TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON MIGRATION, REFUGEES AND DEMOGRAPHY
SECRETARIAT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
Synopsis No. 2000/138
27 September 2000
The Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, meeting in Strasbourg on 26 and 27 September 2000 with Mr Díaz de Mera (Spain, EPP/CD) and then Mr Iwinski (Poland, SOC) in the Chair:
- heard a presentation by Mrs Markovska ("the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", EPP/CD) of the conclusions of the Parliamentary Colloquy on population displacement in South-Eastern Europe: trends, problems, solutions, organised by the Committee in Struga/Lake Ohrid, from 14 to 16 September 2000;
- held an exchange of views on the Committee’s priorities and work programme for 2000 – 2001;
- held an exchange of views, before its presentation to the Assembly, on the report on the arrival of asylum seekers at European airports (Rapporteur: Mr Gross, Switzerland, SOC);
- approved an oral contribution by Mrs Aguiar (Portugal, EPP/CD) to the debate on "OECD and the World economy";
- heard oral reports by Mr Iwinski (Poland, SOC) and Mr Gross (Switzerland, SOC) on the mission of the ad hoc Committee of the Bureau to Moscow and Znamenskoye, from 18 to 21 September 2000, as well as on the Parliamentary Hearing of the State Duma: "State of the Organisation of Work of Revival of Economy, Social Sphere, Observation of Human Rights and Freedoms in the Chechen Republic";
- was informed of the humanitarian situation in the North Caucasus by Mr Benbekhti, representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR);
- following an exchange of views on the humanitarian situation in Chechnya, instructed its Chairman to request the Bureau that the Committee be seized for opinion each time the subject is debated in the Parliamentary Assembly;
- appointed a delegation to go on a fact-finding visit to Chechnya, led by Mr Iwinski (Poland, SOC), and composed of Mrs Zwerver (The Netherlands, SOC), Mr Moreels (Belgium, EPP/CD), Mr Rogozin (Russia, EDG) and Mr Díaz de Mera, Chairman of the Committee (Spain, EPP/CD) as members, and Mr Connor (Ireland, EPP/CD), Mr Cilevics (Latvia, SOC) and Mrs Vermot-Mangold (Switzerland, SOC) as alternates;
- heard a report by Mr Iwinski (Poland, SOC) on the conclusions of the meeting of the ad hoc Committee on the Interparliamentary cooperation with the South-Caucasus, was informed of its decision to postpone a preparatory visit to Baku and Yerevan and instructed its Chairman to inform the President of the importance attached to the organisation of the Seminar on refugees and displaced persons to be held in Baku (exact dates to be fixed);
- held an exchange of views on the situation of Roma/Gypsies in Europe with Mrs Ochoa-Llidó, Head of the Migration and Roma/Gypsies Division, and Mrs Kempf, Secretary of the Specialist Group on Roma/Gypsies;
- appointed the following rapporteurs:
. Mrs Aguiar (Portugal, EPP/CD): Health conditions of migrants and refugees in Europe (Doc. 8650);
. Mr Mateju (Czech Republic, EPP/CD): The "propiska" system applied to migrants and refugees in the CIS countries: effects and remedies (Doc. 8566);
. Mr Tabajdi (Hungary, SOC) for opinion: Rights of national minorities [Order No. 513 (1996)];
- took note of the reply from the Committee of Ministers to Recommendation 1406 (1999) on the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Croatia;
- took note of an oral invitation from Mr Rakhansky (Ukraine, UEL), on behalf of the Ukrainian delegation, to organise a Committee meeting on the repatriation and integration of the Tatars of Crimea, in compliance with Order No. 565 (2000), in Yalta (Ukraine) in autumn 2001;
- confirmed the holding of its next meetings as follows:
. Paris, 20 October 2000
. The Hague, 16-18 November 2000: full Committee (Colloquy on policies for the integration of immigrants)
. Paris, 8 December 2000
. Strasbourg, during the first part-session 2001 (22-26 January 2001)
. Paris, 23 February 2001.
Vladimir Dronov/Agnieszka Nachilo/Markus Adelsbach