AA15CR31ADD1

AS (2015) CR 31
Addendum 1

2015 ORDINARY SESSION

________________________

(Fourth part)

REPORT

Thirty-first sitting

Tuesday, 29 September 2015 at 3.30 p.m.

Current affairs debate:

A comprehensive humanitarian and political response to the migration and refugee crisis in Europe

The following texts were submitted for inclusion in the official report by members who were present in the Chamber but were prevented by lack of time from delivering them.

Mrs ANTTILA (Finland) – I would like to thank Ms Boldrini, Speaker of the Italian Parliament, and Secretary General Mr Jagland for their excellent presentations. The comprehensive humanitarian and political response to the migration and refugee crisis in Europe is one of the most important challenges that we must resolve.  Our main target should be to find a solution together and according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) advice. People in danger must be helped.

Where should these refugees be helped? The main aim should be to help them near their homeland. We must try to find a solution to this. It is not a possibility now, but after the European Union decision last week, it should become easier. It is a question of humanitarian aid, and the World Food Programme has a particularly important role in helping starving people. It is not acceptable that refugees must travel thousands of kilometres to find a safe life.

The States of refugee crises, such as Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Syria, have been affected by wars. These countries are not founded on the respect of free democracy and human rights. We must try to find a solution to the war in Syria; it requires negotiations and better co-operation between Syria, the United States of America and Russia. Europe must play an active part in stopping this war.  

The level of rejection has been very high. At first, people came freely to European Union countries without any border checks. Free movement also made it possible for criminals to move among the refugees. 

The Council of Europe is the home of human rights and democracy. For this reason we, as parliamentarians, have a large responsibility to try to influence the actions of our national governments and parliaments. Europe is the land of peace where democracy is flourishing. This is the biggest challenge we have faced in Europe since the Second World War.

Mr FLOREA (Romania) – Migration is, and will definitely continue to be, one of the major topics on the European agenda. We are fully aware of the challenges generated by migration and of the complexity of the situation in the frontline countries, which require a strong, firm and effective common answer.

In my view, in addition to the discussion on relocation and the need for an immediate response to the humanitarian situation at the European borders and in the frontline countries, a fundamental reframing of the debate on migration is needed in order to identify and implement the most appropriate instruments to be put in place in the countries of origin and transit.

Our first priority should therefore be to respond effectively to the root causes of the increased migratory pressure. Only a comprehensive approach – based on the effective use of crisis management instruments in the countries of origin and transit, on economic and social capacity-building tools and development policies – and a real partnership with these countries can be efficient in managing migration in a lasting manner.

Romania has been, and will continue to be, part of the European response to this unprecedented challenge. Romania is not itself confronted with this phenomenon, but in a spirit of solidarity we have expressed openness to participate in the proposed relocation and resettlement mechanisms, under certain terms and conditions. Furthermore, together with the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Romania has been taking part in the resettlement efforts since 2008 by hosting the Emergency Transit Centre for Refugees in Timişoara, which was the first such facility in the world. Since its creation, more than 1700 refugees have already passed through the centre.

In my opinion, beyond relocation, the focus should be on identifying the most suitable solutions to match the extent of this phenomenon, by developing a comprehensive strategy which will need to tackle all the dimensions of migration, with a broad range of measures. Also, co-operation with third countries of origin and transit is essential in order to tackle the root causes of the phenomenon.

Ms GAFAROVA (Azerbaijan) – When we talk about the refugee and migrant crisis, women are hard to reach. That is the case not just because they represent only 11% of people being smuggled across the Mediterranean, but because they are absent from the media most of the time. In addition to facing the hardships encountered during any journey as an illegal migrant – hunger, thirst, extreme fatigue – women are both vulnerable and invisible, and at the mercy of men who control their words and visibility to the outside world.

As general rapporteur on violence against women, I would like to stress that violence against women during their clandestine journey is widespread and should be a huge concern for us all. Fleeing their homes in the North and sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East to escape poverty or a violent family environment, these women embark on a voyage filled with terror. Many are raped, beaten, tortured or burned from boat engines or gasoline, as well as by salt and sun. Some of them are pregnant and suffer miscarriages or die in transit; others become pregnant after being raped during the trip.

When the fortunate ones finally manage to reach European soil, they may be locked up behind fences for indeterminate periods of time or subject to trafficking to pay back their debt to their smugglers. Amnesty International has reported several cases of sexualised violence against women along migration routes, abductions by smugglers and traffickers and abuses in immigration detention centres.

When reading about this, the question I ask myself is: are we doing everything we can to protect those women? This situation is not only shocking; it is unacceptable. All refugees have fundamental rights which must be respected and women must be particularly protected. They should have access to gender-sensitive asylum procedures and support services as required by the Istanbul Convention, not to mention the necessity of challenging the legality of lengthy detentions when inappropriate.

These women, be they refugees or migrants, are, above all, women. They left their country, sometimes with their children, to build a better future, in exactly the same way we would have done should our circumstances have required it. They should be respected, taken into consideration and offered a life free from fear and violence. We should not let them remain invisible.

Mr JANSSEN (Sweden) – We are currently living through the worst humanitarian refugee crises the world has seen since the world wars. At least 60 million refugees have left their homes. Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq have received more than four million refugees, whilst the 28 member States of the European Union received far fewer refugees last year, many of whom will get a negative decision regarding their applications. Asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants, but legal migrants forced to cross our borders by irregular means according to the laws that we have decided.

The latest month’s reports about how some countries deal with refugees are most disturbing. We have seen how authorities in Hungary are using tear gas and water cannons against refugees. Two countries, Hungary and Slovakia, say that they will refuse to accept refugees who are not Christians. We have seen women and children denied the right to be reunited with their families. And we have also seen reports on pregnant women who have given birth in really bad conditions after being denied entry to a hospital or access to other facilities. And I wonder: what will the history books say about Europe’s response to the refugee crises, when member States in the Council of Europe, who are responsible for the protection of human rights, in fact deny refugees these rights?

In all these negative reports, there are also some positive actions right now. We are witnessing a strong movement all over Europe in defending the rights of refugees. In my country, Sweden, a recent poll shows that the support for taking more refugees is now rising. People are opening their homes and helping to raise money and supplies for refugees. Many are showing solidarity with others who have lost their family fleeing from the horrors of war. Our answer to the refugee crisis must be more solidarity and humanism, not building new walls.

Ms KYRIAKIDOU (Cyprus) – The migrant and refugee crisis before us is unprecedented. According to estimates, this is the biggest exodus of people since World War Two. I believe that this crisis can be turned into an opportunity for Europe, in line with the European Union’s core values and founding principles.

It is my conviction that if the European Union does not change its perception and direction, it will undoubtedly fail to respond effectively to this crisis. In political terms, this means that the European Union needs to rethink its foreign policy, and more specifically its terms of engagement in the Middle East. Syria’s ongoing civil war and ISIS’s manipulation of the volatile politics in the region necessitates a very careful analysis of whom we are supporting and why.

On the other hand, today, under these circumstances, a total disengagement in the name of non-interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign State is not an option, as millions of people are seeking to flee persecution, terror, Islamic fundamentalism, rape and torture. I’m afraid we cannot turn a blind eye. We all know that the only way this crisis can be resolved is for peace and security to be restored in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya – the list goes on. The only way refugees will stop coming en masse to Europe is if they feel happy enough to stay in their home countries.

Unfortunately, as things have evolved, this is no longer possible. So what can we do? For a start, we can increase our humanity; that is, for now, to increase development and humanitarian aid towards Syria; build schools; send doctors; and provide relief assistance of all kinds. At the same time, for those already en route, we could create humanitarian sea corridors in the Mediterranean and allow for these desperate people to reach Europe safely, without having to resort to criminal smugglers.

We need a greater leap forward. We need to deal with the consequences of this crisis that we ourselves helped to create either by our foreign policy choices, our apathy or our fragmented response. Concerning the emergency situation in some of the frontline European Union member countries, we must show solidarity towards these countries that lack the structures, funding and facilities to cater for this huge influx of people. This is the time to demonstrate equitable burden sharing. We must also renegotiate the Dublin regulation because its shortcomings are more than evident. We must create the conditions for the natural integration of these people in our societies.

We can use this huge challenge as an opportunity to recreate the Europe that we want: a multicultural Europe based on tolerance and solidarity, peace and prosperity for all.

Sir Edward LEIGH (United Kingdom) – If the Dublin Convention is to be replaced, it must only be replaced by consensus and common agreement. Pan-European diktats merely reinforce the gulf that exists between the general public and European institutions. People across Europe are compassionate and want to welcome and care for those in need. However, there is also a deep-seated suspicion against large-scale demographic changes, especially of economic migrants. If such changes are enforced from above, it encourages disenchantment and undermines the democratic legitimacy of our institutions.

Compassion must be our priority, but we must be honest in recognising that dangers exist in allowing a sudden large surge of migrants into Europe. Simply taking people in is not a solution, nor is it kind: it encourages human trafficking.  Many of these vulnerable people have already been horribly taken advantage of by rapacious human traffickers and it is antithetical to everything we stand for to facilitate these criminals.

The United Kingdom Government is correct to grant asylum to refugees straight from camps in the Middle East region. Our focus must be on stabilising the situation in Syria, and it is revolting that many in the West are still prioritising toppling Assad rather than ending the war. Peace and stability must be our absolute focus and are the ultimate solution to this crisis.

Ms MITCHELL (Ireland) – We have discussed the migrant issue at every meeting of the Assembly for several years now. And yet the numbers grew, the confrontations got worse, people continued to die and up to last week we were still talking. Failure to face up together to the challenges of mass movements of people has resulted in the collapse of the Dublin agreement, the abandonment of Schengen, the building of barbed wire walls and even of state-sponsored violence, in an attempt to hold back the human tide.

The time for talking is over. Allowing the current unregulated mass arrival of migrants to continue without having in place an agreed comprehensive response not only means continuing misery and possible death for the migrants themselves; it will also have a destabilising, and potentially catastrophically destabilising, impact on Europe. It has already changed governments, and it will change more, and even the most stable democracies will struggle under the economic and social strain of unplanned, unmanaged, rapid population increases.

Somewhere between the extreme assertions that on the one hand we should open our borders to all comers and that on the other we should build walls to keep everyone out, lies a solution that is both ethical and practical. We know our obligations under the Geneva Convention and we must meet them. We must give at least temporary refuge to those whose lives are threatened and we must share that burden in a planned pre- agreed way, and not leave it to a few counties that, by virtue of their geography, are carrying an unsustainable burden.

Within the European Union, the numbers being spoken of are in the thousands. Sadly, the numbers fleeing for their lives are in the millions. All the forecasts, including those from the OECD, are that at least 1 million souls will seek to come to Europe every year for at least the next five years. If we spent weeks seeking agreement on the relocation of 120 000, I see little prospect, even with the best will in the world, of millions being absorbed without serious destabilising effects within Europe. We can of course take many more than we have agreed to date, but we must also begin to work far more seriously towards stabilising the countries from which the bulk of refugees are coming.

I fully support the European Union decision to help the frontline European Union countries with funding and with personnel to feed and to process migrants as well as the decision to provide aid to the camps in countries like Turkey and Lebanon. But part of the solution must also be the decision to strengthen our borders and to repatriate those who fail the asylum process. This may seem ungenerous, but I believe we must do this if we are to meet our obligations to the millions now fleeing for their lives from war-torn areas and who genuinely need our protection.

I would plead with all Council of Europe countries, as winter approaches, to play their part in giving aid to refugee camps and also plead with countries like Russia, who are players in the Syrian conflict, to bring their considerable influence to bear on stabilising the area so people can return to their homes.

      Mr ŠIRCELJ (Slovenia) – For over a year, Europe has been faced with difficulties and frustrations caused by the large influx of refugees from the areas devastated by war, conflict and ISIS terrorism. Europe has to agree on a more uniform approach to the problem and has to adopt measures to solve the problem and not just to alleviate it. Long-term strategic actions by the international community are needed. Of course we need to show solidarity, but solidarity alone will not solve the problem. Europe has neither the living nor the social room for 50 million potential refugees from the Middle East and Africa. The problem therefore cannot be solved within Europe. The more this fact is neglected, the bigger the problem will become for Europe. The European Union can, however, make a significant contribution to solving the refugee crisis – but with a well-thought out approach.

      First, saving the lives of refugees must remain a priority. European solidarity is needed here. Close co-operation between all the European States is needed. Secondly, Europe must obtain the adoption of a binding United Nations resolution to create safe zones for refugees on Syria and Iraq territory. International humanitarian assistance should be directed there; in this way, with the same amount of money, it would be possible to help significantly more people than by increasing the number and size of costly asylums in the European Union. Thirdly, Syria and Iraq have to be stabilised. Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey have to be supported in their task of hosting refugees. Otherwise, the price of the collapse will be additional hundreds of thousands of victims and refugees in particular. Fourthly, the problem of economic migration must be strictly distinguished from the refugee issue.

      I am under no illusion that the aforementioned proposals can be implemented easily. There are many objective difficulties and different interests. However, the refugee problem is so complex and obvious that the suggested solutions must be adopted and implemented, as none of the serious international actors can ignore or even deny it anymore.

Mr VALEN (Norway) – I wish to make just a brief remark. The history of Europe shows the importance of solidarity and humanity in times of great distress and crises. Let me be frank: none of us is doing enough. In some of the wealthy countries, like my own, political priorities get in the way of receiving the refugees and asylum seekers with basic services, food and shelter. The public debate in several countries has a strong presence of isolationism, where people fleeing from war and religious fanaticism are themselves labelled as potential terrorists and fanatics. And some of the countries which previously, in darker times, needed the help and solidarity of their neighbours to shelter refugees from oppressive regimes, are now themselves building walls.

We are not doing enough for the refugees and asylum seekers. Germany sets an example that more of us should follow.