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Resolution 1820 (2011)
Asylum seekers and refugees: sharing responsibilities in Europe
1. The Parliamentary Assembly believes
that further measures are needed to ensure that responsibilities for
refugees and asylum seekers are shared fairly in Europe and that
those seeking international protection have access to fair and efficient
systems for the processing of their claims.
2. The recent conflicts in North Africa have once again put the
issue firmly on the agenda. By 10 May 2011, following the new wave
of migration, 34 460 people had landed in Italy (about 23 000 irregular
migrants and 11 000 asylum seekers/refugees), and 1 106 in Malta
(almost all asylum seekers or refugees). Notwithstanding the relatively
high numbers that have entered Europe, they should be put in the
context of Libya’s North African neighbour countries, which have
received approximately 750 000 refugees.
3. The Assembly notes that the number of asylum seekers in Europe,
and in particular those arriving from the southern Mediterranean,
should not pose an insurmountable problem for Europe as a whole,
although their concentration in certain regions will pose a much
greater problem for the countries or regions concerned. Malta in
particular, because of its size and population, and the tiny island
of Lampedusa risk facing the greatest strain.
4. This Assembly believes that it is a paramount responsibility
of each member state of the Council of Europe to meet its own international
legal and humanitarian obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees.
5. The effective protection of asylum seekers and refugees across
the world cannot be achieved without countries sharing responsibilities.
One example of this has been the requests from front-line Mediterranean countries
for a greater sharing of responsibility in response to large-scale
arrivals of asylum seekers and refugees on Europe’s southern shores.
6. All member states of the Council of Europe should be participating
fully in the programmes of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the resettlement of refugees
and should accept that, because of the uneven geographical distribution
of refugees, fair sharing of responsibility for resettlement is
essential.
7. To encourage such fair sharing of responsibility, more information
should be given to national parliamentarians to enable them to put
pressure on their governments to meet their moral duties. For example, in
2010, European countries resettled only 5 824 refugees compared
with 54 077 resettled by the United States and 6 732 by Canada.
8. It is of the utmost importance that the interests of refugees
and asylum seekers are kept distinct from those of economic migrants.
9. Porous external borders facilitate racketeering and international
people smuggling. Therefore, more effective measures must be taken
by member states to maintain the integrity of their own national
borders.
10. In order to deter people smugglers from using the high seas
for their heinous trade, member states should consider the use of
coastguard vessels. These vessels should be sufficiently equipped
to enable them to identify anyone with potential international protection
needs, something that has been done effectively by the United States
Coast Guard.
11. The Assembly notes that within the 27 member states of the
European Union, there is a vigorous debate about what each one should
be doing by way of sharing responsibility. The Dublin II Regulation
system, which was designed to prevent forum shopping and multiple
applications for asylum, is no longer fully effective because of
the inability of a number of countries, notably Greece, to meet
their obligations to provide fair and efficient systems for processing
asylum applications. It is unacceptable, however, that the situation
in Greece, especially in its detention centres, continues to be
below international standards. The European Union should have made
it a condition of the financial help to Greece that it should comply
with its international obligations on the protection of refugees
and asylum seekers.
12. In the Assembly’s view, the current situation and status quo
are not sufficient and action has to be taken, primarily for three
reasons. The first is that a number of member states are not coping
with the current situation and there exists a real threat of ongoing
arrivals creating further pressure and problems. Secondly, the Dublin System
has been shown to be unfair and in need of reform. The most recent
condemnation by the European Court of Human Rights in its judgment
earlier this year (M.S.S. v. Belgium
and Greece) attests to this. The third reason is that
the issue of responsibility sharing is beginning to create collateral
damage and further friction within the European Union member states
focused on the countries in the Schengen zone. The actions of some countries
in allowing irregular migrants to receive documentation entitling
them to travel anywhere within the zone has created tensions which
have now reached the level of intergovernmental European Union discussion. These
issues need to be resolved.
13. From the perspective of the Council of Europe, it is important
that countries within the European Union are not regarded as having
special status. The same principles should be applicable in all
47 countries. It would therefore be inappropriate for the Assembly
to give definitive advice about what the European Union should do in
respect of each of its current problems relating to Schengen, the
European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at
the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union
(Frontex), and its aspirations to create a common immigration and
asylum policy for the European Union, except in the context of human
rights.
14. The European Union does, however, have financial and material
resources which should be made more widely available to Council
of Europe member states. For example, Frontex has access to satellite
intelligence which should enable it to identify vessels which are
leaving North Africa loaded with migrants, so that they can be intercepted
in a co-ordinated way. The European Union also has the ability to
help facilitate bilateral and multilateral arrangements to help
reduce the pressure on particular points of entry such as the border
between Turkey and Greece.
15. In order to tackle the issue of responsibility sharing in
Europe, taking into account the responsibilities which exist at
the moment and foreseeing future developments, the Assembly calls
on all member states to:
15.1. encourage
reform of the Dublin system to achieve more flexibility, where necessary,
on the application of the principle of asylum determinations being
carried out in the first arrival country;
15.2. provide direct assistance to countries in need, in particular
those currently receiving large-scale mixed migration flows from
the southern shores of the Mediterranean, including by:
15.2.1. assisting
with border controls, the interception of boats and the rescue of
people in need;
15.2.2. facilitating reception, including by providing support
for infrastructure and its operation;
15.2.3. providing assistance for screening those with possible
international protection needs;
15.2.4. helping with asylum determination and fair and efficient
asylum procedures;
15.2.5. facilitating returns (both of irregular migrants and of
failed asylum seekers, including individuals held in detention who
wish to return to their country of origin);
15.2.6. accepting, as a priority, relocation within Europe from
countries under strain, prior to or after the asylum determination
process, and resettlement from countries outside Europe in full co-operation
with the UNHCR;
15.2.7. taking steps to tackle the root causes of flows of asylum
seekers, refugees and irregular migrants;
15.2.8. promoting co-operation between receiving countries and
countries through which irregular migrants and asylum seekers have
passed in transit since leaving their country of origin;
15.2.9. offering prompt assistance to countries, such as Turkey,
receiving civilians fleeing from persecution and military action
in neighbouring states;
15.3. put greater reliance upon intelligence-led interceptions
at sea, so as to co-ordinate their response to people smugglers.
16. The Assembly recognises that further responsibility sharing
cannot be effective without a commitment from the countries at the
forefront of the current asylum flows to:
16.1. guarantee access to their territory to any person that
might be in need of international protection;
16.2. provide the necessary reception conditions in accordance
with relevant human rights and humanitarian standards;
16.3. provide a prompt and fair asylum process and ensure the
quality and consistency of decisions;
16.4. ensure the integrity of their borders and control the
irregular migration flows.
17. Recognising the particular responsibility, resources and mandate
of the European Union in this matter, the Assembly calls on the
European Union to:
17.1. modify the
Dublin system, as necessary and as soon as possible, in particular
in the light of the judgment in the case of M.S.S.
v. Belgium and Greece, both to ensure fair treatment
and appropriate guarantees for asylum seekers and beneficiaries
of international protection and also to assist individual member
states to face possible situations of exceptional pressure;
17.2. ensure that its funds are flexible and easy to mobilise,
to be able to react quickly in the case of unforeseen events and
emergency, and consider the possibility of financing infrastructure,
in particular to ensure adequate reception facilities;
17.3. ensure that in respect of its members there are accurate
and consistent statistics relating to applications for international
protection, the granting of refugee status and asylum, detection
and return of irregular migrants and realistic estimates of the
number of illegal entrants into the European Union;
17.4. rapidly reach agreement on the European Commission’s proposal
for the establishment of a European Union joint resettlement programme,
to be implemented in close co-operation with the UNHCR;
17.5. in revising the Frontex regulations, ensure that full
human rights guarantees are included;
17.6. address the alarming increase in the number of forged
travel documents circulating in Europe, and reply to the forecasts
by Frontex of increased irregular migration and the concerns of
Europol as to the security threats resulting therefrom.
18. Finally, the Assembly commends the work of the UNHCR, congratulates
it on its 60th anniversary and calls on all members of the Council
of Europe to mark the anniversary by taking greater responsibility
for resettling refugees and addressing the challenge of asylum seekers
in Europe.