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Recommendation 1974 (2011) Final version
The interception and rescue at sea of asylum seekers, refugees and irregular migrants
1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers
to its Resolution 1821
(2011) on the interception and rescue at sea of asylum
seekers, refugees and irregular migrants.
2. The Assembly notes that, on its southern borders, Europe has
to cope with a relatively large number of arrivals by sea of mixed
migratory flows. The recent arrivals following the turmoil in North
Africa confirm that Europe must be ready to face such arrivals on
a relatively large scale. It is therefore a matter of urgency that solutions
are rapidly found to the five main problems noted by the Assembly
in its aforementioned resolution, concerning the existing measures
to manage these maritime arrivals.
3. The Assembly welcomes the Council of Europe Secretary General’s
initiative to call an extraordinary meeting of the Committee of
Ministers to examine possible Council of Europe action in the case
of a massive arrival of asylum seekers and migrants from the southern Mediterranean.
It further welcomes the support given by the Committee of Ministers
to the Secretary General’s proposals on the preparation of emergency
action plans, as well as regarding the training of officials dealing
with asylum requests.
4. While widely supporting these decisions, the Assembly reminds
the Committee of Ministers of its dual responsibility: to support
those member states that are in need, but also to make sure that
all human rights obligations are complied with in the context of
the interception and rescue at sea of asylum seekers, refugees and
irregular migrants, including by guaranteeing to those intercepted
access to a fair and efficient asylum procedure.
5. The Assembly therefore calls on the Committee of Ministers
to:
5.1. include in the training
material all necessary elements to enable trained personnel to proceed
to a screening assessment of the international protection needs
of intercepted persons and to ensure that staff involved in the
operations of the European Agency for the Management of Operational
Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the
European Union (Frontex) receive this necessary training;
5.2. define, in close co-operation with the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), guidelines and standard
operating procedures, when interception and rescue at sea take place, determining
minimum administrative procedures to guarantee that those persons
with international protection needs are identified and provided
with appropriate protection;
5.3. continue monitoring the situation of large-scale arrivals
of irregular migrants and asylum seekers, and in particular the
issues relating to interception and rescue at sea, including by
holding extraordinary meetings on the situation, where appropriate,
and use the good offices of the UNHCR, with its representative at
the Council of Europe, where relevant.