Doc. 9961

7 October 2003

Migration, segregation and public policy: refugee reception and placement policies in the member states of the Council of Europe

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mrs Zwerver and others

1.       The member states of the Council of Europe have a great deal in common regarding housing policies: demographic developments with an increasing ageing population, integration policies and placement policies for the migrants in their societies.

2.       In the report "Policies for the integration of immigrants in Council of Europe member states” (Doc. 9888), the rapporteur states that immigrants face a lot of difficulties in gaining access to the housing market due to widespread discrimination by private landlords and/or neighbours and even housing companies.

3.       In Western countries we see an increase in homeless immigrant families in the big cities.

4.       Public housing standards also give rise to concern, in so far as its standards are poor and the policy of allocation engenders ethnic segregation.

5.       Segregation in housing policies gives rise to discrimination, social exclusion and xenophobia. National and local governments should implement effective integration policies for legal immigrants in order to promote equality and social cohesion.

6.       The Parliamentary Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers asks its relevant (expert) committee(s) to:

      i. conduct a survey on the role of (municipal) housing companies;

      ii. promote best practices in sharing information on placement policies;

      iii. study integration vs.segregation policy in relation to refugee reception and placement policies.

Signed (see overleaf)

Signed ¹:

Zwerver, Netherlands, SOC

Branger, France, EDG

Çavuşoğlu M, Turkey, EDG

Dačić, Serbia and Montenegro, SOC

Dmitrijevas, Lituania, SOC

Duivesteijn, Netherlands, SOC

Foulkes, United Kingdom, SOC

Grabowski, Poland, EDG

Gülçiçek, Turkey, SOC

Hagberg, Sweden, SOC

Ilaşcu, Romania, NR

Judd, United Kingdom, SOC

Pericleous Papadopoulos, Cyprus, LDR

Popa, Romania, SOC

Shakhtakhtinskaya, Azerbaijan, EDG

Tekelioğlu, Turkey, EPP/CD

Torrado, Spain, SOC

Wray, United Kingdom, SOC

Yáñez-Barnuevo, Spain, SOC

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group