Situation of refugee women in Europe

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Doc. 8066

7 April 1998

Situation of refugee women in Europe

Report

Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography

Rapporteur: Mrs Inga-Britt Johansson, Sweden, Socialist Group

Summary

Although host countries do not usually collect data on refugee women as a distinct group, there is a lot of evidence on the gender-related problems that they are confronted with, and which make them particularly vulnerable. Besides physical danger, these include discriminatory practices in the determination of refugee status and deficiencies with regard to health care, education and training.

This report recommends a number of measures designed to address such problems and to increase general awareness of the situation of refugee women.

I. Draft recommendation

1. The Assembly recalls and reaffirms its Resolution 1018 (1994) and its Recommendation 1229 (1994) on equality of rights between men and women, Recommendation 1236 (1994) on the right of asylum, Recommendation 1261 (1995) on the situation of immigrant women in Europe, Recommendation 1309 (1996) on the training of officials receiving asylum-seekers at border points, and Recommendation 1327 (1997) on the protection and reinforcement of the human rights of refugees and asylum-seekers in Europe. The Assembly also recalls the declaration on equality of women and men adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 16 November 1988.

2. While regretting that no reliable information and statistics about refugee women is collected in a systematic way by Council of Europe member states, the Assembly considers this group of refugees to be particularly vulnerable and subject to specific, gender-related problems and discrimination.

3. Increased dependency and the traditional socio-cultural and economic role of refugee women in their countries of origin often lead to lack of motivation, confidence and self-esteem, thus putting them at a distinct disadvantage compared to their male counterparts from the moment they arrive in a host country. Therefore the Assembly acknowledges the need for the creation of specific conditions which would enable refugee women to overcome these difficulties.

4. The Assembly is particularly concerned by certain practices applied to refugee women during and after the status determination procedure in host countries, which may result in violation of their human rights.

5. The Assembly considers that the member states of the Council of Europe should eliminate all gender-related discrimination among refugees, and adapt the treatment of women refugees to their specific situation and requirements.

6. Consequently, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i. instruct its appropriate committees:

a. to hold exchanges of views and experience on this subject;

b. to examine the question of the recognition of gender-related persecution as a basis for refugee status;

c. to make proposals for the introduction of special legislation on female genital mutilation (FGM), as well as for special law-enforcement measures;

ii. ensure the financing of a wide-spread information campaign among health personnel, as well as refugee groups in the host countries most concerned, about the harmful health consequences linked to FGM;

iii. initiate the setting-up of a European system for data collection and needs assessment in regard to refugee women;

iv. encourage the development of programmes aiming at the integration and re-integration of refugee women, including support training, vocational training and income-generating programmes;

v. organise and actively support refugee women's training in human rights and related subjects as part of their preparation for possible return;

vi. urge the member states:

a. to adopt measures to guarantee the physical safety of women in refugee centres consonant with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women;

b. to recognise as refugees women whose claim to refugee status is based upon well founded fear of persecution for reasons enumerated in the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the status of refugees, including persecution through sexual violence or gender-related persecution;

c. to ensure that the authorities responsible for refugee status determination procedure are well informed about the overall situation in the countries of origin of refugees, in particular concerning the situation of women, possible gender-related persecution and its consequences;

d. to review the staffing and recruitment policies of such authorities in order to ensure that there is a sufficient number of female staff, and that in cases of claims to refugee status based on gender-related persecution, a member of the female staff is available;

e. to reexamine refugee status determination procedure and policies with a view to ensuring that women who have an independent claim for refugee status have access to an individual consideration of such claim, even if they are accompanied by a male partner;

f. to review their policies in the field of social rights and assistance in order to ensure that refugee women are not forced into prostitution, and in particular are offered reorientation programmes and counselling as well as realistic alternatives to earn their living;

g. to adopt criteria and guidelines dealing with women seeking asylum, in order to enhance a gender-sensitive approach and ensure that women's specific needs are met;

h. to provide access to adequate health services, and ensure that female medical and social staff (including interpreters) are available for refugee women;

i. to give more attention to reproductive health-care, including counselling in regard to sexually transmitted diseases and access to family planning information and devices, in accordance with the manual published by the United Nations Population Fund in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and UNHCR;

j. to provide professional counselling and therapy as well as general support for refugee women who have suffered traumatic experiences;

k. to encourage the establishment of non-governmental refugee organisations to help refugees overcome mental problems which may have resulted from traumatic experiences;

l. to identify shortcomings in the provision of educational opportunities for refugee women, and provide them with facilities which would give them access to education (child care, seminars for working refugee women, etc);

m. to support programmes designed to facilitate women's return and reintegration, in particular training and income-generating programmes linked to the situation in the country of origin;

n. to cooperate more closely with UNHCR and local non-governmental organisations and promote the networking of their activities.

II. Explanatory memorandum by Mrs Johansson

Contents

Page

1. Introduction 6

2. Needs and opportunities of refugee women 7

a. Refugee status determination 7

b. Physical safety 8

c. Health 10

d. Education 12

e. Skills training and income generating activities 13

f. The Council of Europe and women refugees in Western Europe 15

3. Conclusions 17

1. Introduction

1. A large majority of the world's estimated 50 million refugees and internally displaced persons come from, or find themselves within, the poorest and least developed countries of the world; only a comparatively small number can be found in Europe. This holds particularly true for Western Europe, the main focus of this report. The specific problems encountered by refugee women in Central and Eastern European countries should be examined in a separate report.

2. Without any generally accepted basis for the collection of refugee statistics, accurate statistical data are hard to come by. This is a general problem even in industrialised countries, where screening procedures and overall data collection ought not to pose any practical problem. Moreover, it is not customary to keep gender-disaggregated data. The total number of women refugees, therefore, is based on estimates only, assumed to be seventy-five to eighty percent of the total. However, although women constitute the vast majority of refugees worldwide, they are only a small minority of the refugee population that reaches western countries.

3. Experience has shown that most refugees do go home eventually. Worldwide, more than 10 million refugees were repatriated during the first half of the 1990s, including nearly 900 000 in 1995. Hence, for host countries, the task is not only to keep the refugees alive and well during their stay, but also to protect, assist and help prepare them for a better future, whether they are there to stay or whether, one day, they will return home. Those who return to their mostly war-torn or otherwise ravaged societies need to be prepared to help with reconstruction on the basis of respect for human rights and democratic values. Others, who may decide to stay, need to be helped to adjust to an entirely new way of life and to be able to contribute fully with their inherent skills and capabilities towards their integration process. In both these instances, host countries in Western Europe, with all their possibilities and values, carry a very special responsibility, and one which, seen in a much wider context, can contribute towards peace and stability in the world at large.

4. For refugee women, the issues at stake are first of all the often discriminatory, gender-related practices in the determination of refugee status (paras. 7-14); their physical safety (paras.15-20), which directly or indirectly affects many aspects of their lives; questions related to health (paras.21-31), including mental health, female genital mutilation and reproductive rights, as well as treatment for consequences of torture, sexual and other abuse; education (paras. 32-36), ranging from language training, basic schooling and higher education, to education for empowerment as well as the connected issues of skills training and income generating projects (paras. 37-42). In the final section on the Council of Europe and refugee women (paras. 43-53), concepts relating to human rights principles, equality and basic democratic values are discussed.

5. It is noted with regret that only four replies were received to a questionnaire sent out to some fifty organisations and individuals with a view to gathering information for this report. The Rapporteur would like to take this opportunity to thank those who did reply from Austria (Caritas, Wien), Denmark (Danish Refugee Council), Germany (Diakonisches Werk der EKD), and Norway (Directorate of Immigration, UDI). In these circumstances, it was not possible to make a country by country comparison as originally intended. Moreover, it was necessary to draw heavily on relevant material from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Office (ILO) and several non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In addition, interviews were conducted with representatives of the Association for the Study of the World Refugee Problem (AWR) and other organisations referred to.

2. Needs and opportunities of refugee women

6. In this section, the various needs of women refugees in Western Europe are examined primarily with a view to identifying situations in which refugee women are particularly vulnerable to violations of their rights, and to proposing remedies. Attention will also be paid to the opportunities for the refugees themselves, as well as for their host countries, inherent in the refugee situation. It is often overlooked that refugees, like everybody else, are resourceful people with something to offer and, similarly, that refugees may profit from their situation in a wide range of areas while staying in a given host country. These are important aspects not only in themselves but also most certainly in the combat against racism, discrimination and xenophobia.

a. Refugee status determination

7. "Refugees" who arrive in industrialised countries are either resettled from countries of first asylum or direct, spontaneous arrivals requesting asylum under the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Women refugees who arrive together with their husbands, or join them later, are usually tied (de jure) to the legal status of the head of household, i.e. usually the husband. Asylum-seekers who fail to qualify for refugee status according to the 1951 Convention but who cannot return to their country of origin without risking life or liberty may fall under the various arrangements commonly known as "humanitarian status".

8. States have become increasingly aware of the strain placed on asylum-seekers who have to wait for extended periods for the determination of refugee status. While long delays are, therefore, generally avoided, the waiting period may nevertheless stretch from three months up to a year or longer. During this first period in a foreign country, which by nature is a particularly difficult one, asylum-seekers are usually housed in collective accommodation centres of varying quality and character. They are not allowed to work and are not entitled to regular social welfare benefits. This state of dependency, characterised by little to do and much to worry about tends, in the long run, to become a destabilising factor and undermines the possibility of smooth adjustment later, once the decision on status has been reached. A speedy process of refugee status determination, therefore, is in everyone's best interest.

9. Refugee women, if arriving alone, often face their first legal hurdles in their new country in connection with the obtaining of refugee status. The UN Convention defines a refugee as a person who has a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. With the element of gender not explicitly covered by the criteria for refugee status, the question arises how women who have suffered persecution because of their gender may be categorised in order to be granted refugee status.

10. There has been much debate on this issue. In 1984, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on states to consider women, who have been persecuted on the basis of gender as a "particular social group" within the Refugee Convention's definition of a "refugee". Since 1985, the UNHCR has made a series of recommendations in line with this proposal as included in the "UNHCR Policy on Refugee Women", approved in 1990, and in the "Guidelines for the Protection of Refugee Women", adopted one year later. In these documents it is recommended that "the particular social group" category recognize the special circumstances of women as forming the basis for claims of persecution. Other efforts of UNHCR include a symposium on gender-specific forms of persecution, which was held in Geneva in the spring of 1996.

11. However, in spite of these and several other similar efforts, women continue to experience difficulties in establishing claims to refugee status based on gender-related persecution. One such example concerns women who have been victims of sexual violence, e.g. rape, and who, for reasons of shame, stigma or cultural factors may not be in a position to describe their experiences and thus verbalize their claims for refugee status. Aggravating factors are often that female interviewers and interpreters are scarce, and that the pressure to talk about these highly personal and sensitive issues comes too soon. When weeks or even months later these refugees may be in a position to talk, this "change of mind" is often held against them.

12. Women refugees who arrive together with their husbands, or join them later, often experience problems of a different kind. In many countries the first person to arrive, in this instance the male partner, is usually granted refugee status on the basis of his situation, with the accompanying, or later arriving, woman/wife automatically being granted the same status and thus, effectively, becoming dependent on the male breadwinner and head of household. This situation may create difficulties for the woman in finding her own place in society later on. It is important, therefore, that the woman is interviewed separately and that she is granted refugee status on the basis of her own account and claims.

13. Efforts to come to grips with gender-based persecution in general, and various forms of sexual violence in particular, as a basis for claims to refugee status, as well as with the phenomenon as such, have included the creation of the post of Senior Coordinator for Refugee Women by the UNHCR in 1989, followed by the creation of four regional coordinators in 1995. The nomination of a special UN Rapporteur on Violence in 1995 is another such example. In addition, recent international conferences, primarily the Fourth World Conference of Women, held in Beijing in 1995, have contributed greatly to keeping issues like these on the agenda with UN agencies and NGOs as implementing parties.

14. Yet, in spite of today's increased awareness of and sensitivity towards a great variety of gender-related persecution issues, a general, internationally accepted recognition of this fact is still outstanding. Greater efforts in this area, therefore, are called for. Furthermore, it is important that decision-makers and others involved in refugee-status determination procedures are well informed about the overall situation in the countries of origin of the refugees, particularly about existing gender-based persecution and its consequences, and that a sufficient number of interviewers and interpreters in such cases are women. In addition, more information should be provided to the refugees themselves concerning refugee determination procedures, as well as their rights and duties in this connection: it is not uncommon that refugees are given a document to sign without prior explanation. Finally, a greater understanding of the sensitivities involved in cases of sexual violence is called for, allowing for some time to elapse before the women concerned are able to talk about their experiences and not allowing this possible time factor to be held against them.

b. Physical safety

15. The lack of, and search for, physical safety is a major characteristic of refugee life, for male and female refugees alike. Indeed, it is one of the root causes of becoming a refugee. Refugee women, however, particularly if alone and because of their gender, are frequently subject to additional risks in the form of sexual abuse or other types of violence. The lack of physical safety runs like a red thread through the entire life of a refugee woman; in her country of origin before the escape; along escape routes; in refugee camps or any other form of reception centres, in the country of asylum and, sometimes even in the country of origin upon return. Protection against such abuse of physical safety lies at the very heart of the responsibility of the international community towards refugees in general, and refugee women in particular, and especially amid the growing signs of racism and xenophobia in Europe today.

16. The UNHCR Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women outlines in great detail the problems which refugee women may face in terms of physical and sexual attacks and abuse during flight as well as in countries of asylum. The consequences of the failure to adequately address these issues often result in serious repercussions in the form of sexual exploitation and prostitution. With frequent reference to poor camp design, communal latrines and washing facilities, often at some distance from living quarters, thus increasing the potential for attacks on women, especially at night, one might easily suppose that such conditions prevail in developing countries only. This, however, is not the case.

17. Thus in reports received from one country in Western Europe, host to large numbers of refugees, the situation in collective reception centres for asylum-seekers is described as one of fear and with an overall sense of lack of security among adolescent single girls and women, often exposed to sexual harassment and abuse. The spectrum of violence against these women ranges from physical assault and rape to forced prostitution. Some women are forced into forming common households with male refugees merely for the sake of protection. That such liaisons often result in unwanted children comes as no surprise. With a ratio of some 700 men to 200 women in some centres, problems are bound to arise. However, with the necessary political will, there is no doubt that the safety of women could be guaranteed.

18. In often primitive living quarters, 4-5 persons normally share one small room, separated from the next family by a curtain or thin wall and sharing kitchen, washing and toilet facilities. In situations where camping cars and even containers provide accommodation, reaching toilets and washing facilities, particularly at night, gives rise to problems such as those described by UNHCR. When accommodation is offered in small private hotels, this may pose problems of a different nature, as such arrangements often meet with the disapproval of the local population and can lead to racist and discriminatory reactions.

19. Since such situations are not uncommon in some countries in Western Europe, it is clearly one which needs to be redressed. At the same time, however, the difficulties involved in housing large numbers of foreigners from different countries during the time of asylum procedures and after, should not be underestimated. It is not only a question of providing living quarters and the basic necessities, but also one of care, for which suitable personnel must be made available. Ideally, such personnel should be sensitive to the particular problems of refugee women and also be familiar with gender-related questions. Furthermore, the capacity of the refugee women themselves must be better utilised in developing mechanisms to improve the reporting of physical and sexual abuse and to establish preventative measures in the planning and implementing of suitable assistance and other programmes. Yet another way to come to terms with the problem may be to keep smaller and separate living quarters for men and women. Special law-enforcement measures should also be developed and applied.

20. Sexual exploitation for the purposes of prostitution is yet another problem which may seriously affect the safety of refugee women, and which is very common in refugee situations. It involves primarily single refugee women and unaccompanied, adolescent girls, as well as female heads of households living alone in urban areas. The reasons for prostitution are usually complex but are mostly due to lack of financial resources, which in turn may be caused by lack of work, lack of working permit, or even lack of proper documentation. The remedies may be varied but should, as a minimum, offer refugee women realistic alternatives to prostitution as a way to earn their living and support any dependents. For this purpose re-orientation programmes and proper counselling may provide a partial answer.

c. Health

21. Access to adequate health services for refugee women is vital not only for their own health but also because of its wider implications for the family and the community at large. In comparison to the situations of refugee women living in camps in developing countries, where health services may be scarce and the overall health situation precarious (due to contaminated water, infectious diseases etc.), refugee women in the western world, generally speaking, can consider themselves privileged.

22. Normally, refugee women in Western Europe have the right to the same health services as the nationals of the country where they are residing. Existing discrepancies are mostly due to the status of the individual concerned − temporary versus permanent status, under consideration for such status etc. − which in some countries entitle refugees to different sets of benefits altogether, not only medical. Cultural and linguistic problems may also hinder refugee women's access to health care. Problems may also occur when camps and reception centres are situated far from bigger cities, making access to specialists' services difficult.

23. However, more fundamental shortcomings often limit refugee women's access to health care. It would appear that the basic reason for this is that health services provided to refugee women are usually dominated by men: for example, the general practitioner, who normally visits camps and reception centres on a weekly basis, is usually a male doctor, the interpreter is usually a man, and the refugees selected to assist them are, more often than not, men as well. Many refugee women, however, are reluctant for cultural or religious reasons to be examined and treated by male personnel and, as a result, do not utilise the services provided − often to the detriment of their own health. Various reasons have been given for the relatively small number of females doctors and health personnel working in refugee situations, but the main one appears to be that little priority has been given to the whole issue as such. Another matter reported from a major Western European country and which amounts to a clear discrimination against refugee women under consideration for refugee status, is that they are not entitled to the regular, preventative cancer tests provided to the female population in the country concerned.

24. While existing health services for refugees tend to overlook female-specific needs in general, lack of attention to reproductive health care is one of the most serious health deficiencies confronting refugee women (and, to a lesser degree, refugee men). Counselling in regard to sexually transmitted diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS, as well as access to family planning information and devices, are often inadequate or lacking. As reproductive health care in refugee settings is a much neglected subject, the field manual dealing with this issue published on the initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with WHO and UNHCR will fill a great need.

25. Another matter involving serious health risks for refugee women − and one with strong human rights implications as well − is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), one of several traditions and practices which migrants and refugees bring to their new countries which may be harmful to their health. FGM is a collective name given to a series of traditional surgical operations performed on the genitals of young girls and women in 26 African countries, in some communities in Asia and, increasingly, among migrant and refugee communities in Europe, North America and Australia. WHO estimates that well over 100 million girls and women around the world have undergone one form or another of this operation and that 2 million girls are at risk every year. The health consequences of such operations normally carried out under most unhygienic and primitive conditions and without anaesthetic, range from serious infections to grave obstetric damage, which may even lead to death.

26. The issue of FGM poses several challenging questions to the host country. How, for example, are gynaecological, obstetric and psychological health services to deal with genitally mutilated women, which is a totally new phenomenon to most health professionals in the western world? How should social and law-enforcement agencies act in the best interest of girl children in order to protect them? To answer these and the many other questions which arise in this connection is beyond the scope of this report. Suffice it to say that most countries have introduced special legislation on FGM and that international instruments do exist, which clearly spell out the dangers of, and the preferred answers to, FGM. In addition, the major UN agencies, somewhat belatedly, have come to realise the inherent dangers of FGM to the health of women and girl children and are taking appropriate action, and international human rights bodies and organisations have declared FGM a clear violation of the human rights of women and children. In Western Europe, particularly in the Scandinavian countries, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands but also increasingly in Switzerland and Germany, NGOs, in collaboration with the relevant authorities, are carrying out information and education campaigns among health personnel as well as refugee groups, especially among Somali women refugees, since Somalia is one of the countries where the most rigid form of FGM is practised.

27. Refugee women are also susceptible to mental health problems. Mental health problems may be partly due to the many disruptions and abrupt changes in life and the emotional and adjustment problems which, sadly, are part and parcel of becoming a refugee. Personnel from specialised NGOs and other trained staff in reception centres and camps normally provide counselling and also try to find other ways to help, for instance, by providing a forum where the women can talk about their situation in their own language so as to break out of their isolation.

28. More serious mental health problems resulting from torture and sexual abuse often involve depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and, worse still, can manifest themselves in severe depressive, self-destructive, violent or disruptive behaviour as well as alcohol or drug abuse. Professional counselling and therapy as well as general support for refugee women who have suffered traumatic experiences is, to some extent, available. Indeed, there exists an impressive network of psycho-social centres, particularly in those countries in Western Europe where many refugee women from the countries of the former Yugoslavia have been received. In such centres, often run by NGOs with some financial backing from the government, counselling is proved by professionally well qualified teams, assisted by volunteers, working in several languages and tackling a wide range of problems. Among these are consequences of fear, torture or other traumatic experiences, personal and conflict situations etc. In addition, assistance with problems of a legal and social nature is also generally provided.

29. Reference is made in this connection to a recent WHO/UNHCR manual on the Mental Health of Refugees. Much useful information is provided regarding help for victims of torture, rape and other violence, including refugee children, and for their communities. In a chapter with suggestions concerning the organisation of services for the promotion of the mental health and well-being of refugees, the importance of obtaining broad participation and giving a say to the refugees themselves, so as to avoid the feeling of helplessness − detrimental to the overall mental health of refugees − is but one of the constructive proposals. The manual is designed primarily for relief workers and the organisations − UN agencies or NGOs − for which they work.

30. However, this being an area where particularly sensitive and cultural issues are at stake, it is often difficult for otherwise oriented personnel to provide the right kind of assistance − no matter how well professionally trained. A case in point is the plight of many refugees from the former Yugoslavia, women and men. With this in mind, it is particularly gratifying to note that experts from that country have formed the first large-scale non-governmental, non-political organisation of its kind, named "CORRIDOR", for the purpose of assisting their fellow countrymen with their often severe mental problems as a result of past experiences. The financing of these efforts has been obtained from several international organisations − UN agencies and NGOs − concerned individuals as well as news media.

31. Within the framework of the activities of "CORRIDOR", psychiatrists, psychotherapists and otherwise specially trained personnel, together with volunteers, provide counselling, psychological assistance and help in social adaptation, in special centres located in different parts of the country. In addition, and with some of the professionals of the organisations regularly visiting other parts of the world, an exchange of information as well as collaboration is secured. In an impressive publication, which appeared in March 1996 to mark the two first years of existence of the organisation, some of the professional staff describe and otherwise bear witness of their activities. The treatment in these centres is geared not only towards the victims, but also towards members of the immediate and extended family, the assumption being that − sooner or later − they may also one day be affected by the consequences of past atrocities suffered by one in their midst.

d. Education

32. Refugee children in Western Europe are normally entitled to the same type of free basic education as the nationals of the country where they are residing. Whether refugee girls attend schools at the same rate as boys depends largely on the cultural pattern within the refugee group concerned, which may, in this respect, be restrictive. In some countries in Western Europe training grants and educational benefits are available to all qualified residents, including refugees and migrants, who may even be entitled to government-sponsored compensatory measures in case of need. Also, adult secondary school education may be made available to refugees and migrants − with limited capacity and provided on a highly competitive basis, as are literacy programmes.

33. Very little information is available about the education facilities provided to refugee women. By and large, the educational needs of refugee women are neither sufficiently researched nor discussed. Some language training is provided to refugee women while in reception camps awaiting determination of their status, as well as after refugee status has been awarded. This training is of immense importance in helping refugee women break out of their isolation and also to pave the way for later adjustment and integration, if they are to stay. However, the NGOs usually responsible for the provision of this training have no easy task, primarily because the women have too many obstacles to overcome which make it difficult for them to be fully motivated. Moreover, permission must be obtained from their husbands or male partners to attend. In order to get around this problem, language training is often combined with sewing classes, for example, so as to give the impression that such occasions to meet with other women for a particular purpose are in line with established cultural norms. Another problem is the provision of child care. Yet another, and one of special concern to single women heads of households, concerns those who may be working and who, once the normal working day has come to an end, may not have the time or energy left to attend classes. In this they may not differ much from non-refugee women, except that for refugee women the situation is more drastic.

34. In addition to language training, short courses and weekend seminars are also provided, mostly on the initiative of NGOs and with little or no financial backing from government. Such courses may encompass health matters, often led by a medical doctor, or do-it-yourself training, sometimes directed towards specific types of repairs at home, etc. Yet more substantial training is hard to come by. The cultural barriers which excluded many women refugees from obtaining an education at home may also be present in the new surroundings, sometimes to an even greater degree. For example, in her own country, a woman may have been denied education in the belief that her proper place was in the home. Upon becoming a refugee in a new country, this bias may persist while at the same time harsh economic realities force her to work. The result is that the woman shoulders responsibilities for household duties and must also work; generally she only finds work at the lowest level of the labour market with low remuneration and little personal satisfaction.

35. Even if refugee women do not have to work to contribute to household costs, there are other significant obstacles to acquiring more education. Some of these are of a practical nature, as referred to above. Others have to do with the very nature of the courses, which may be available but which may not be suitable for refugee women, who may not always have the necessary background to profit from them. For such cases, resources need to be made available for the updating of qualifications through complementary training and further education. However, non-formal instruction (for instance vocational training) may provide the most realistic answer, although as yet, state and community support for such courses is limited.

36. To provide remedies for this situation is not easy. A first step would be to identify the educational opportunities available to refugee women and the gaps in their provision. Then, on the basis of gender-disaggregated data, the skills and capabilities of refugee women should be mapped out with a view to the possible updating of skills and the provision of new ones. Specific courses should be designed to meet the needs of refugee women, particularly for those who have been unable to finish schooling and also with due consideration to labour market demand. The lack of female workers in the health-care sector in refugee reception centres, as mentioned earlier, is but one situation which comes to mind. For those without any prior schooling, literacy training should be of the highest priority. Moreover, where formal education programmes are unavailable, non-formal education may be of particular significance. Government or other funding sources should be identified and encouraged to help finance such efforts.

e. Skills training and income generating activities

37. Refugees and displaced persons are often pictured as targets and beneficiaries of aid rather than active participants in the design and implementation of programmes. Moreover, in situations of economic recession and high unemployment they may also become scapegoats. For refugee women this situation may create a vicious circle inasmuch as it can undermine their already low self-esteem, which in turn may help reinforce negative public attitudes and reactions in their countries of asylum.

38. However, some time must be allowed to elapse before a newly arrived refugee will be in a position to start making plans for the future and participate in whatever programmes are available. During that time assistance in the form of food, shelter etc. is needed and should be provided by the host country. It is important that this first so called "emergency phase" be kept as brief as possible before allowing for the more active rehabilitation and development phases to develop.

39. The solution of the refugee problem preferred by host governments is that of voluntary return. Moreover, experience shows that most refugees want to, and eventually do, return to their home countries once the situation permits. However, many months or years may pass before return is possible. Ideally, part of that time should be used for skills training − both the updating of old skills and acquiring of new ones − as part of the preparation for return and linked to the situations in the country of origin concerned. This is particularly important in order for returning refugees to fully participate in reconstruction efforts.

40. Many different aspects come to mind when reflecting on refugee women, skills training and income-generating activities. First and foremost there is the need of refugee women to find employment in order to earn a living and the ways and means to help them achieve this goal. Reduced dependency will help preserve their dignity and self-esteem and help prove to the world that refugees need not be a burden. Then there is the skills training, based on labour market research − primarily in the country of origin, assuming that the refugees will go back − to identify actual and potential employment and income generating opportunities. This will involve study of the skills required on the one hand and the skills available among the refugees, on the other. This is important so as to avoid the pitfall of projects and activities not being tailored to the skills of the refugees and the needs of the country concerned. An important related factor is the local population: returning refugees with their possible input and assistance must not become a privileged category.

41. Refugee women also need to be prepared for the economic and other conditions they will find on their return − usually very different from what they remember. Ideally, programmes to facilitate the return and reintegration of refugees should be designed through collaboration between relief agencies in countries of asylum and countries of origin. If women refugees have a say in the planning stage, the implementation phase can only be facilitated. It is important that this fact is reflected in government policies, strategies and programmes and that innovative efforts are made to ensure women's participation in all reconstruction work. Since war results in the loss of much of the skilled male population through death or migration, the help of returning skilled women may be seen as necessary and welcome. Yet there are many obstacles to overcome. One such obstacle faced by women is often their access to land, where special legislation may be required.

42. As concerns the variety of projects introduced, there have been signs of an improvement lately. Earlier, many projects, although referred to as income-generating, were introduced more for reasons of occupational therapy than economic viability and marketability. Such projects often focused on sewing, embroidery and handicraft goods of varying quality. These kinds of smaller projects have gained more and more momentum with training provided for women in marketing, bookkeeping and banking, and also with loans enabling women to start up their own businesses. Although micro enterprises have been criticized for being too small to significantly address large scale reconstruction efforts, small scale credit projects involving basic entrepreneurial skills have often proved to be an important means to improve the lives of women and their families.

f. The Council of Europe and women refugees in Western Europe

43. The problems of refugee women in Western Europe which have been dealt with in this report must be addressed by the Council of Europe since they involve human rights issues. Relevant instruments already developed include the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter, and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. In this way, directly or indirectly, the Council of Europe's work on human rights affects millions of people throughout Europe − refugee women included. However, for our purposes the issues which arise are primarily of a practical nature and we must ensure that they are adequately reflected in the various activities of the organisation.

44. It has been said that today's human rights abuses are tomorrow's refugee problem. By the same token, one could say that to invest in today's refugees may help prevent tomorrow's refugee problem. One such area of "investment", and maybe even the most important one, would seem to be education (see paras 32-36). The right to education, as contained in Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights, is an area on which many activities of the Council of Europe have focused over the years. Of particular importance for our purposes is education in human rights, citizenship, basic democratic values, conflict resolution, tolerance and peace. To this end, the Council of Europe has developed policies and activities in line with Committee of Ministers Resolution (78) 41, recommending governments to include human rights instruction in teaching and training curricula at all levels, including school and university, as well as among civil service staff. This resolution was followed by Recommendation R (85) 7 containing guidelines for teaching and learning about human rights in schools.

45. More recent, and therefore of more direct relevance to today's situation, are the activities in this area of the Council for Cultural Co-operation (CDCC), particularly its Education Committee, although some of these activities are more geared towards the situation in Eastern and Central rather than Western Europe. Another forum for the instruction of young people in human rights is the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg and, more recently, that set up in Budapest. In addition, much effort has gone into the preparation of excellent documentation, including audio-visual and visual material, for the purpose of the teaching of human rights and democratic values in general, and in schools in particular.

46. Unfortunately, little evidence of the impact of the use of such material in Western Europe and, indeed, of the teaching as such, could be found in the course of the preparation of this report. Moreover, with only four replies received to the afore-mentioned questionnaire, sent out to some fifty organisations and individuals, requesting inter alia, information regarding human rights education, no representative picture could be obtained of the situation in the countries concerned. From the four replies to the questionnaire, it appears that instruction in human rights, although rare, does exist to some extent within the framework of adult education (Norway) and is part of overall training in relation to the integration of refugees (Denmark). However, without any substantial information on what exactly is being taught, to whom and where, it is not possible to draw any conclusions. We can only re-iterate that refugee groups ought to be trained in human rights and related subjects as part of their preparation for eventual return to their home countries. Women refugees, with their potential impact on the young generation, would seem an ideal target for such efforts.

47. Research done under the aegis of the Council of Europe's Education Committee has shown that teachers in several European countries often lack the necessary skills to teach human rights, as well as the appropriate knowledge and understanding of the relevant legal instruments. In addition, more and better material is needed as well as more extensive information exchange.

48. Although refugee women are not a specific focus of the Conference on "Democracy, Human Rights, Minorities: educational and cultural aspects", held in Strasbourg on 21-23 May 1997, its themes include, among others, the educational and cultural situation of minorities in Europe (immigrants, national minorities, religious minorities, gypsies and diasporas), and its results may well hold lessons for the situation of refugee women.

49. The Education Committee's programme for the years 1997-2000 includes plans for work on human rights education, non-violent conflict resolution, education and tolerance; and equality between men and women. Among the target groups listed, and of particular interest for our purposes are NGOs as well as vulnerable groups. Refugee women, as well as those specialised NGOs which care for an work with them, and in some instances their children, should be included. It is to be hoped that this work will result in the publication of appropriate material designed for the training of such personnel and for use by refugee women, translated into the appropriate languages, as well as the organisation of seminars and study visits.

50. In addition to a number of pertinent provisions within the European Social Charter, the right to protection of health (see paras. 21-31) is also reflected in the activities of the Council of Europe's European Health Committee. With its emphasis on ethics in both policies and practice, as well as health education, the spread of HIV/AIDS is but one of the areas concerned. Mention should also be made of the Steering Committee for equality between women and men (CDEG) and its proposal to set up a multidisciplinary Group of Specialists on the right to free choice in matters of reproduction and lifestyles. Such a group would be entrusted with the task of proposing standards for the development of national legislation and programmes on matters relating to fertility and family planning, including the right to the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health, as well as the right to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence. In this way the Council of Europe would respond to a long felt need also among refugee women. Since the aim of these efforts is the preparation of recommendations to member States, they can be seen as an important and relevant complement to the efforts in this area by major UN agencies such as UNFPA, UNHCR and WHO, as referred to earlier in this report.

51. Violence against women is another area of concern to the CDEG and one which deeply affects the lives of refugee women, as discussed above in reference to their physical safety (paras. 15-20). It is most gratifying to note, therefore, the importance attributed to this subject by the Council of Europe. Among the more significant expressions of this concern is the strong condemnation of all forms of violence against women as a violation of human rights adopted by the 3rd European Ministerial Conference on equality between women and men, held in Rome in October 1993. On this occasion, the Ministers defined elements for intervention strategies to be included in a comprehensive plan of action to combat violence against women. It is to be hoped that this plan of action will include condemnation of the practice of female genital mutilation as well as measures to combat it. This would be in line with the action of several member governments as well as major UN and other agencies interested in the welfare of women and girl-children and in the defence of their human rights.

52. Of all the violations of human rights, the most systematic, far-reaching and entrenched is the denial of equality to women. The Council of Europe appears to be taking this matter seriously, even to the point of considering the participation of women in political and public life − on the same conditions as men − as a prerequisite for genuine democracy and its survival. This, obviously, is another area where the CDEG is active, drawing on the collaboration of women's NGOs to help encourage women to become engaged in politics and community activities and to promote and develop their leadership skills. Women refugees would be an excellent target for such efforts, and one with wide possible implications.

53. Of particular relevance to this report are the Council of Europe's activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, notably the cooperation programme with these countries which includes in-service training of teachers in human rights and education for democratic citizenship. Also of special relevance to our subject is a project totalling 5 million US dollars for a rehabilitation programme for war victims and refugees agreed by the Council of Europe's Social Development Fund. It is hoped that such efforts will also benefit those refugee groups living temporarily outside these countries and that the necessary planning and implementation of projects will take due account of the needs of women refugees, especially single women and the single heads of household among them.

3. Conclusions

54. Although refugee women in Western Europe are relatively privileged in comparison to those in many other parts of the world there are, as has been demonstrated in this report, very real needs which deserve to be met. Moreover, the inherent qualities and capabilities of refugee women could and should be enhanced further to serve the interests of their host countries as well as their countries of origin. The countries of Western Europe, as hosts to large numbers of refugee women, carry a very special responsibility in this regard.

Reporting committee: Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography.

Budgetary implications for the Assembly: none.

Reference to committee: Doc. 7485 and Reference No. 2061 of 20 March 1996.

Draft recommendation unanimously adopted by the committee on 18 December 1997.

Members of the committee: Mrs Aguiar (Chairperson), MM. Iwiński, Junghanns (Vice-Chairmen), Açba (Alternate: Sungur), Akselsen, Amoruso, Andres, Árnason, Mrs Arnold, MM. Atkinson, Aushev, Beaufays (Alternate: Ghesquière), Billing, Bogomolov, van den Bos, Brancati, Mrs Brasseur, MM. Brennan, Caceres (Alternate: Diaz de Mera), Cardona, Christodoulides, Chyzh, Clerfayt, Debarge, Dinçer, Mrs Fehr, MM. Filimonov, Fuhrmann, Mrs Garajová, MM. Gremetz, Gross, Jackic, Mrs Johansson, Lord Judd, MM. Kalus, Karas, Kukk, Mrs Kušnere, MM. Laakso, Lauricella, Laurinkus (Alternate: Stačiokas), Làzàrescu, Le Jeune, Liapis, Loukota, Luís, Melo, Mészáros, Micheloyiannis, Minkov, Molnár, Moser, Nogalo, Rakhansky, von Schmude, Sincai (Alternate: Pâslaru), Solonari, Mrs Soutendijk-van Appeldoorn, MM. Tahir, Vangelov, Wray, N… (Alternate: Mrs Guirado).

NB. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in italics.

Secretaries of the committee: Mr Newman, Mr Sich and Mrs Nachilo.