six officials of the French Frontier Guard (PAF) have been
operating at the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo train station in London. The
French frontier police officials are authorised to stop any would-be passenger
bound for France, check their travel documents and deny the person the right to
board the train if such documents are not valid or sufficient. This is a
measure introduced in response to the British checks at the Gare du Nord in
Paris and Calais and Lille train stations. Lord Mackenzie, Home Office adviser,
has expressed unease over the fact that the French Frontier Guard are armed
(The Sunday Times, 6 October). This reciprocal checks scheme is soon to be
extended to Belgium, whose border guards are also armed.
In a report published on 24
October, the British Medical Association warned that there was not enough
routine testing of the health of asylum seekers, resulting thus in diseases
such as tuberculosis going undiagnosed. People suffering psychological problems
because of torture did not always get referred to specialist centres and
children were not always provided with the appropriate inoculations.
Acting on a request from Russia,
British police arrested top Chechen rebel envoy Akhmed Zakaev as he flew into
London's Heathrow Airport on 5 December. He was questioned and later released
on bail pending an extradition hearing at a London court. On 3 December, Zakaev
was released in Denmark after more than a month in custody because a court
refused a Russian appeal for extradition, citing a lack of evidence. Russia
criticised Denmark, saying it “failed to do its part in the war against
terrorism”. The Kremlin's top spokesman on Chechnya Sergei Yastrzhembskii
said Russia will continue to fight for Zakaev's extradition wherever he is. On
6 December, Zakaev denied reports that he is seeking political asylum in
Britain. Zakaev told the AFP news agency that he is in contact with Chechen
separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov and that he will consult with him on what to
do next.
ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
PRESIDENCIES OF THE EU
The Danish Presidency
The Danish Presidency is about to end, and during this Presidency,
there has been some progress in the negotiations on the various legislative
proposals regarding asylum and migration. Denmark has a reservation on the
European provisions in this field, which in practice has meant that Denmark has
no right to vote on these proposals and that once adopted they will not be
applicable in this country.
The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council on 28-29 November was
unable to obtain agreement on any of the protection issues on the table,
namely, the Directive on a refugee definition and complementary forms of
protection, Dublin II Regulation, and the Reception Conditions Directive. In
relation to the “fight against illegal immigration” (a follow-up to
the Sevilla Summit), the Danish Presidency has been successful in obtaining
adoption for a Programme for the Return of “illegal residents”
(with general scope) and a Programme for the Return to Afghanistan.
Another JHA Council will take place on 19-20 December in the hope
that some decisions can be made, allowing negotiations to move forward. The
priorities of the Danish Presidency are:
·
Refugee definition and
complementary forms of protection: The Danish
Presidency has found some obstacles in obtaining political agreement at the
Justice and Home Affairs Council in November, mostly in relation to the
treatment given to national security cases. The Presidency still hopes to
obtain political agreement on the first part of this Directive at the next JHA
in December. Negotiations on the set of rights recognised to both categories of
persons in need of international protection could be dealt with under the Greek
Presidency (January – June 2003).
·
Reception conditions: The Presidency hopes that a compromise agreement will be reached
whereby Sweden accepts the amendment introduced by the United Kingdom, allowing
Member States to exclude from the benefits of the Directive asylum seekers who
don't apply shortly after arrival.
The highest priority for the Presidency, however, is enlargement of the EU. At the meeting of the European Council on 24-25
October the Heads of State or Government gave a green light to the
accession of 10 new countries, and following this the Danish Presidency has
been trying to solve all the final obstacles, most of them relating to finances
and agriculture. Although there have been concerns among some of the EU
countries that the final offer Denmark has extended to the enlargement
countries was too generous, enlargement is still expected to go through at the
Copenhagen Summit on 12-13 December. In relation to JHA matters, a monitoring
mechanism for the implementation of JHA policies (including asylum/migration)
will be in place in the period leading up to the moment of formal accession
(after the entry into force of the accession protocols).
Information
on the Danish Presidency, including the calendar and agendas for Council meetings
can be found at: http://www.eu2002.dk/main/
The priorities of the Greek Presidency of the EU, starting in
January 2003, in the field of asylum/migration, will very much depend on the
achievements obtained during the Danish Presidency. In any case, it is expected
that during the Greek Presidency negotiations will continue on most of the
proposals currently being examined by the Danish Presidency.
In particular, the Greek Presidency will have to deal with the second
part of the Proposal for a Directive on the definition of refugee and
complementary forms of protection, where the
content of both statuses will be set out.
The Greek Presidency will also start the negotiations on the Asylum
Procedures Directive. The Commission’s
revised proposal of June 2002 was officially presented to the JHA Council on
14-15 October. At this stage, bilateral consultations have started with Member
States to identify controversial issues. These include: detention provisions,
the safe third country concept, the scope of application of the directive, the
role of legal counsellors in the procedures and border procedures.
The JHA Council on 28-29 November
Qualification Directive
No consensus was reached on the full set of Articles 1 - 19, but the
intention is for agreement to be found by the 19-20 December JHA Council.
Delegations were able to agree on the first part of the Directive with the
following few exceptions, mainly lodged by Germany. Germany wants to
review the provisions on refugees sur place,
non-state agents of persecution, (but in relation to the provision of
subsidiary protection only), and on revocation of status. An additional
scrutiny reservation has been lodged by France, which does not want a
reference to "gender" in Art 12. France feels that a general
reference may result in a too wide application of the social group criterion in
determining asylum claims lodged by women.
Reception Conditions Directive
While the UK had managed to convince most other Member States in
relation to its intended restriction of the reception conditions directive for
asylum seekers who don't apply shortly after arrival, the Directive could not
be adopted since Sweden remains opposed to this amendment. Apparently, the
Swedish Minister has informed the Council that he will try to convince the
Swedish Parliament to accept this amendment. All other delegations approved the
UK proposal to add a provision in Art 16. Still, the Directive will be at the
table again at the 19-20 December JHA Council. The German reservation on access
to the labour market could be lifted following amendment of the text (Art 11),
which now allows Member States to decide the conditions for granting such
access (if no decision on the asylum claim has been made within a year).
Dublin II Regulation
The Presidency obtained a compromise agreement on 6 December on the
outstanding controversial issue in this Regulation, namely, the criteria
for the responsibility of examining an asylum request among EU Member States.
It is unlikely that formal adoption will take place at the December JHA
Council, so it will be adopted during the Greek Presidency (pending scrutiny
reservations by the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, who would need
to consult with their Parliaments).
Safe Third Country Statement
The (non legally binding) statement was adopted without further
discussion. This means that Safe Third Countries will be dealt with as a
priority in the negotiations on the Asylum Procedures Directive, and that in
principle all candidate countries with which accession agreements are due to be
signed, plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland are to be considered Safe Third
Countries. Austria may still wish to submit a proposal for a Regulation, yet
the majority of delegations have indicated that they will not support separate
negotiations on such initiative.
Afghanistan Return Plan
This Plan was adopted without further discussion. The Plan should
enter into force after Spring 2003 and the Presidency believes as many as
100,000 Afghans may wish to benefit from it - or, should they not do so
voluntarily, they will be asked to leave under the terms of the Plan. The
Commission has indicated some 17 million euro would be available for its
implementation (mainly for initial reception and reintegration assistance in
Afghanistan). A return coordination group will be established (UNHCR will be
invited to be part of this) and this may be convened already in December.
EU Return Action Programme
This Programme was also adopted without further discussion. However,
in order to implement the various measures the Council is still waiting for a
Commission report on the effective use of the available Community financial
instruments for migration management and combating irregular movement,
including the return of irregular residents and capacity-building for
integration in the region of origin. Since the Commission services are still in
an internal discussion to what extent funds under development aid and external
relations budgets could be used for these purposes - whereas justice and home
affairs budgets do not count yet for such activity - the amount of money
available and its use has not yet been clarified
Readmission agreements
The Council approved the mandates for the Commission to start
negotiations on EC readmission agreements with Albania, Algeria, China and
Turkey. In the margins of the Council the first ever EC readmission agreement
with a third country, in this case Hong Kong, was signed (negotiations with
Hong Kong were opened in 2000.
This was undertaken, so far with little result, with Russia, Pakistan
and Morocco. Negotiations with Sri Lanka, which also started back in 2000, are
nearing their conclusions. Negotiations with Ukraine were opened earlier this
year. Note that EC readmission agreements include in their scope asylum-seekers
who, without the adoption of additional safeguards, may risk not to have their
claims heard. Also it should be noted that compulsory readmission with African
countries can be developed through binding arrangements on the basis of the
readmission clause of the Cotonou agreement.
JHA Council on 20 December
The last JHA Council during the Danish Presidency will be held on 20
December, when there will be an attempt to find agreement on the last
proposals. In particular, there will be an attempt to reach agreement on the
directive concerning minimum conditions for hosting refugees, the definitions
directive. The family reunification and long-term residents directives will
also be discussed.
The EU’s annual report on human rights was made public at the
end of October. The Report is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 presents
the underlying principles of EU human rights policy and its legal bases as well
as the main players in this field. Chapter 2 focuses on human rights within the
EU and covers thematic topics such as racism, migration, trafficking, and human
rights and business. Chapter 3 deals with EU actions and positions on human
rights in international affairs. The report is completed with a chapter with
concluding remarks on the EU's human rights policy and positions. Lastly, the
report includes a number of appendices pertaining to EU human rights policies,
projects and statements.
It is acknowledged that the progress on the objectives set out at
the European Council in Tampere in the field of asylum and migration within the
Union has been slower and less substantial than expected (see pages 23-26 of
the report). Link to the report:
http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/misc/73020.pdf
Community Return Policy
The Commission held a hearing on this matter in mid-July, based on
the Green Paper on a Community return policy on illegal residents that it had
previously presented (COM (2002) 175 final). In mid-October, the Commission
issued its expected communication on the matter (COM (2002) 564 final). The
document focuses on two aspects. First, there is an exposition of return as
part of a comprehensive Community and asylum policy. Following this, the focus
is put on the return action program. Return policy was one of the few matters
moving forward at the JHA Council in November, though the Commission was
criticised by the Council for not having presented its communication on the financing
of the action plan (see above).
Full text at: http://www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/pdf/2002/com2002_0564en01.pdf
Evans Report on "Asylum: common procedure and internal
security" rejected
On 24 September, the European Parliament rejected, by a very narrow
margin, a report calling on Member States and the Commission not to over-use
the security pretext for refusing requests for asylum. The report was rejected
by the plenary on Tuesday by 243 against, 232 in favour and 42 abstentions,
although it had been approved by the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and
Rights, Justice and Home Affairs in early July by 27 to 17.
The Evans report urged MEPs to call on the Commission and on Member
States to interpret exclusion clauses "restrictively and with
caution" according to the interpretation described in the Geneva
Convention to ensure that examination of exclusion clauses do not become the
rule in processing requests for asylum and that, if they are examined, that
this is not done in the context of accelerated procedure. The report also
called for security measures to be refused if they, in principle, entailed the
detention of asylum seekers and to reaffirm the EU's policy by opposing
extradition towards countries where extradited persons could be faced with the
death penalty.
The Evans report finally called on the Commission to study as soon
as possible the status of persons excluded from the protection regimes but who
cannot be expelled, and to propose common legislation. It was known that the
EPP-ED would vote against the text but the surprise came from the GUE/NGL,
which had voted for the report in committee but abstained during the vote in
plenary, except for six of its members who voted against the resolution. The
text was supported by the PES, ELDR and the Greens. The GUE/NGL explains that
it abstained because it "totally disapproves of the fact that the question
of asylum and immigration is linked to that of internal security".
Furthermore, there is also criticism within the GUE against the
"unacceptable" content of the Commission's communication on this
issue. The GUE thus explains why it contributed, together with the EPP-ED
albeit for totally different reasons, to making adoption of the report fail, a
report that called for exclusion from asylum for security reasons to be done
with far greater precaution. The GUE requests that there should be no
connection between the two.
Lambert Report on the Refugee Definition and complementary
protection
The Citizens' Rights Committee adopted its report on the
Commission’s proposal for a directive laying down rules for the
qualification for refugee status or subsidiary protection status, including
provisions on minimum rights and benefits. However, it adopted a number of
amendments putting applicants for subsidiary protection on a more equal footing
with refugee status applicants and providing for better guarantees and
integration opportunities. The committee's report, which was adopted by 25
votes in favour, 18 against and 1 abstention, comes under the consultation
procedure. The Plenary session in October adopted the proposal by 278 votes in
favour, 242 against and 7 abstentions.
Draft Report on the situation concerning human rights in
the European Union (2001)
On 3 December, the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights,
Justice and Home Affairs adopted the Draft Report on the situation concerning
human rights in the European Union by 25 votes in favour, 20 against and 2
abstentions. Among the amendments that have been approved, the Committee has
accepted to include the following changes:
·
Urges Member States to refrain from
any initiative that aims at changing the Geneva Convention itself (paragraph
25b).
·
Limiting detention of asylum seekers
to exceptional cases and only for the reasons set out in the UNHCR Guidelines
on Applicable criteria and standards relating to the detention of asylum
seekers (paragraph 27a).
·
Limiting the use of detention (of
asylum seekers) to exceptional cases and to a limited period. Guarantee
reception facilities for asylum seekers in airports and detention centres,
particularly as regards assistance from lawyers and interpreters and the
possibility of communicating with relevant NGOs and with their families.
Furthermore, there should be respect for appeals procedures implying suspensive
effects (paragraph 27b).
·
Urging Member States to grant
subsidiary protection to people who are not protected by the Geneva Convention,
but who must not be sent back to their country of origin for reasons owing to
(a) threats of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment; (b) the
indiscriminate effects of generalised violence or of events seriously
disturbing public order or; (c) compelling humanitarian reasons with no element
of persecution or link to a specific ground listed in the 1951 Convention
(paragraph 27c).
The
full report can be downloaded from: http://www.europarl.eu.int/meetdocs/committees/libe/20021203/466018en.pdf
Two of the Convention working groups of special interest to ECRE
(Group II on the Charter of Fundamental Rights and accession to the ECHR and
Group X on the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice) have already presented
their Final Reports to the Plenary Session. The group on External Action has
presented a Preliminary Draft Final Report, and just before Christmas it is
going to present its final report. When all the working groups have finalised
their reports, the Plenary will study the proposals made by the 11 Working
Groups (including the newly founded group on social issues) in order to present
a final draft Constitutional Treaty in July 2003. This Constitutional Treaty
will be discussed during the IGC 2004, where a new structure for the EU is
supposed to be adopted. The work of the Convention and its Working Groups can
be found at:
http://european-convention.eu.int/bienvenue.asp?lang=EN.
Integration of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and EU
Accession to the ECHR
The Convention working group dealing with the matter presented its
final report before the Plenary Session on 28 October. The main conclusions of
the group were:
1.
Charter of Fundamental Rights
Support, or favourable consideration, for the incorporation of the
Charter into the Treaties in a form that would
make the Charter legally binding and give it constitutional status.
2.
European Convention on Human Rights
Support, or favourable consideration, for the inclusion of a
constitutional authorisation enabling the Union to accede to the ECHR. The main reasons are:
·
Same degree of protection to citizens
vis-à-vis acts of the Union as they enjoy currently vis-à-vis
Member States
·
Ideal tool to ensure a harmonious
development of the case law of the two European Courts in human rights matters.
For
the full document, see http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/02/cv00/00354en2.pdf
The Group has looked into
how the EU can develop a more comprehensive approach in its external relations,
and how the Union can better utilise the institutions and instruments at its
disposal to exert influence in external relations. With the Seville European
Council stating that the Union will tackle illegal immigration by integrating
migration policy into its external relations, the external relations area is
currently being broadened.
Several members of the
working group have pointed out that there should be a declaration in the Treaty
defining the underlying principles and the general objectives of all the areas
under the EU external action. Among the principles and objectives should be the
indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the freedom of opinion
and opportunity and freedom from famine and fear.
In relation to the instruments used (e.g. common strategies) and the
decision-making procedure there have also been a number of proposals, all of
them aimed at improving the EU’s capacity and its ability to arrive at
common position in foreign policy.
Link to the draft final report on external action: http://european-convention.eu.int/docs/wd7/5749.pdf
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The Working Group released its Final Report on 4 December,
presenting it before the Plenary Session on 5 December. The common positions
that have been reached between the members have been based on two ideas:
·
A common general framework recognising
the particularities of this area
·
The introduction of as big a
difference as possible between legislative and operational tasks
Regarding the legislative
procedures, and in particular with regard to
asylum, refugees and displaced persons, the Working Group has regretted the
slow progress that has been made since the commitment reached at the Tampere
Summit. The lack of progress has mainly been due to the maintenance of the rule
of unanimity for adopting laws. On legislative procedures the group has
submitted three recommendations to the European Convention: introduction of
qualified majority voting for legislation in the area, redrafting of article 63
TEC, and enshrining the principle of solidarity and fair sharing of
responsibility as a principle of the Union’s asylum, immigration and
border controls policies.
Further recommendations
have been put forward on immigration policy, visa policy, development of an integrated system of border management, cooperation in the field of civil law, a reform of the legal instruments available, a clearer
identification of the scope of Union legislation, and a reform of legal
procedures on the police and judicial co-operation on criminal matters.
Link to the Final Report of Working Group X:
http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/02/cv00/00426en2.pdf
The preliminary draft
constitutional treaty was presented at the Convention plenary on Monday 28
October. Link to the Preliminary draft Constitutional Treaty:
http://european-convention.eu.int/docs/sessPlen/00369.en2.PDF
On 10 October, ECRE issued a set of Recommendations to the JHA
Council for a Common European Asylum System that is
protection-centred, firmly committed to the safeguarding of human rights and
orientated towards best practice. The main recommendations were:
·
The definition of a refugee and of
persons otherwise in need of international protection must reflect Member
States’ obligations under international refugee and human rights law.
ECRE called on the JHA Council to ensure that subsidiary protection status is
not used as a substitute for refugee protection for individuals who meet the
criteria for a "full and inclusive" interpretation of the Geneva
Convention and to apply the exclusion clauses scrupulously and restrictively.
·
All asylum applications, including
those from nationals of EU candidate countries, must receive a substantial
examination of all circumstances in a fair and inclusive procedure.
·
The EU must work towards the effective
integration of persons in need of international protection. ECRE is concerned
about certain provisions of the Directive on reception conditions that allow
for restrictions in the rights of asylum seekers to several rights, such as
access to the labour market.
·
The unstable and unsafe conditions in
Afghanistan that made an EU assisted return programme highly inappropriate.
In November, ECRE joined three other organisations (The Standing
Committee of Experts on International Immigration, Refugee and Criminal Law;
the Immigration Law Practitioners Association, and Statewatch) in a joint
submission to Working Group X (Freedom Security and Justice) of the Convention
on the future of Europe. The submission included 18
recommendations. One of the main concerns expressed by the NGOs is that adequate
and effective judicial, parliamentary and public accountability is not in
place, nor are there guarantees of full compliance with human rights
obligations in the fields of immigration and asylum, policing and legal
cooperation (justice and home affairs).
This is available on http://www.ecre.org
ECRE
currently has a vacancy for an Office Administrator/PA in the Brussels
Office. For more information,
please see: http://www.ecre.org/involved/advert.shtml
ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
ECRE’s work on reception of asylum seekers and integration of
refugees during 2002 has been taken forward largely within the scope of the
project “Good Practice in the Reception and Integration of Refugees:
Networking across Europe” supported by the European Refugee Fund. The
following activities have been carried out by the four ECRE member agencies:
Asylkoordination Austria, Caritas Germany, Italian Refugee Council, and World
University Service (UK).
The main outcome
is a set of Good Practice Guides in the areas of giving educational advice to
refugees, working with older refugees, and assisting traumatised refugees and
victims of torture (to be published January 2003). The guides represent the
culmination of two years’ work of thematic networks in these areas. The
networks have discussed and agreed on the guiding principles that should
underpin work with asylum seekers and refugees, as well as identified examples
of good practice across Europe. In the area of networking with local
authorities, the main result is a website containing information on the role of
15 European local authorities in reception and integration of refugees. Reports
on ways that the voluntary sector can best co-operate with local authorities in
providing reception / integration support have also been produced.
In supporting the creation of a
reception / integration forum, a number of thematic workshops and seminars have
been held during the year. These came together in the Refugee Reception &
Integration conference held in Vienna, 11-13 October. The event, which
attracted much media attention, was a success with over 90 participants
attending from a cross-section of European organisations. Hosted by the
Austrian Renner Institute the conference provided useful input into the final
drafting process of the Good Practice Guides. Participants in the thematic
networks also exchanged information on projects / working methods and discussed
the ECRE Positions on Reception / Integration. In addition, a workshop on
refugee employment was organised by the British Refugee Council, maintaining
the long-established EU-wide network on this theme.
The Italian Refugee Council held
two meetings of the Polis Asyl network for local authority staff and NGOs. The
first meeting explored the role of such a network and gave local authorities an
opportunity to exchange information and establish contacts. The second one, was
hosted by the Greater London Authority, and further strengthened the network.
Discussions focused on joint advocacy strategies between cities and NGOs when
it comes to European proposals on reception and integration.
Apart from updating our Policy
Positions on Reception of Asylum Seekers and Integration of Refugees (to be
published early January 2003), the ECRE Secretariat also closely monitored the
negotiations on the Reception directive, responding with policy advice and
advocacy where appropriate. We have also provided input into the European Commission’s
drafting of a Communication on the integration of third country nationals, as
it relates to refugees, and followed the negotiations in the different Council
working groups on the Proposal for a Council Directive concerning the status of
third-country nationals who are long-term residents, liasing with ECRE agencies
in key Member States to influence the discussions so as to keep refugees in the
scope of this directive and safeguard some of the good provisions in the
proposal. In addition, a research paper on the Freedom of Movement of asylum
seekers has been produced. This provides information on the different practices
adopted by European states to restrict the movement of those who have applied
for asylum within their borders. It looks in detail at procedures in Germany,
UK and Sweden and assesses the impact of these for individuals, governments and
the public. The guide presents a framework for developing good practice in
relation to freedom of movement, based on this research.
Refugee participation has been a
pillar in all our work on reception and integration with, for example,
individual refugees and representatives of Refugee Community Organisations
(RCOs) participating in all thematic seminars and the Vienna conference. ECRE
hopes to further promote refugee participation in our work through a project
proposal to the European Refugee Fund Community Actions 2002. The aim of the
project is to further refugee participation in the development and
implementation of common European asylum policies focused on reception,
integration and return, through a programme of capacity building measures
involving individual refugees and members of refugee community organisations
(RCOs). A final decision from the European Commission on this project
application is imminent, and if successful, the project would be carried out by
the ECRE Secretariat in partnership with Asylkoordination Austria, British
Refugee Council, Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiato (CEAR),
Greek Council for Refugees, and Overlegcentrum voor Integratie van
Vluchtelingen (OCIV) in Belgium, starting 31 December 2002.
The Central
European Fundraising Project
This project
aims to strengthen the fundraising capacity of refugee assisting NGOs in
Central Europe to diversify of their funding base. Organisations are being
encouraged to take a strategic approach to fundraising that considers various
sources of funding. This process is being supported by expert consultations,
coaching, guide publications, internet resources and information meetings, some
financial support to be used towards fundraising, focused workshops and
regional meetings.
In November two workshops on private sector fundraising were
organised. The trainings took place in Krakow
and Sofia and focused on enhancing the capacity of Central European NGOs that
assist refugees to fundraise from the private sector in their countries and
abroad. They were two-day trainings. The first part provided participants with
an introduction to private sector fundraising, with an explanatory overview of
the different areas. Later trainees broke into three groups, each focusing on
the different areas of private sector fundraising (i.e. Corporate, Trusts and
Foundations, Individuals). Within each area of private sector fundraising,
particular skills were emphasised and strategic approaches emphasised.
The trainings are to be followed up by fundraising consultations
from local level consultants.
ECRE DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
ECRE Publications
ECRE has published three updated
chapters of the ECRE Study on Free Legal Assistance. New chapters are available
on Ireland, Romania and Slovenia at:
http://www.ecre.org/research/legalassistance/index.shtml
IOM Publications
Prof E. Kelly, Migration Research
Series N°11 - Journeys of Jeopardy:
A Review of Research on Trafficking in Women and Children in Europe, has been published. Price: $10. The contents is available online
at: http://www.iom.int/iomwebsite/Publication/ServletSearchPublication?event=detail&id_34.
The Return and Reintegration of
Migrants to the South Caucasus: An Exploratory Study. Contents are available on the IOM website at: http://www.iom.int/iomwebsite/Publication/ServletSearchPublication?event=detail&id_51.
International Dialogue on
Migration N°3 - International Legal Norms and Migration: An Analysis. ISSN: 1726-2224. Contents will be made available on the IOM
website. Order form: http://www.iom.int/documents/PUBLICATION/EN/un.htm
UK Home Office publications
Asylum Statistics: 3rd Quarter
2002 United Kingdom: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/asylumq302.pdf.
Or visit the internet site: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/whatsnew1.html.
Occasional Paper 82 - Migrants
in the UK: their characteristics and labour market outcomes and impacts is available at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/occ82migrantuk.pdf
(128K). Alternatively, visit our what’s new page at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/whatsnew1.html
UK Foreign &
Commonwealth Office publications
Report “Saddam Hussein:
crimes and human rights abuses”, focused on
treatment of women, prison conditions, arbitrary and summary executions,
persecution of the Kurds, persecution of the Shia community and harassment of
the opposition outside Iraq, was published on 2 December. It is available at: http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/KFile/hrdossier.pdf.
Human Rights Watch
publications
My Gun Was as Tall as Me -
Child Soldiers in Burma, report based on research
conducted by Human Rights Watch in Thailand and border areas of Burma between
February and July 2002. For more information, contact Human Rights Watch at:
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor, New York, NY 10118-3299, USA
Tel: 00 1 212 290 4700; fax: 00 1 212 736 1300; email: hrwnyc@hrw.org; website:
www.hrw.org.
Hidden in Plain View. Refugees
Living Without Protection in Nairobi and Kampala,
report based on 150 in-depth interviews with refugees from Ethiopia, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere. The report
is also available online at: http://hrw.org/reports/2002/kenyugan/
British Refugee Council
publications
The latest update from the British
Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG) on the situation in Afghanistan is available
at: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/infocentre/country/coun002.htm.
On 12 November the Refugee Council
launched the first British CD-Rom directory RADAR to bring together
organisations providing services for refugees and asylum seekers. The directory
lists over 1,000 service providers across the UK. For more information and to
order the directory, visit: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/publications/pub005.htm
Other publications
S. Binder & J. Tošic
(eds), Refugee Studies and Politics: Human Dimensions and Research
Perspectives (Vienna: Facultas Verlag, 2002), ISBN:
3-85114-723-5, Price: EUR 21.80.
The book, as a publication of the
proceedings of the international conference "Refugee Studies and Politics:
Human Dimensions and Research Perspectives", which took place at the
University of Vienna, presents an overall view to present discussions in
refugee studies and refugee policies. Anthropological approaches serve as a
basis for the interdisciplinary focus of the book.
I. Boccardi, Europe and
Refugees – Towards an EU Asylum Policy (The
Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2002), ISBN: 9041117091, Price: £60, 95
Euros.
A comprehensive overview of
refugee law in Europe following an historical approach.
A. Bloch, The Migration and
Settlement of Refugees in Britain (Palgrave
MacMillan, 2002). Hbk, 208 pp., ISBN: 0-333-96923-5, Price: $62
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0333969235/centerforimmigra/002-1199164-3779033
This book analyses the impact of
policy on the social and economic settlement of refugees in Britain. The issues
explored include: current UK and EU migration policy; the history of migration
to Britain and policy responses; theories of migration and migrant settlement;
social and economic settlement of refugees in Britain - including language,
employment, social networks, the migratory process, community, development and
policy recommendations.
K.F. Zimmerman and T.K. Bauer
(eds), The Economics of Migration (Edward Elgar
Publishing, 2002). Hbk, 2,168 pp., ISBN: 1858987563, Price: $690. The book
features 102 articles, dating from 1919 to 2000.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1858987563/centerforimmigra/002-1199164-3779033.
N. Passas (ed), International
Crimes (Ashgate, due in March 2003), ISBN:
0754622401, Hbk, Price: c. £100).
The volume brings together the
most significant published journal articles in international crime.
The French Government Planning
Agency (Commissariat General du Plan published on 19 November a report by
Francois Heran entitled: Immigration, marche du travail, integration. Press
release is available at: http://www.plan.gouv.fr/publications/heran-71.html.
Purchase report at: http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/brp/notices/024000590.shtml.
UN UNICEF Fund has published a
report entitled: Adult Wars, Child Soldiers: Voices of Children Involved in
Armed Conflict in the East Asia and Pacific Region
(2002), available in PDF format at: http://www.unicef.org/media/publications/adultwarschildsoldiers.pdf.
United Nations Population Fund has
published a report entitled: State of World Population 2002. People, Poverty and Possibilities,
ISBN: 0897146506, http://www.unfpa.org.
Women’s Commission for
Refugee Women and Children has published a report entitled: Precious
Resources: Adolescents in the Reconstruction of Sierra Leone, participatory research study with adolescents and youth in Sierra
Leone, April-July 2002, part of the Women’s Commission’s
international campaign to ensure the rights and support the capacities of
adolescents affected by armed conflict. For more information on the Women’s
Commission’s work with adolescents in situations of conflict, visit: www.womenscommission.org.
Refugee Survey Quarterly has
published a Special Issue on Refugee Women (Volume 21 Special Issue 2002).
Asylum Aid-based Refugee Women
Resource Project has published a new double issue (November/December) of
Women’s Asylum News focusing on domestic violence, barriers to protection
for refugee and migrant women in the UK, trafficking and gender issues. It is
available at: http://www.asylumaid.org.uk/Publications/Women's%20Asylum%20News/Issue%2027%20NovDec02.doc.
A paper by Giovanna Zincone: Main
features of Italian immigration flows and stock, containing a section refugees
and asylum seekers, is available at: http://www.fieri.it/testi/easy/simple11-9-en.doc, published by Forum Internazionale ed Europeo di
Ricerche sull’Immigrazione (International and European Forum on Migration
Research) (FIERI).
New
websites
Forced Migration Online
(FMO)
http://www.forcedmigration.org, launched in November, provides instant access to a wide variety of
online resources dealing with the situation of forced migrants worldwide.
Designed for use by practitioners, policy makers, researchers, students or
anyone interested in the field, FMO aims to give comprehensive information in
an impartial environment and to promote increased awareness of human
displacement issues to an international community of users.
Online resource on Colombian
displacement
http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=76 features updated information (December 2002) on Colombians fleeing
war.
events
Symposium on trafficking of
human beings
Symposium on Trafficking of Human
Beings, entitled: Tackling Cross Border Crime: Challenges of International
Development Co-operation, sponsored by German
Federal Government, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Development
Policy Forum of InWEnt-Capacity Building International Bonn, will be held on
16-17 December in Bonn, Germany. For more information visit: http://www.unodc.org/odccp/index.html.
Caritas Europa Migration
Forum 2003
Caritas Europa Migration Forum
2003 will be held from 12 to 15 June 2003 in El Escorial near Madrid. The
working title of the 2003 forum is “Integration of immigrants and
refugees”. It will mainly aim at exchanging information, knowledge and
experience; putting forward definitions and minimum standards for integration;
creating awareness in Caritas for the importance of intercultural
communication. Caritas Europa member organisations will receive a detailed
invitation letter in March.
Eighth International
Metropolis Conference
8th international
Metropolis Conference entitled: “Gaining from Migration. A Global
Perspective on Opportunities for Economic and Social Prosperity”, will be
held on 15-19 September 2003 in Vienna, Austria. Call for workshop proposals: http://www.international.metropolis.net/events/vienna/workshop_proposal_e.htm,
by 31 December 2002. For more information visit: www.international.metropolis.net, email: Vienna2003@metropolis.net.
Courses organised by the
Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
A weekend seminar entitled: The
Rights of Refugees Under International Law will
take place on 26-27 April 2003 at Oxford. The seminar focuses on the specific
human right to which all refugees are entitled under the 1951 Refugee
Convention and its 1967 Protocol. The goal is to equip policy makers, advocates
and scholars with a solid understanding of the international refugee rights
regime. Instructor: Prof James C Hathaway, Director, Programme in Refugee and
Asylum Law, University of Michigan Law School. Fee: £130. Contact
Dominique Attala at: rscmst@qeh.ox.ac.uk.
Palestinian Refugees and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, workshop placing the Palestinian refugee
case study within the broader context of the international human rights regime,
will take place on 10-11 May 2003 at Oxford. Fee: £100. Contact Dominique
Attala at: rscmst@qeh.ox.ac.uk.
The three-week residential
International Summer School in Forced Migration, 7-25 July 2003, Wadham
College, University of Oxford, is designed for upper and middle managers in
IGOs, NGOs and government organisations and researchers involved with
assistance and policy making for refugees and other forced migrants.
Contemporary responses to displacement at institutional and ground levels will
be examined. Fee: £2,300. Contact Shannon Stephen at: summer.school@qeh.ox.ac.uk