Doc. 8599

21 December 1999

Clandestine migration from the south of the Mediterranean into Europe

Report

Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography

Rapporteur: Mrs Ana Guirado, Spain, Socialist Group

Summary

The lack of future prospects, instability, unemployment and poverty are inciting certain persons to leave their countries south of the Mediterranean. Visa restrictions force them to look for illegal means of entering Europe. The conditions in which they travel clandestinely from Africa to Europe are frightening, and they will not improve unless a number of measures are taken rapidly. The member states of the Council of Europe must remember that emigration is a fundamental human right, and prepare themselves to accept the phenomenon of a stable and long-lasting migration, as well as to regularise the situation of clandestine migrants.

I.       Draft recommendation

1.       The Parliamentary Assembly is deeply concerned at the number of victims of clandestine migration in the Mediterranean and by the extremely dangerous and inhuman conditions in which clandestine migrants, a large number of whom are women and minors, find themselves every day.

2.       The Assembly believes that living in clandestinity invariably deprives people of their fundamental and social rights and their human dignity and exposes them to insecure living conditions for as long as they remain clandestine.

3.       The Assembly wishes to stress that emigration is a fundamental human right.

4.       The Assembly considers that the complex problems caused by clandestine migration towards and within the Council of Europe's member states require urgent solutions to which the Organisation can and must contribute in an active and specific manner.

5.       The Assembly is convinced that this phenomenon, which is particularly pronounced in the Mediterranean, cannot be remedied without open and innovative dialogue and lasting co-operation between the countries on its northern and southern shores, and that the ever closer involvement in the Assembly's work of the states on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, such as Morocco, would be a decisive step in the battle against the true causes of clandestine migration.

6.       The Assembly acknowledges that clandestine migration is not restricted to the Strait of Gibraltar alone and that illegal migrants also come from regions other than North Africa, in particular Eastern Europe, South America and sub-Saharan Africa.

7.       The Assembly recalls its earlier work on the strengthening of co-operation in the Mediterranean, for example its Recommendation 1359 (1998) on sustainable development in the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins, its Recommendation 1329 (1997) on the follow-up to the Mediterranean Conference on Population, Migration and Development (Palma de Mallorca, 15-17 October 1996), its Recommendation 1306 (1996) on migration from the developing countries to the European industrialised countries, its Recommendation 1249 (1994) on co-operation in the Mediterranean Basin, its Recommendation 1211 (1993) on clandestine migration: traffickers and employers of clandestine migrants, and its Recommendation 1154 (1991) on North African migrants in Europe.

8.       The Assembly considers that promoting mobility and free circulation of people in Europe on the one hand and stepping up border controls on the other is somewhat contradictory and counter-productive for co-operation in the Mediterranean Basin.

9.       The Assembly is convinced that the restrictions on lawful migration actually increase the likelihood of people entering Europe illegally and strengthen the image of a Fortress Europe, and that clandestine migration in the Mediterranean has increased since the early nineties, suggesting that the action taken to date has been of limited effect.

10.       The Assembly notes that these measures are an ever stronger incentive to those who exploit the hopes of others in what is in fact a cruel traffic in human beings, using increasingly sophisticated and inhuman means to make money out of clandestine migration.

11.       The Assembly is alarmed at the increasing number of women, minors and other vulnerable persons among clandestine passengers.

12.       The Assembly considers that restrictions of this kind have no humanitarian foundation and that the groups they hit worst are those most in need of practical solutions to the hardship and inequalities and development differentials they experience daily in their countries south of the Mediterranean.

13.       The Assembly therefore recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i.       analyse the forces behind clandestine migration in the context of the past history and future prospects of migration flows across the Mediterranean and carry out a study, in close co-operation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), on the causes and consequences of clandestine migration in the Mediterranean and the impact and practices of trafficking in human beings and organised crime in the region;

ii.       establish or step up dialogue with the competent authorities, ministries and non-governmental organisations on the southern shores of the Mediterranean with a view to implementing on-going co-operation on the economic, political and sociological causes of the problem;

iii.       make this co-operation a reality, involving IOM, through new joint approaches to such sensitive issues as:

iv.       support the corresponding policies of decentralised co-operation, as promoted by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe;

v.       support the "trans-Med", programme of the Council of Europe's North-South Centre in the fields of awareness-raising, information on the social and cultural phenomena linked to immigration and the role migrants can play in co-operation and development in both the country of arrival and the country of origin;

vi.       promote, in co-operation with the IOM, notably in the framework of its strategy on the western Mediterranean, an education and information policy on clandestine migration, both north and south of the Mediterranean;

vii.       consider the possibilities, at a forthcoming quadripartite meeting, of the MEDA programme financing projects and programmes designed to improve the humanitarian situation of clandestine migrants in the Mediterranean;

viii.       invite the member states, particularly those on the northern shore of the Mediterranean:

a. to step up bilateral co-operation with the southern shore of the Mediterranean in the field of illegal migration;

b. to set up independent structures to receive clandestine migrants and ensure that their fundamental rights are respected after their arrival;

ix.       invite the receiving states to develop, in co-operation with non-governmental organisations and local authorities, training and development aid programmes at local level in the migrants’ countries of origin.

II.       Draft order

1.       Having regard to its Recommendation ...., the Parliamentary Assembly has decided to step up its efforts to safeguard the fundamental and social rights of clandestine migrants and instructs its relevant committees to organise an inter-parliamentary colloquy on the subject with the participation of parliamentarians and representatives of governments and civil society on both shores of the Mediterranean as well as international organisations.

2.       The Assembly instructs its Political Affairs Committee to develop relations with the Moroccan parliament in order to initiate the process of associating parliamentarians of the countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean more closely with its work.

III.       Explanatory memorandum by Mrs Guirado

Contents

Page

1.       Foreword        6

2.       Introduction: Clandestine migration in the Mediterranean -

      controlling a common problem        7

3.       From freedom to clandestinity        8

      3.1.       Clandestine migration seen from

      3.2.       Push or pull?        8

      3.3.       Crossing the Mediterranean: smugglers and traffickers       9

      

4.       From clandestinity to clandestinity        10

      4.1.       Illegal arrival in Europe        10

      4.2.       Images of clandestine migrants        10

5.       Combating clandestinity        12

      5.1.       At European Union level        12

      5.2.       At state level       12

      5.3.       The rights of clandestine migrants       13

6.       Conclusion: In favour of trans-Mediterranean co-operation        13

1.       Foreword

1.       Because they had faith in Europe and its generosity, two young Guineans aged 14 and 15, Yaguine Koita and Fodé Tounkara, were found frozen to death on 2 August 1999 in the landing gear of an aircraft at Brussels airport. What could have been just an another illegal immigration tragedy touched the hearts of all Europeans, for the young men carried a letter addressed to them:

2.       "Your Excellencies, the Members and Leaders of Europe, We have the honour and pleasure of addressing this letter to you, with the greatest confidence, to explain why we are making this journey and tell you of the suffering of the children and young people of Africa. But first of all we would like to send you the sweetest, most delicious and respectful of greetings. […] We appeal to you, for the love of your fine continent [...] and in the name of our creator, God Almighty, who gave you the experience, wealth and power to build and organise our continent to be the finest, most admirable friend of others. We appeal to your solidarity and kindness to help the people of Africa. Please help us. The people of Africa are suffering terribly. Please help us, for we have many problems and not enough children's rights. We have the problems of war, disease, famine, etc. As for children's rights, we have schools in Africa, especially in Guinea, but very little teaching, except in private schools, where you can get a good education — but for this you need a lot of money and our parents are poor. […] So, you see, if we are prepared to make sacrifices, and even risk our lives, it is because there is too much suffering in Africa and we need you to help us combat poverty and put an end to war in Africa. We want to learn and we ask you to help us to study so that we can be like you in Africa. Please forgive us for daring to write this letter to such important people, to whom we owe the greatest respect. But please remember that it is your responsibility to help Africa to overcome its weakness."

2.       Introduction: clandestine migration in the Mediterranean — controlling a common problem

3.       For the southern Mediterranean countries,1 with a total population of 140 million, 40% of whom are under 15 years of age, emigration is a major social problem which shows no signs of letting up. The European states on the receiving end of the migration flows have responded over the last decade or so with a restrictive immigration policy, which is somewhat paradoxical: on the one hand they defend free movement of persons inside their borders as one of the basic principles of European integration and, on the other, they introduce tighter controls to prevent immigration.

4.       The illusion that states have migration flows towards Europe under control is increasingly belied by illegal, clandestine immigration, which has taken over from the legal channels and grown to considerable proportions. Although it is a key political and economic issue that carries considerable weight in relations between states to the north and south of the Mediterranean, clandestine migration to Europe is above all a serious humanitarian problem. Unfortunately, the political and financial means deployed in Europe to combat the effects of clandestine migration are out of all proportion with those used to tackle the causes.

5.       The Rapporteur believes that the Council of Europe is well-placed to play a key role in the establishment of a genuine dialogue on clandestine migration and the protection of the human rights of illegal migrants before and after they cross the Mediterranean. Although it goes virtually unnoticed, according to ATIME2 the clandestine migration flow to Europe, fuelled by a market of illusions and dreams, causes the death of 1 000 people a year in the Strait of Gibraltar alone and sucks countless people into the vicious circle of clandestinity. Most of them are between 16 and 30 years old.

6.       The case studies presented in this report, namely Morocco, a country of origin, and Italy and Spain, both receiving and transit countries, are meaningful only if placed in a more global context. It is no longer possible to consider countries of origin or transit and receiving countries as separate categories. Clandestine migration, seen from Morocco, is a reminder that this is a common problem which will only be solved if the states bordering on the Mediterranean but also the countries of destination in Europe are ready to work together to find common and lasting solutions.

7.       The information in this report is based mainly on the visit the Rapporteur made to Morocco from 1 to 5 May 1999 and on the hearings organised by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography in Palermo and Agrigento from 22 to 24 October 1998 and by the Sub-Committee on Migration in Rome on 30 March 1999 and in Malaga on 10 December 1999. The Rapporteur wishes to take this opportunity to thank all of the authorities concerned for their hospitality.

3.       From freedom to clandestinity

3.1       Clandestine migration seen from the south of the Mediterranean

8.       In the 1990s Europe experienced a marked increase in migration flows as a result of the disappearance of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, and also of population growth in the countries of northern and sub-Saharan Africa. The situation on the southern borders of Europe is different and clandestine migration there has recently increased significantly. The phenomenon is not new, however, having coexisted alongside legal migration since the 1950s and been tolerated in the north and even welcomed in view of the need for manpower.

9.       South of the Mediterranean, however, it is acknowledged that the phenomenon has taken on new proportions since the signature and implementation as of 1986 of the Schengen Agreements, and the idea that the situation is under control is merely an illusion: the effect of Schengen has been to increase clandestine migration from the Mediterranean into Europe. Since visas were introduced under the Schengen Agreements the number of Moroccans in Spain has increased from 60 000 to 140 000.

3.2       Push or pull?

10.       A survey published recently in Morocco suggests that almost 90% of young Moroccan people from 18 to 26 years of age want to leave their country. Whether they are thrust or drawn towards the northern shore of the Mediterranean, their motivations seem to be mainly economic, although political, demographic, sociological and geographical factors also play a part in this momentous decision. A study conducted by the Free University of Madrid in 1992 and 1996 provided a detailed picture of the regions in Morocco from where people migrate to Spain. It demonstrated the existence of specific localities in Morocco from where migration to particular regions of Spain takes place, which suggests that it would be useful to establish development poles in the Moroccan towns concerned.

11.       The economic motivations traditionally at the origin of international migration movements stem from the great differences in the levels of development, employment and income. Unemployment affects increasing numbers of people in the south, especially young people, who are the most "vulnerable" to emigration and get caught up in the spiral of petty crime in their anxiousness to leave the country at any cost. The difference in salary levels and social conditions on the other side of the Mediterranean makes emigration attractive. Migrants also have a very positive image in their countries of origin. The remittances made by immigrants to their countries of origin help to support the level of economic development in those countries. Indeed, in Morocco, such remittances are the second largest source of national income. Emigration is considered as an investment in itself,3 an economic project that obeys certain feasibility criteria. Whether legal or illegal, emigration is basically an expression of the economic disparities between the two shores of the Mediterranean.

12.       The media sometimes also play a counter-productive role in clandestine immigration. Television unwittingly gives credence to the illusion of a Europe where everything is possible, a stereotype corroborated by emigrants returning home for their holidays, who claim to be living very comfortably, if only to justify their own decision to leave home. The decision is generally taken without much enthusiasm; candidates for emigration rarely have a concrete plan or project and generally know very little about their place of destination. As emphasised by the participants at the Malaga hearing, it is essential for potential emigrants to be made aware of the actual possibilities that exist in Europe.

13.       The possibilities for lawful immigration have been greatly diminished. The excessively restrictive policy on visas more or less condemns those seeking a better life to use dangerous means to make the crossing. The economic demand remains and is largely satisfied through clandestine networks.

3.3       Crossing the Mediterranean: smugglers and traffickers

14.       The ignorance of candidates for clandestine emigration is skilfully used by the expanding networks of smugglers for their own, considerable enrichment4. The smugglers are perfectly well organised and highly instrumental in encouraging emigration as they propose an interesting alternative to legal migration: a "ready-made" new life, "proper" papers and promises of employment which, in most cases, mean undeclared work or prostitution. Those who take the bait must then "go clandestine", stowing away on ships or lorries or paying large sums to make the crossing in small 26-foot boats called "pateras". It is a source of concern that more and more minors are embarking on this journey. The first to leave pay the highest price and often fall into traps, while those who follow have the benefit of more information and are better able to exploit the possibilities for clandestine emigration.

15.       For want of reliable statistics it is difficult to say how many smugglers there are and how many people they smuggle. They rarely make news unless something goes wrong, tragically wrong. During the first six months of 1998, for example, the Spanish guardia civil intercepted 270 boats in the Strait of Gibraltar alone and arrested 7 000 clandestine migrants. In July 1998 almost 3 000 immigrants from Tunisia were apprehended in Italy. In April 1999 52 members of a smuggling ring were arrested in Germany. They had smuggled more than 40 000 people all over Europe, only 1 000 of whom had managed to enter Germany illegally. The number of illegal immigrants in Germany is increasing: there were at least 40 200 in 1998 compared with 35 200 in 1997. 12 000 of them had been taken in charge by smuggling rings, who charge up to DEM 20 000 for a passage to Germany. As few migrants can afford such sums, they agree to pay the smugglers off by forced labour in the catering or building trades or in prostitution. Clandestine convoys are also often used to smuggle arms, drugs or cars.

16.       Efforts to combat this traffic are virtually ineffectual. In 1998 the Spanish police dismantled 81 gangs and arrested 200 people,5 but the culprits are not detained for long, for under Spanish law illegal trafficking in workers is a minor offence not punishable by imprisonment.

17.       As it is increasingly difficult to emigrate legally, people are resorting to the highly dangerous and inhuman alternative of clandestine migration. In a manner of speaking they are giving up their rights in exchange for a new, clandestine life, on the fringe of the institutional system, with its own underground economy. Clandestine migrants often have no idea of what makes them want to emigrate, and their desire to leave their own country at any price clouds out any thought of the risks they may encounter.

4.       From clandestinity to clandestinity

4.1       Illegal arrival in Europe

18.       Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island, is regarded as Europe’s Achilles’ heel. Over 8 000 illegal migrants from Tunisia landed there between 1996 and 1998 and headed on to France, Germany or Belgium. This is made possible by the so-called Martelli Act, legislation that is not in conformity with the Schengen Agreements. The presence of illegal migrants has caused many problems on the island. The local population, feeling angry and abandoned, has threatened to bring the island to a standstill. At the same time, the clandestine migrants themselves are subject to inhuman treatment, as they arrive on vessels that are scarcely seaworthy, which sometimes sink during the crossing.

19.       The Sub-Committee on Migration was able to visit the Andalusia Detention Centre in Malaga, where clandestine adult immigrants from various regions of Spain are held temporarily. At the time of the visit, the centre had 27 detainees of ten different nationalities, including Ukrainians, Romanians and Bulgarians. These illegal immigrants may be held in the centre for up to forty days, after which they are deported to their country of origin. If their own country does not recognise them, they have the possibility of staying in Spain and applying for stateless-person status. All of those deported return. Several of the detainees in the centre had already made many attempts at entering the country.

20.       The Government of the Autonomous Region of Andalusia, which runs a policy aimed at integrating immigrants, whose contribution in economic, social and cultural terms it recognises, wishes to see a new approach to immigration, under which migration is accepted as a stable rather than a temporary phenomenon. Andalusia has historically had very close ties with North Africa, and rejects the “sealing off” of the Strait of Gibraltar, which does not prevent thousands of clandestine immigrants landing on its shores and also leads to many deaths. Rather than acting as Europe’s policeman, it wants to be a welcoming region and a doorway leading to Europe.

21.       Towns and cities in Italy, Spain and Greece which first receive clandestines are often overwhelmed by these massive arrivals. They need support at the European level and effective co-operation with the regions to the south of the Mediterranean.

22.       Once they reach their destination, illegal immigrants must stay out of trouble. They can have no contact with the administration or the police, they receive no payslips and they live in almost total clandestinity. Sometimes they are arrested on the strength of denunciations.

4.2       Images of clandestine migrants

23.       What is more, illegal migrants are perceived as "bad" migrants and a hindrance to legal migration and the integration of foreigners in the host country. Clandestinity leads to the gradual restriction of foreigners' rights, the formation of ghettos and crime. It is difficult, if not impossible, for illegal immigrants to lead a normal life, so there is a danger of creating a community of second-class citizens who are easy to exploit and may be forced to resort to illegal activities to survive.

24.       The very notion of an "illegal emigrant" has been strongly challenged by the Ecumenical Council6, on the ground that only merchandise can be labelled illegal, whereas people obliged to leave their country for political, economic or social reasons should be thought of as "displaced" persons.

25.       Sociologist Claude-Valentin Mane defines illegal immigrants as "variable-geometry social figures who change with the political tide from factors of economic equilibrium to threats to law and order or symbols of capitalist exploitation".7

26.       The control system tends to heighten suspicion towards foreigners and no distinction is made between the different types of illegal immigrant, whose motives may be economic, criminal or simply to flee persecution in their own country, in which case they have the right to asylum. Most news reports concerning emigration are negative in tone. Often, the image of clandestine immigrants conveyed on television can mislead viewers or is tinged with xenophobia. Journalists must weigh their words carefully, given the consequences they can have.

27.       Journalists play a part in creating stereotypes in the host countries that can lead to xenophobic attitudes: they have a filtering and a monitoring function. The media have an educational role. They must explain the changes in a society that is moving towards a multicultural model under the impact of globalisation and must also help to get people to accept differences. Liberalisation of markets and capital must go hand in hand with freedom of movement for individuals. Only reporting on incidents at borders would show profound misunderstanding of the process of social change affecting our planet. Journalists must be careful in three specific regards: they must provide reliable and factual information that is in context and explains the causality of events; they must avoid presenting the most spectacular cases anecdotally; and they must avoid the tendency to make news a form of entertainment rather than a service and present any dramatic news items in a thought-provoking manner.

28.       Paradoxically, news overkill can actually lead to public indifference. The media play an important role because of the image they convey of our societies. Their aims must be to place emphasis on solidarity between host countries’ own nationals and immigrants and to try and change attitudes. Campaigns are now being started to this end and also with a view to dispelling the myth of endlessly wealthy countries by showing the people of North Africa the reality of life north of the Mediterranean.

29.       For want of resources, television stations in the Maghreb region often relay material from their European counterparts. On the whole, a positive image of migrants is conveyed. The print media in Morocco look at the economic aspects of emigration, but are also showing ever-greater interest in the human ones.

5.       Combating clandestinity

5.1       At European Union level

30.       Combating illegal immigration is a priority for Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. During the nineties, these countries have expanded and tightened their measures against illegal immigration and passed more restrictive legislation on the matter. The main measures they have taken include the introduction of new offences concerning illegal entry (in the United Kingdom, giving shelter to an illegal immigrant has been punishable by law since 1996), increases in existing penalties (in Germany, the penalty for attempting to enter the country illegally or helping people to do so was increased in 1997), stricter measures to combat clandestine employment (in the Netherlands, employing clandestine workers was made a more serious offence in 1993) and a significant increase in the number of obligations and penalties imposed on transport companies8.

31.       Border controls have been tightened in all of these countries. The conditions migrants must meet before they are allowed in legally are more pernickety, and even when they do have the requisite papers and visas they are not necessarily always allowed in. Consulates often have discretionary powers when it comes to issuing visas. Between 1987 and 1994, the total number of visas issued dropped from 5.6 to 2.3 million9.

32.       The police in eight states (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey) have joined together to step up their co-operation to combat illegal immigration through stricter controls at the European Union’s external borders and by setting up a system for exchanging information via Europol. The states concerned hope to combat the actions of smugglers through increased co-operation and information exchanges between border authorities and national police forces and between national intelligence services and Europol, as well as the posting of soldiers at borders to step up controls.

33.       On 8 October 1998, on the initiative of Ms Terrón i Cusí (PSE), the European Parliament adopted a resolution on co-operation with Mediterranean countries on matters of migration. The resolution calls for the development of a common EU immigration and asylum policy, the strengthening of the existing monitoring of illegal trafficking and the agreement of specific control and assistance measures as regards illegal immigrants. At the same time, it calls on non-EU countries to negotiate specific measures for the readmission and reintegration of illegal immigrants and calls for increased co-operation with the relevant countries with the aim of adopting concrete measures, with the co-operation of Europol, to tackle the role of organised crime in illegal immigration.10

34.       The European Council meeting in Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999 laid the foundations for a new common asylum and immigration policy. On the initiative of the government of the Netherlands, a high-level group was tasked with choosing six pilot countries (Afghanistan, Albania, Morocco, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Iraq) for which action plans have been adopted. The action plans provide for the implementation of around a hundred projects, with funding for 70 of them. The plans are divided into three sections: foreign policy dialogue, economic co-operation and technical and financial support. The European Parliament has been asked to report on the matter.

5.2       At state level

35.       Controls on entry have been stepped up in most Council of Europe member states and the number of illegal immigrants arrested has increased in many countries. Between 1996 and 1997, for instance, it grew by 30% in Germany, 24% in the Czech Republic and 23% in the United Kingdom. Over the same period, the number of smugglers arrested also increased, the arrests being followed by prison sentences of two to four years (in Denmark) or up to six years (in Bulgaria). Nevertheless, clandestine immigration is growing constantly and is becoming more and more organised.

36.       Transit countries (such as Greece, Croatia, Turkey and Ukraine), which were traditionally countries of emigration, are gradually becoming countries of residence for illegal immigrants. This development is due in part to the strict immigration controls imposed by west European countries. To deal with this problem, Romania and Hungary introduced (in 1996 and 1998 respectively) compulsory transit visas for people from certain African countries and other regions where large numbers of migrants come from. Other countries (Slovakia, Poland) are looking to the European institutions for assistance in dealing with the influx and gradually bringing their legislation into line with that of EU member states.

37.       In addition, some countries such as Italy and Greece adopted temporary measures in 1997 to regularise the situation of illegal immigrants (in particular, Moroccans and Tunisians) already on their territory, in order to put an end to the exploitation of foreign workers.

5.3       The rights of clandestine migrants

38.       The battle against illegal immigration deprives illegal aliens of their fundamental rights such as the right to health care, to welfare, to schooling or to a minimum income. Moreover, clandestine immigrants must be guaranteed the right of defence if their human rights are not to be violated.

39.       European countries should remember that emigration is a fundamental human right and that clandestine immigrants should be treated in the same way as legal immigrants and should, in particular, be granted the right to housing, the right of residence, the right to employment, civic and political rights, the right to nationality, the right to social security and freedom of association. They should also remember that immigration is a structural phenomenon that reflects a demand for labour. Emigration is not therefore an evil but a necessity, and much of it can be dealt with in an appropriate legal framework.

6.       Conclusion: In favour of trans-Mediterranean co-operation

40.       With less than 10 miles separating it from the African continent, Europe is considered to be jointly responsible for clandestine immigration. In spite of its substantial financial support, it does not seem to be interested in genuine dialogue or co-operation in the field. The long-term remedies to the root causes of migration, both legal and illegal, do not lie in development aid or in traditional immigration policy.

41.       The loss of human life in the Mediterranean basin, not only in the Strait of Gibraltar but also off the shores of Italy and Greece, the humanitarian consequences of clandestine migration across the Mediterranean and the organised crime involved call for close co-operation between the states to the north and south of the Mediterranean and also with the other countries concerned. While the interests of these states may differ, their attitudes towards the humanitarian problem should be a priority.

42.       This co-operation should go hand in hand with joint reflection on the true political, economic, social and humanitarian causes of clandestine migration and the protection of human rights in the countries of origin.

43.       The Rapporteur submits the proposals set out in the draft recommendation and the draft order.

*

* *

Reporting committee: Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography.

Budgetary implications for the Assembly: approximately 300 000 Frs

Reference to committee: Doc. 8169 and Reference No. 2466 of 4 November 1999.

Draft recommendation and draft order unanimously adopted by the committee on 17 December 1999.

Members of the committee: Mr Díaz de Mera (Chairman), Mr Iwiński (Vice-Chairman), Mrs Aguiar, MM. Akselsen, Amoruso, Mrs Arnold, MM. Atkinson, Aushev (Alternate: Mr Fyodorov), Mrs Björnemalm, MM. Bogomolov (Alternate: Mr Maltsev), Bösch, Brancati, Branger, Mrs Bušić, MM. Chiliman (Alternate: Mr Pop), Chitaia, Christodoulides, Chyzh, Cilevičs, Connor (Alternate: Mr Kiely), Debarge, Mrs Dumont, Mr Einarsson, Mrs Err, Mrs Fehr, MM. Filimonov, Frimannsdóttir (Alternate: Mrs Hlödversdóttir), Ghiletchi, Hrebenciuc (Alternate: Mr Paslaru), Ivanov, Jakic, Lord Judd, Mrs Karlsson, MM. Koulouris, Kozlowski, Laakso, Lauricella, Liapis, Luís, Mrs Markovska (Alternate: Mr Gligoroski), MM. Mateju, Melo, Minkov, Moreels, Mularoni, Mutman, Ouzky, Pullicino Orlando (Alternate: Mr Attard Montalto), Rakhansky, Mrs Rastauskiené, Mrs Roth, MM. von Schmude, Szinyei, Tabajdi, Tahir, Telek, Thönnes, Tkác, Vanoost, Verhagen, Mrs Vermot-Mangold (Alternate: Mr Gross), Mr Wray, Mrs Zwerver.

N.B. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in italics.

Secretaries of the committee: Mr Newman, Mrs Nachilo, Mr Adelsbach.

1 Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia.

2 ATIME: Association of Immigrant Moroccan Workers in Spain.

3 Mohamed Khachani, "Factors affecting South-North emigration", Experts’meeting on migration and human exchanges, The Hague, 1-2 March 1999.

4 According to the IOM smuggling human beings is an activity that brings in USD 7 billion a year world-wide (Ghosh B., Huddled Masses and Uncertain Shores, IOM, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague, London and Boston, 1998).

5 Source: Matices, Zeitschrift zu Lateinamerika, Spanien und Portugal (http://www.is-koeln.de/matices/19/19pgibra.htm).

6 Source: Reformierter Pressedienst, 3 December 1997.

7 Claude-Valentin Mane, "Entre économie et politique: le "clandestin", une figure sociale à géometrie variable", in Pouvoirs no 47, 1988.

8 Source: “L’immigration et le droit d’asile”, French Senate.

9 Source: Daniele Lochak, “Bons étrangers et mauvais clandestins” in Le Monde Diplomatique, November 1997.

10 See O.J., series C 328/184 of 26 October 1998.