THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY’S SECOND EURO-MEDITERRANEAN PARLIAMENTARY FORUM ON MIGRATION CONCLUDED WITH THE UNANIMOUS ADOPTION OF A FINAL RESOLUTION PRESENTED BY

SENATOR FRANCO DANIELI

-ROME, 23-24 May 2005 – Senate of the Republic-

FINAL DECLARATION

The Second  Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum on Migration held in Rome at the headquarters of the Senate of the Republic on 23 and 24 May 2005, attended by 40 parliamentarians representing 15 Parliaments of Council of Europe member states and 6 Parliaments of countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean:

1. Confirms the present-day relevance and the validity of the Final Declaration of the First Forum held in Cyprus on 20 and 21 October 2003;

2. Makes a positive assessment of the method based on parliamentary dialogue and co-operation, also recognised as an instrument for periodically reviewing the status of proposals and analysing results;

3. Insists on the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean migration observatory and on an extensive information programme about the risks associated with illegal migration;

4. Stresses the need to tackle migration phenomena not only in a perspective of security and border control but also by promoting action to overcome misinformation in this regard, including a different terminological approach describing them in terms of mobility and opportunity;

5. Calls for the speedy definition and adoption of a single European normative framework dealing with the complex phenomena of migration which goes beyond the present contractual strategy adopted in international relations whether bilaterally or multilaterally, applying a practice of partnership and a strategy of mutual development in the Euro-Mediterranean area and with countries where migration flows originate;

6. Requests an increase in the resources available for these purposes, and more rational and effective use thereof, eliminating the obstacles and the costs introduced by the bureaucratic command and management structure;

7. Invites the Council of Europe member states and the states participating in the Second Forum to ratify and adopt the UN Convention on the rights of migrants and their families and the other international conventions protecting women and young migrants, and to aid students and teachers mobility and educational exchange by such means as the foundation of a Euro-Mediterranean University;

8. Urges strict compliance with the international conventions for the protection of human rights in all operations intended to prevent or contain illegal migration phenomena, in particular:

a-       secure the right to leave one’s own country,

b-       guarantee unimpeded access to asylum procedure for all persons in need of international protection,

c-       guarantee that repatriation measures are applied in accordance with the standards relating to human rights, security and dignity,

d-       avoid sending irregular migrants back to countries where they may be at risk of persecution or violation of human rights,

e-       avoid causing secondary migration movements by returning migrants who hold another nationality to non-European states from which they came in transit only,

f-        examine and constantly bear in mind the underlying causes of illegal migration movements;

       9.    Finally, trusts that the Council of Europe will take up the matter of migrant women as a priority concern through specific initiatives involving all countries in the Mediterranean Basin.