Print
See related documents
Resolution 2227 (2018)
Extra-territorial processing of asylum claims and the creation of safe refugee shelters abroad
1. The Parliamentary Assembly is deeply
concerned about the continuing high number of migrants who lose
their lives, having boarded the boats of human smugglers, in particular
embarking from Turkey, Libya and Morocco, in their desperate efforts
to reach European countries on the other side of the Mediterranean
Sea. The Assembly also deplores the severe violence to which migrants
are exposed in Libya and the Lake Chad region. It is of utmost importance
that all member States pursue concerted efforts to halt this human
tragedy.
2. A considerable number of these migrants have the right to
asylum or other forms of international protection. They should therefore
not be obliged to undertake such dangerous journeys at sea or to
use other means of illegal transport which put their lives at risk,
in addition to the existing threats in their home countries. Instead,
they should be offered safe ways of applying for asylum in conformity
with the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
3. Recalling the historic examples of the extra-territorial issuance
of visas on humanitarian grounds by Raoul Wallenberg and other outstanding
diplomats in Budapest towards the end of the Second World War, the Assembly
calls on member States to take legislative and practical measures
to enable people to apply for this protection through extra-territorial
processes as an exceptional measure on humanitarian grounds.
4. The Assembly reaffirms that, as a general principle under
international law, persons should be expected to apply for refugee
status in the first safe country of arrival, provided that country
can guarantee effective protection in accordance with international
standards, and that any country of first arrival must receive and
duly process such applications. It emphasises that this fundamental
obligation cannot be derogated from on the grounds that a third
country provides for the possibility of processing asylum claims
extra-territorially in that country of first arrival. Refugees must
not be denied their right to asylum in any country because another country
is allowing extra-territorial asylum applications.
5. Referring to Recommendation No. R (97) 22 of the Committee
of Ministers containing guidelines on the application of the safe
third country concept, the Assembly recalls that, when a third country
is considered safe, applications for asylum are generally examined
using accelerated procedures. In this manner, such non-substantial
examinations could be made through diplomatic or consular missions
of member States in safe third countries, on the condition that
the criteria developed by the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are met and that applicants can
challenge the status of safe country. This extra-territorial processing
of asylum claims would prevent people from being deceived by human
smugglers about opportunities for asylum.
6. Referring to the Guidelines on human rights protection in
the context of accelerated asylum procedures, adopted by the Committee
of Ministers on 1 July 2009, the Assembly recalls that under international
law, including relevant provisions of the European Convention on
Human Rights (ETS No. 5), the United Nations Convention relating
to the Status of Refugees and its protocol, and customary international
law, States receiving asylum applications are required to ensure
that return of asylum seekers to their country of origin or any
other country will not expose them to a real risk of a death sentence,
torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, persecution
or serious violation of other fundamental rights which would, under international
or national law, justify granting protection.
7. Welcoming the initiative by the French Government in 2017
to provide 3 000 visas and transport to France for refugees from
Chad and Niger, the Assembly notes with regret that many member
States do not have legislation which allows for extra-territorial
processing of asylum claims on humanitarian grounds.
8. The Assembly further welcomes the fact that the UNHCR has
resumed its evacuation of vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers
out of Libya and provides official Asylum Seeker Cards for Syrian
refugees registered in Egypt, but regrets that in 2013 it had to
end its global Refugee Status Determination Programme due to the
considerable increase in applications. Through the latter programme,
the UNHCR assisted approximately 50 States in dealing with asylum
applications and directly assisted applicants in an additional 20 States
globally. This example shows that such programmes can improve the
situation of refugees and asylum seekers, but only if they are substantially
supported by the States.
9. If sufficient provision were made for refugee status determination
and prompt access to effective protection in countries of first
arrival or in third countries, migrants would not have to expose
themselves to life-threatening journeys or human smuggling. Therefore,
the Assembly calls on member States to:
9.1. consider introducing in their domestic law, if such provisions
do not already exist, the possibility to apply for asylum or humanitarian
visas at diplomatic or consular missions abroad;
9.2. define the conditions to be met by those extra-territorial
applicants, such as a particular humanitarian emergency, the impossibility
to safely reach the territory of the member State concerned, quotas
for applicants or security requirements including the presentation
of identity documents;
9.3. provide special extra-territorial procedures for accelerated
asylum applications:
9.3.1. when their competent national
authorities have decided to generally grant a category of refugees
asylum as an exceptional measure on humanitarian or other grounds;
9.3.2. in the context of family reunification of refugees;
9.3.3. by applicants originating from safe countries or present
in third countries which are considered as safe, in accordance with
Committee of Ministers Recommendation No. R (97) 22;
9.4. provide basic social services, including shelter, food
and health care for applicants, where necessary, possibly in co-operation
with the UNHCR or the European Union;
9.5. provide comprehensive information to applicants about
the procedure of applying for asylum or humanitarian visas, as well
as about regular entry visas to which they may have access, such
as temporary visas, work visas and study visas, in a language that
they understand;
9.6. assist successful applicants with their travel to the
respective member States which have granted asylum;
9.7. ensure that rejected asylum seekers have access to a complaint
mechanism and an effective remedy against the rejection in accordance
with Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights;
9.8. substantially step up the number of pledges for resettlement
and humanitarian admission programmes organised by the UNHCR;
9.9. ensure that any means of humanitarian admission or resettlement
do not affect the right to apply for asylum in member States.
10. Referring to its Resolutions
2000 (2014) on the large-scale arrival of mixed migratory
flows on Italian shores and 2147 (2017) on
the need to reform European migration policies, the Assembly recognises
that extra-territorial processing of asylum claims remains an exceptional
and limited way of granting international protection. Therefore,
additional measures are urgently needed to provide safety and protection
to refugees and migrants abroad in accordance with the standards
required under the United Nations Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees.
11. In the past, protective shelters or zones have been successfully
established, for instance by the United Nations or the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), for persons have been forcibly displaced
by violence or armed conflicts. Such shelters provided temporary
security to persons who would otherwise have qualified for asylum
in other countries. Therefore, the Assembly calls on member States
to help establish such protective shelters in countries affected
by violence or conflict, or in neighbouring countries, in order
to avoid persons being forced to flee to other countries on long
and perilous routes.
12. Referring to the camps successfully established for Syrian
refugees in Turkey and Jordan, the Assembly calls on member States
and the European Union to support such camps financially and logistically.
13. Welcoming the projects of the Italian Refugee Council and
the UNHCR for refugees and migrants in Libya, including the creation
of protected areas for children, the Assembly calls member States
and the European Union to support similar programmes.
14. The Assembly invites the UNHCR and the International Organization
for Migration (IOM) to assist migrants who so wish by registering
them as asylum seekers and to provide refugee status determination programmes
in co-operation with safe countries of first arrival, as well as
third countries which offer extra-territorial processing of asylum
claims.
15. The Assembly invites the European Union and its member States
to support financially and through technical co-operation those
States which accept persons under international protection or on
humanitarian grounds.