|
|
Doc. 8782
27 June 2000
Clandestine immigration and the fight against traffickers
Report
Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography
Rapporteur: Mr Andreas Gross, Switzerland, Socialist Group
Summary
The tragic death in horrifying circumstances of 58 illegal immigrants of Chinese origin, discovered during a border check at the port of Dover is only the top of the iceberg of human trafficking. It is estimated that 30 million people are smuggled across international frontiers every year, while between 400.000 and 500.000 illegal migrants annually enter the European Union. Some 3 million persons are believed to reside illegally in Europe.
By strongly condemning human trafficking as a violation of fundamental human rights, the Parliamentary Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers initiate, in close cooperation with the European Union, effective political and legal cooperation between the member states with view to reducing illegal immigration and combating human trafficking. This should include the drafting of a convention designed to combat clandestine immigration in all its forms, with provision for penalties for traffickers and employers of illegal immigrants. Furthermore, the Assembly urges its member states to fully respect the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees, to step up their financial and technical resources devoted to combating human trafficking, to increase information and education programmes on clandestine immigration in the countries of origin and to step up their official development assistance to the internationally agreed target of 0,7 % of gross national product.
I. Draft recommendation
1. The Parliamentary Assembly voices its shock at the tragic death in horrifying circumstances of 58 illegal immigrants of Chinese origin, discovered in the back of a lorry during a border check at the port of Dover. Their death ends what is certain to have been several harrowing months spent in transit along human trafficking routes through a number of European countries.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly is deeply concerned at the increasing number of migrants who lose their lives while attempting to enter the territory of the member states illegally or who live in often extremely dangerous and inhuman conditions before, during and after their illegal entry into Europe.
3. The tragedy in Dover is only the top of the iceberg of human trafficking. It is estimated that 30 million people are smuggled across international frontiers every year, while between 400.000 and 500.000 illegal migrants annually enter the European Union. Some 3 million persons are believed to reside illegally in Europe, especially in Southern Europe (Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain) and Germany.
4. The Parliamentary Assembly strongly condemns human trafficking, which is a violation of fundamental human rights.
5. The Parliamentary Assembly recalls and reaffirms its Recommendation 1211 (1993) on clandestine migration: traffickers and employers of clandestine migrants, its Recommendation 1325 (1997) on traffic in women and forced prostitution in Council of Europe member states and its Recommendation 1449 (2000) on clandestine migration from the south of the Mediterranean into Europe, which underlines that emigration is a fundamental human right. The Assembly calls attention to the contradiction that no such right exists for immigration.
6. The Assembly strongly emphasises that those escaping persecution and seeking international protection must in no circumstances be turned back at the border, even if they are undocumented, in accordance with the provisions of the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees.
7. Recommendation 1449 points out that draconian restrictions on lawful immigration introduced by European countries increase the likelihood of people illegally entering Europe since they encourage recourse to the services of unscrupulous traffickers of human beings, using increasingly sophisticated and inhuman means to make money out of clandestine migration. The Assembly stresses that European countries cannot at the same time increase their restrictions on immigration and reduce their overseas development assistance. They should raise their official development assistance to the internationally recognised target level of 0.7 % of gross national product.
8. The Assembly is convinced that, besides stepping up security measures and control mechanisms at the European borders to apprehend clandestine immigrants, member states should increase their cooperation to effectively combat human trafficking, and do their utmost to find ways to stop this modern slavery on their territory. They also should take more seriously the root causes of clandestine migration and cooperate more with the countries of origin of clandestine immigrants.
9. The Assembly underlines that greater opportunities for lawful immigration have to be created in order to reduce the pressure for illegal immigration and to find adequate alternatives to clandestine migration. The possibilities of offering fixed-term or seasonal schemes for work purposes have to be reconsidered in the light of the growing demand in Europe for migrant labour.
10. The Assembly welcomes the commitment to step up cooperation in the fight against human trafficking expressed in the statements on the Dover tragedy and the need to jointly combat human trafficking made by the European Council, the European Parliament, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and stresses the need for close inter-parliamentary cooperation with the European Parliament and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in this respect.
11. The Assembly therefore recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
i. initiate effective cooperation between the member states with a view to reducing illegal immigration and combating human trafficking by:
a. analysing, in cooperation with relevant organisations, the causes and consequences of illegal migration into Europe;
b. sharing information and producing accurate data on every aspect of illegal migration and trafficking;
c. increasing training and support programmes for those who are in direct contact with illegal immigrants;
d. formulating guidelines for a more harmonised and global policy and legislation on illegal migration into Europe;
e. drawing up a convention designed to combat clandestine immigration in all its forms, with provisions for protection of illegal immigrants as well as for penalties for traffickers and employers of illegal immigrants, and drawing upon the provisions of Resolution 1983/30 of the United Nations Economic and Social Council on the suppression of the traffic in persons and of the exploitation of the prostitution of others and Resolution 1991/35 on the suppression of the traffic in persons;
ii. condemn the contradiction whereby the member states are increasing their restrictions on immigration while allowing their official development assistance to stagnate or diminish;
iii. initiate, without delay, effective cooperation with the European Union in the aforementioned fields, with the aim of elaborating and implementing a pan-European strategy in the fight against clandestine immigration and trafficking in human beings;
iv. urge the member states:
a. to fulfil their commitments under the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol in all circumstances and, in particular, respect its Article 31 on refugees unlawfully in the country of refuge and Article 33 on the prohibition of expulsion or return ("non-refoulement");
b. to step up their financial and technical resources devoted to combating human trafficking;
c. in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), to step up resources devoted to information and education programmes on the reality likely to be experienced by clandestine migrants in transit and on reaching the target country;
d. to step up their official development assistance to the internationally agreed target of 0,7 % of gross national product, if this has not yet been reached;
e. to review their own immigration and asylum policies.
II. Explanatory memorandum by Mr Gross
1. Introduction
1. On 19 June 2000, customs officers found 58 dead bodies and two survivors in the back of a Dutch-registered lorry at the port of Dover, United Kingdom. The victims, after having illegally entered Europe, had transited via Zeebrugge in Belgium. Several arrests have since been made.
2. The young men and women, of Chinese origin, who died by suffocation under horrible circumstances, certainly followed the same route as many of other clandestine immigrants before them: recruited in their country with an offer of a better life in a prosperous country amongst their well established compatriots, and then being sold a journey through several countries to finally arrive in Europe. The hidden but real aim behind this move was certainly to supply the thriving clandestine labour market.
3. In its Recommendation 1449 (2000) on "Clandestine migration from the south of the Mediterranean into Europe"1, adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly in January 2000, the Assembly drew attention to the gravity and complexity of this issue. It expressed the conviction that the restrictions on lawful migration increase the likelihood of people entering Europe illegally and 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.
4. Many public statements have been released since 19 June, most expressing horror and sympathy, some expressing the fear that humanitarian and international organisations, by promoting the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, or the right to legal emigration have –unwittingly – contributed to the increase in clandestine immigration, and consequently, to the traffic of human beings.
5. Here it must be clearly emphasised that freedom of movement, and in particular the right to leave any country including one's own, is enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Protocol No. 4). It must be stressed even more strongly that the rights of asylum seekers and refugees must be protected in accordance with member states commitments under the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol. There can be no derogation from these obligations which are necessary to allow those who have fled persecution to seek and find international protection. Thus, in particular, countries in which asylum seekers arrive must under no circumstances turn them away (Article 33) but must give their applications for asylum proper consideration. This is true whether the asylum seeker arrived in the country legally or illegally (Article 31). There may indeed be very good reasons why asylum seekers turn to traffickers for forged documents and the expertise needed to reach a safe country of potential refuge.
6. The Assembly is more than ever determined to take a leading role in promoting dialogue and cooperation at the level of the member states of the Council of Europe, in coordination with the European Union, to effect a strategy change: to concentrate efforts in the fight not against the clandestine immigrants, still less asylum seekers, but against the organised crime of trafficking in human beings, which is a clear violation of human rights, and is consolidating in many of the member states a modern slave market.
2. "A tragic signal"
7. The President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Lord Russell-Johnston, voiced his shock at the tragic deaths, expressing his repugnance at the unscrupulous traffickers in human beings, who must be found quickly and brought to court. "Decisive steps are necessary in the fight against networks of organised crime promoting a modern form of disguised slavery", he declared.
8. Earlier, Lord Russell-Johnston brought to the attention of the Parliamentary Summit of the Council of Europe on 5 and 6 May 2000 the theme "What could be the role of parliaments in the combat against organised crime and corruption?" - suggesting that legislation should be adapted to the requirements of international co-operation in order to face internationally based crime and to speed up the process of signature and ratification of the numerous existing international legal instruments to fight corruption and organised crime, including those of the Council of Europe.
9. The President of the European Parliament summed up the position taken by the European Council at its meeting in Feira on 19-20 June 2000. Mrs Nicole Fontaine said that "the Dover tragedy is a tragic signal for the Fifteen" and that she was "deeply moved and concerned by the tragic deaths of men and women who, like the young Guineans who died in the landing gear of a European aircraft, had placed all their hopes in Europe". "The European Union's response must be immediate and encompass a genuine common immigration policy as well as a redefinition of North-South relations which will give priority to support for economic development and access to knowledge". She noted that the Treaty of Amsterdam had entered into force a year ago and that the Tampere European Council had been held six months ago. The legal bases for the action were therefore available, but genuine political will was needed. She hoped that the Fifteen would be able to take rapid decisions, first among which would be more severe and harmonised punishment of traffickers in human beings. "If the Fifteen were unable to achieve this, she hoped that the members of the Schengen Accords would2."
10. The European Council expressed its shock at the tragic deaths of the 58 foreign nationals arriving in the United Kingdom. It condemned "the criminal acts of those who profit from such traffic in human beings and committed the European Union to intensified cooperation to defeat such cross-border crime, which has caused so many other deaths across Europe. It called on the incoming French Presidency and the Commission to take forward urgently the Tampere conclusions in this area, in particular close cooperation between Member states and Europol in detecting and dismantling the criminal networks involved in this trafficking and by adopting severe sanctions against those involved in this serious and despicable crime3".
11. The European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, Mr António Vitorino, declared on 19 June that a common, global immigration and asylum policy has urgently to be found, based on the development of the fight against illegal immigration and all those who organise it, as well as the increase of the cooperation concerning the access to member states of the European Union. He also declared that a new policy should include the creation of partnerships with the countries of origin, in order to ensure their development and stability.
12. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) declared that the Organisation is "deeply shocked and saddened by the deaths of 58 people whose bodies were found crammed in the back of a truck at Dover, England today. Although few details have yet emerged on this tragedy, initial media reports note that Dover has often been used as a route for smuggling people into Britain. The horrific consequences of human trafficking are being seen not only in Europe, but worldwide. This is a sad reflection of a variety of factors, including poverty, tightened migration policies, violent conflicts and abuse of human rights. Assistant High Commissioner Soren Jessen-Petersen said the international community must do more to stop this callous, cynical and often deadly exploitation of the weak and powerless, whether they be migrants or those fleeing persecution and war. Jessen-Petersen noted that many recognized refugees in Europe had been obliged to use traffickers. "We at UNHCR are saddened, horrified and outraged by what we are now seeing all too often in ports and entry points and along isolated trafficking routes around the world," Jessen-Petersen said. "This latest tragedy underscores the urgent necessity – and international responsibility – for finding better ways of managing the global movement of people so they no longer fall prey to those who thrive and profit on human misery and abuse4."
3. Human trafficking
13. Internationally, there seems to be no real consensus on the term "trafficking". In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly, focusing exclusively on trafficking in women, considered trafficking as the "illicit and clandestine movement of persons across national and international borders, largely from developing countries and some countries with economies in transition, with the end goal of forcing women and girl children into sexually or economically oppressive and exploitative situations for the profit of recruiters, traffickers, crime syndicates, as well as other illegal activities related to trafficking, such as forced domestic labour, false marriages, clandestine employment and false adoption.
14. The Parliamentary Assembly's Recommendation 1325 (1997) on traffic in women and forced prostitution in Council of Europe member states defines traffic in women and forced prostitution as "any legal or illegal transporting of women and/or trade in them, with or without their initial consent, for economic gain, with the purpose of subsequent forced prostitution, forced marriage, or other forms of forced sexual exploitation. The use of force may be physical, sexual and/or psychological, and includes intimidation, rape, abuse of authority or a situation of dependence".
15. In 1996 the European Parliament defined trafficking in human beings as "the illegal action of someone who, directly or indirectly, encourages a citizen from a third country to enter or stay in another country in order to exploit that person by using deceit or any other form of coercion by abusing that person's vulnerable situation or administrative status."
16. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), trafficking occurs when a migrant is illicitly engaged (recruited, kidnapped, sold, etc.) and/or moved, either within national or across international borders; when intermediaries (traffickers) during any part of this process obtain economic or other profit by means of deception, coercion and/or other forms of exploitation under conditions that violate the fundamental human rights of migrants."5
4. A lucrative business
17. Trafficking migrants has become a very lucrative business, and people try fully to exploit the misery of the disadvantaged or the determination of those who want to change their lives, whether because of persecution or economic hardship. The magazine "Cross Border Control"6 states that the business of trafficking in human beings earns more than seven billion dollars annually world-wide in untaxed profits, one to one and a half billion dollars in Europe alone.
18. Traffickers themselves may range from fishermen or boat owners – for example providing a "service" from the Southern or Eastern shores of the Mediterranean to Italy or Spain – to those who recruit candidates, provide them with transport through different countries by different means, issue false identity cards and "find jobs" in the country of destination. The price, of course, increases with the complexity of the "offer". Several routes, to southern, eastern or northern Europe exist and are well known.
19. It is evident that there are no reliable data on this phenomenon and that discussion of the whole problem is largely based on assumptions. What is certain, however, is that the number of illegal migrants has increased since 1980. 400.000 people are estimated to enter the EU illegally every year. British immigration authorities estimate that 10.000 illegal immigrants per month pass through ports and immigration checkpoints in the United Kingdom. On average, more than 200 a week are caught by British inspectors and sent back to the Continent7. The NGO "UNITED for intercultural action" said that "more than 2000 refugees and migrants have died in and around Europe since 1993 as a result of European refugee policies. Instead of finding a safe place and a better perspective for their life people have drowned, suffocated, been beaten to death by racist attackers, gagged to death by policemen or committed suicide in despair."8
5. Push and pull factors
20. There are very basic reasons which "push" migrants and refugees to leave their countries: the so-called "welfare gap" between rich and poor countries, demographic trends with high concentrations of young people in many developing countries, political instability and human rights abuses, religious conflict, social disparities, deteriorating health care and the degradation of the environment.
21. Thus, there is a continuous "demand" for emigration in the south and east which is cleverly used and stimulated by internationally organised gangs. This clearly builds on the "pull" of a better life in western countries, nourished by labour demand in receiving countries which may increase in years to come as Europe's active population diminishes on account of its ageing demographic structure. The dream of "Eldorado" is also stimulated by media advertising and entertainment which convey appealing images and stereotypes. Young people show the greatest interest in leaving their country where prospects are poor.
22. These factors, combined with the growing restrictions on entry to Europe, explain why illegal immigration is on the rise. It is therefore illusory to seek to tighten immigration restrictions on the one hand, and allow official development assistance to stagnate or even decline, as is happening in several member states. Overseas development assistance must be
considerably increased, otherwise the pressure for clandestine immigration will certainly do so. Very few countries have reached the internationally agreed target of 0.7% of gross national product.
23. Illegal immigrants have to continue their illegal and hidden life in the country of their destination, and very often end up in well-organised criminal rings, dealing in drugs or prostitution from which they cannot escape. Of course they have no social protection.
24. When they reach their final destination, illegal immigrants have already accumulated an impressive list of offences. They remain, de facto, in contact with criminal circles and are motivated to commit offences in order to survive or to pay back the immense debts owed to the "organisers" of their journey.
25. This situation leads to a nearly total dependency on the trafficker. The presence of illegal immigrants may also provide fertile ground for racism and xenophobia within the host country.
6. Increasing European cooperation against human trafficking and for the protection of its victims
26. As the Assembly has recommended before (Recommendations 1211 (1993) and 1449 (2000)), Council of Europe member states should seek more effective common policies to combat trafficking in persons and to reduce illegal immigration. Legislation should be harmonised since there are considerable differences between Council of Europe member states. Existing laws and regulations on illegal migration and the punishment of human trafficking should be reviewed.
27. In this context, there must be close coordination between the European Union and those Council of Europe member states which are not EU members. The Dover tragedy shows clearly that there can be no European immigration policy that does not affect all European states. Even EU countries outside the "Schengen" system, for example, may suffer its consequences.
28. Illegal immigrants, in particular women and children, are always victims, often simply treated as "goods" on an existing market. They need a legal framework which guarantees protection, rather than punishment.
29. Action taken to tighten Europe's border controls, increased police cooperation and apprehension and expulsion of illegal immigrants are necessary, but these measures must be applied in a comprehensive and global approach to the problem, in order to be effective on a long-term basis. Expulsion measures and procedures, moreover, must be conducted with regard to the highest humanitarian and human rights standards.
7. Conclusion
30. In conclusion, a major effort must be made at European level to stem illegal migration and to suppress the activities of traffickers in people which result in massive violation of human rights. At the same time, greater opportunities for lawful immigration must be created and the indispensable right of asylum seekers to have their applications properly considered must be respected. The proposals made in the draft recommendation are designed to promote these objectives. The Parliamentary Assembly is accordingly invited to endorse them.
Reporting Committee: Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography.
Budgetary implications for the Assembly: none.
Reference to committee: urgent debate, Reference No. 2513, 26 June 2000.
Draft recommendation unanimously adopted by the committee on 27 June 2000.
Members of the committee: Mr Díaz de Mera (Chairman), Mr Iwiński (1st Vice-Chairman), Mrs Vermot-Mangold (2nd Vice-Chairman), Mr Christodoulides (3rd Vice-Chairman), Mrs Aguiar, MM. Aliev, Amoruso, Mrs Arnold, Mrs Björnemalm, MM. Brancati, Branger, Mrs Bušić, MM. Chiliman, Chyzh, Cilevičs, Connor, Debarge, Mrs Dumont, Mr Einarsson, Mrs Err, Mrs Fehr, Mrs Frimannsdóttir, MM. Ghiletchi, Hrebenciuc, Ivanov, Jakic, Lord Judd, MM. Koulouris (alternate: Mrs Kanelli), Kozlowski, Laakso, Lauricella, Liapis (Mrs Katseli), Lippelt, Mrs Lopez Gonsalez (alternate: Mr de Aristegui), Luís, Mrs Markovska, MM. Mateju, Melo (alternate: Begaj), Minkov, Moreels, Mularoni, Mutman, Mrs Ninoshvili, MM. Norvoll, Ouzky, Pullicino Orlando, Rakhansky, Rogozin, von Schmude, Schweitzer, Slutsky, Mrs Stoisits, MM. Szinyei, Tabajdi, Tahir, Telek, Thönnes, Tkác, Vanoost, Verhagen, Wilkinson, Wray (alternate: Hancock), Mrs Zwerver, N… (alternate: Mrs Sadeikiené).
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.
2 Source: European Parliament Press service
3 Source: European Council Press service
4 Source: UNHCR Press service
5 Source: IOM
6 Thomas Tass, The migrant mafia, in Cross Border Control, issue 8, March-May 1998
7 Source: CNN, 19 June 2000
8 UNITED for intercultural action publishes the details of the 2.000 victims on their website http://www.united.non-profit.nl