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Resolution 2108 (2016)
Human rights of refugees and migrants – The situation in the Western Balkans
1. In 2015, 856 000 people crossed
the Aegean Sea from Turkey to the Greek islands, almost 20 times
the number in 2014. Almost as many people arrived in the first two
months of 2016 as in the first seven months of 2015 and there is
every reason to expect that the level of arrivals will exceed last
year’s. The overwhelming majority – more than 90% – are from major
countries of origin for refugees, especially Syria, Afghanistan
and Iraq. Those arriving in Greece and transiting through the western
Balkans may for the most part be refugees, but they do not wish
to apply for asylum in any of these countries.
2. The influx of refugees and migrants entering the contiguous
continental European Union via the western Balkans is not a new
phenomenon, and their number had begun rising significantly by as
early as 2012. In August 2015, however, unprecedented numbers of
arrivals led many of these countries to change their policies unilaterally,
either by attempting to block irregular entry to their territory
or by facilitating rapid transit across it. By September, the situation
had stabilised, with a relatively safe route emerging from Greece
to western Europe which, although physically demanding and no substitute
for humanitarian pathways, was at least reasonably efficient.
3. A contagious fear of the consequences of border closures further
north, however, led the western Balkan countries to raise increasingly
restrictive barriers to entry: first by introducing “nationality
screening”, then by introducing daily quotas on admission and, in
the case of Austria, on the number of asylum applications accepted.
By the end of February 2016, the western Balkans route was in practice
closed to all but a few hundred refugees and migrants per week,
although the number of arrivals in Greece showed no sign of abating. There
is now deliberate discrimination (nationality screening), deliberate
denial of access to protection for arbitrary administrative reasons
(daily quotas on admissions and acceptance of asylum applications)
and deliberate failure to comply with binding international judicial
decisions or authoritative advice not to return asylum seekers to
countries that are known to be unable to provide effective protection
(returns to Serbia, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
and Greece).
4. As a result, the humanitarian situation of the refugees and
migrants in the western Balkans has deteriorated and they are increasingly
at risk of exploitation and abuse, notably by traffickers in human
beings and migrant smugglers. Since August 2015, there have been
regular reports suggesting the use of excessive force against refugees
and migrants by police and security forces of “the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia”, Croatia or Hungary at their borders. It
is expected that within the near future, as many as 100 000 refugees
and migrants will be trapped in Greece, which is well known to lack
sufficient reception capacity and longer-term shelter and to have
a dysfunctional asylum system; yet despite these serious deficiencies
and their consequences for refugees and asylum seekers, other European
Union member States have effectively failed to implement the agreement
on relocation of asylum seekers from Greece and Italy.
5. The Parliamentary Assembly is also concerned about the situation
in Hungary. Hungary unilaterally erected razor-wire fences along
its borders with Serbia and Croatia, thus closing itself off from
the flow of refugees and migrants along the western Balkans route
towards Austria and redirecting it through Croatia and Slovenia.
Hungary also introduced very restrictive asylum legislation, lacking
essential procedural safeguards. Around half of the asylum seekers
in Hungary are detained, sometimes in inadequate conditions. The Assembly
considers that Hungary’s asylum procedures and detention policy
appear to be incompatible with its obligations under the European
Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5), European Union law and the
1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and that
the anti-migrant public discourse of its government and other public
authorities is incompatible with the fundamental values of the Council
of Europe.
6. Europe has so far failed to find a proper, sustainable response
to the refugee and migration crisis in the western Balkans. There
has been an almost complete failure to implement some of the most
important agreements reached in autumn 2015, notably that on relocation
of refugees from Greece, and those of the Western Balkans Route
Leaders’ Meeting intended to ensure adequate reception capacity
and longer-term shelter for refugees and migrants along the route.
Mutual trust and confidence have been undermined by unilateral actions
and the exclusion of Greece from regional consultations on migration
issues. Instead, the focus has shifted to border controls and preventing
refugees and migrants from leaving Turkey. The only apparent response
to all other problems is money; the idea of relocation seems almost
to have been forgotten.
7. The Assembly recalls the fragility of political stability
in the western Balkans region. It is absolutely essential that the
countries concerned are fully supported in their efforts to deal
with the current refugee crisis and that all countries avoid taking
unilateral action that might undermine mutual trust and the prospects
for effective co-operation.
8. The Assembly believes that no response to the current situation
can succeed in the longer term unless it is based on genuine solidarity
and recognition of the need for collective action and equitable
sharing of responsibility, with full respect for the human rights
of refugees and migrants and the basic principles of international
and European law.
9. The Assembly therefore calls on the western Balkan countries,
namely “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Serbia, Croatia
and Slovenia, as well as Greece and Austria, to:
9.1. ensure compliance with the principle
of non-refoulement regarding
asylum seekers at the border claiming international protection,
in accordance with the standards of the European Convention on Human
Rights, as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights;
9.2. refrain from implementing policies that deny access to
protection on discriminatory grounds of nationality or on arbitrary
grounds of administrative convenience;
9.3. ensure that police and security forces implement border
controls without recourse to excessive force, respecting refugees’
and migrants’ fundamental right to dignity;
9.4. ensure that national capacity for short-term reception
and longer-term shelter is sufficient to accommodate, in appropriate
conditions, asylum seekers in transit or seeking protection;
9.5. take all necessary measures to ensure that national asylum
systems meet the standards of the 1951 Convention relating to the
Status of Refugees, the European Convention on Human Rights and European
Union law, as applicable;
9.6. refrain from returning asylum seekers to countries that
are unable to guarantee protection in accordance with the above
standards, where applicable;
9.7. refrain from implementing border control policies that
would unreasonably impose a disproportionate responsibility for
the protection of refugees and migrants on other States that are
more vulnerable to their arrival;
9.8. implement in full all aspects of the agreement reached
at the Western Balkans Route Leaders’ Meeting;
9.9. ensure that long-term responses to the refugee and migrant
crisis are only implemented following consultation with all other
States concerned.
10. The Assembly also calls on the European Union to:
10.1. ensure that human rights are
given priority in policies to address the situation in the western Balkans,
in particular the right to seek and enjoy asylum, the prohibition
on degrading treatment and on refoulement,
the right to liberty and security, the right to an effective remedy
and the prohibition of discrimination;
10.2. ensure that relevant European Union law is implemented
in full by all member States, in particular the reception conditions,
asylum procedures and qualification directives;
10.3. ensure full implementation of previous decisions and agreements,
notably on relocation of refugees from Greece and on reception and
longer-term shelter capacity in the western Balkans, action against
migrant smuggling and human trafficking, provision of information
to refugees and migrants on applicable rules and their rights and
obligations, registration of arrivals and exchange of information
on flows of refugees and migrants;
10.4. provide all necessary financial and technical support
to affected States, at levels sufficient to meet the challenges
they face and avoiding onerous procedural requirements that may
unduly delay provision of assistance in emergency situations;
10.5. reform the Dublin system with a view to a more equitable
sharing of responsibility, thus avoiding further overburdening of
member States with insufficient protection and reception capacities.