EUROPEAN
COUNCIL ON REFUGEES AND EXILES
CONSEIL
EUROPEEN SUR LES REFUGIES ET LES EXILES
EUROPEAN
COUNCIL ON REFUGEES AND EXILES
CONSEIL
EUROPEEN SUR LES REFUGIES ET LES EXILES
PR7/6/2007/Ext/ST/MR
PRESS
RELEASE
ECRE calls
for Portugal to prevent deaths at sea
(Brussels, 26 June 2007) As Portugal prepares
to assume the Presidency of the European
Union, ECRE has issued a memorandum calling on the incoming Presidency
to ensure that the EUÕs asylum
policy effectively balances control and protection. Recent incidents in
the Mediterranean have exposed the
serious shortcomings of the EUÕs current approach to asylum seekers and refugees, namely barriers to
protection, the practice of burden-shifting and existing rock-bottom standards.
ECRE Secretary
General, Bjarte Vandvik, said:
ÒThe task for Portugal will be to lead Europe
in developing effective mechanisms to
prevent the deaths of desperate people on the doorstep of the EU.
Tragedies in the Mediterranean,
such as those so well documented recently, cannot be allowed to continue. The EU must take collective
responsibility rather than stand by and watch people drownÓ.
Portugal will head the EU at a critical moment
in the harmonisation process of the European asylum system; only a few weeks ago the Commission initiated
a broad public consultation
process with its Green Paper on the future of the Common European Asylum
System. ECRE believes that the
Portuguese Government must secure a radical shift in Member StatesÕ attitudes towards asylum and refugee
policy, so that Member States commit to working towards common rules, consistent with international human
rights standards. These efforts
should be based on a willingness to share responsibility, not only with
each other, but also to share the
global burden and responsibility for refugee protection with the rest of the
world, including through more use
of resettlement.
Ò ECRE
particularly welcomes PortugalÕs increased interest in resettlement. Portugal
has the chance to set a positive example to other European colleagues by
establishing a comprehensive
national resettlement scheme,Ó Vandvik continued.
Therefore, ECRE calls on Portugal and all EU
Member States:
-To guarantee safe access to their territory
for people in need of international protection, and to take immediate steps to
prevent the unnecessary loss of lives on the EUÕs borders;
-To re-design the EUÕs current life-endangering
Ôburden-shiftingÕ system, the Dublin II
Regulation, to a fairer responsibility-sharing system, in a spirit of
true solidarity;
-To change their emphasis from the deterrence
of asylum seekers and prevention of
alleged abuse of the asylum system, to the creation of a welcoming
society which offers a new home to
a particularly vulnerable group of people;
-To demonstrate tangibly in its relations with
countries of transit or origin that the EU is not only interested in pursuing restrictive policies of
migration control, aimed at
stopping irregular migration, but also committed to high standards of
refugee protection, as otherwise
poorer countries which host the majority of the worldÕs refugees may be tempted to follow suit,
with grave consequences for the international protection system;
-To review the approach to returns policies,
particularly with regard to negotiations on the draft returns directive, with a view to create
conditions conducive to voluntary,
dignified and sustainable returns and to promote integration at home,
reconstruction and development in
asylum seekersÕ countries of origin;
-To offer a comprehensive package of assistance
to countries outside of the EU with
protracted refugee situations, including resettlement of the most
vulnerable refugees;
-To ensure that the debate on the future of the
Common European Asylum System is
conducted in an open and transparent way, allowing for thorough and
comprehensive evaluation of the instruments already in place.
For further comments/background and interviews:
ECRE Secretary General, Bjarte Vandvik
Tel: +32 2 234 3806 or +32 496288 047
Bvandvik@ecre.org
ECRE Head of Policy and Advocacy, Chris Nash
Tel: +44 207 377 7556 ext 221
CNash@ecre.org
Note for the editors:
1) The European Council on Refugees and Exiles
represents 76 refugee assisting NGOs in 30 European Countries, and is concerned with the protection and
integration of all individuals seeking protection in Europe. For further information see www.ecre.org.
2) ECREÕs detailed memorandum to the Portuguese
Presidency, Balancing Protection and Control in the Common European Asylum System, can be accessed at
http://www.ecre.org/resources/responses_recommendations/886
3) ECRE issued a series of five papers entitled
EuropeÕs role in the global refugee protection system. The Way Forward: An Agenda for Change.
These proposals provide constructive recommendations on a number of topical refugee policy issues
to positively influence the European debate on: improving refugee protection in regions of
origin; developing European resettlement activities; creating fairer and more efficient asylum systems in
Europe; improving refugee integration; the return of asylum seekers whose applications have been
rejected. ECREÕs Way Forward Papers are available at http://www.ecre.org/topics/ecres_refugee_agenda_for_europe.
- Ends