Reply to Recommendation 1163 (1991) on the arrival of asylum-seekers at European airports

13 September 1994

Doc. 7141

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

Reply to Recommendation 1163 (1991)

on the arrival of asylum-seekers at European airports

(adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 5 September 1994

at the 516th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers refers to the interim reply it gave to the Parliamentary Assembly in November 1991, informing it of the terms of reference assigned to the ad hoc Committee on the Legal Aspects of Territorial Asylum, Refugees and Stateless Persons (CAHAR) to give an opinion on the issues raised in paragraph 11 of Recommendation 1163 (1991) on the arrival of asylum-seekers at European airports.

The Committee of Ministers is pleased to inform the Parliamentary Assembly that, further to the CAHAR's work, it adopted, in June 1994, Recommendation No. R (94) 5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on guidelines to inspire practices of the member states of the Council of Europe concerning the arrival of asylum-seekers at European airports and authorised publication of the explanatory memorandum thereto.

The Committee of Ministers wishes to underline that in section I "Fundamental principles" of the recommendation the member states reaffirm their obligations under the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the 1967 New York Protocol relating to the status of refugees and also the European Convention on Human Rights, instruments to which the Parliamentary Assembly expressly refers in its recommendation.

In addition, the recommendation requires that the rule of law be observed when applications are considered and refers more particularly to Article 33 of the Geneva Convention on Refugees, which sets the principle of "non-refoulement", and to the application of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The recommendation also deals with a number of other essential guarantees, namely the right to be received and accommodated under the best possible conditions, the right of the asylum-seeker to information about his or her rights and obligations, the right to an interpreter and the right to enter into contact with a legal counsellor or a lawyer. In the same context, the Committee of Ministers wishes to particularly underline that the wish expressed in paragraph 11.iii.c of the Parliamentary Assembly recommendation is reflected in paragraph 14 of the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member states, which provides that a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees shall be allowed to contact the asylum-seeker in the airports.