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Doc. 9378
1 March 2002
Arrival of asylum seekers at European airports
Recommendation 1475 (2000)
Reply from the Committee of Ministers
adopted at the 785th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (26–27 February 2002)
1. The Committee of Ministers has noted with interest Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1475 (2000) on arrival of asylum seekers at European airports.
2. The Committee of Ministers acknowledges the special situation in which asylum seekers find themselves on arrival at airports. This is reflected in the Recommendations which the Committee of Ministers has adopted on the question. As noted by the Assembly, Recommendation No. R(94)5 on guidelines to inspire practices of Council of Europe member states concerning the arrival of asylum seekers at European airports warrants particular attention.
3. The Committee of Ministers took note of the very full set of legal, material and humanitarian measures for member states which the Assembly puts forward in paragraph 10 of its Recommendation. The Committee of Ministers has duly forwarded Recommendation 1475 (2000) to member states so that they are informed of the suggestions which it contains.
4. In this connection, and in addition to Recommendation R(94)5, the Committee of Ministers draws attention to the relevant provisions of Recommendation R(97)22 containing guidelines on the application of the safe third country concept, Recommendation R(98)13 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the right of rejected asylum-seekers to an effective remedy against decisions on expulsion in the context of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Recommendation R(98)15 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the training of officials who first come into contact with asylum seekers, in particular at border points, and, lastly, Recommendation R(99)12 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the return of rejected asylum seekers. The relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights also gives member states important guidance, which the Committee of Ministers also draws on.
5. With regard to paragraph 9 of the Recommendation, the Committee of Ministers would inform the Assembly that the ad hoc Committee of Experts on Legal Aspects of Territorial Asylum, Refugees and Stateless Persons (CAHAR) has begun an enquiry to ascertain to what extent the various Committee of Ministers Recommendations on asylum matters are being implemented. The next stage in the enquiry will consist in asking member states to report on the implementation of provisions of Recommendation R(94)5 concerning arrival of asylum seekers at European airports and on action taken on the specific points which the Assembly raises in its Report on arrival of asylum seekers at European airports (doc. 8761). The Committee of Ministers, in particular through the CAHAR, facilitates Europe-wide co-operation on assessment of the situation regarding asylum seekers in the light of international standards and instruments to do with refugees.
6. The Committee of Ministers would likewise draw the Assembly’s attention to Recommendation (CommDH(2001)1) of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the rights of foreigners wishing to enter the territory of Council of Europe member states and on the execution of expulsion decisions. The Recommendation was drawn up following a seminar organised by the Commissioner, held in Strasbourg from 20 to 22 June 2001; during the seminar the participants examined the legal framework and practice relating to aliens at the frontier of a member state, with particular reference to the European Convention on Human Rights and the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees, as well as to national laws and regulations and the relevant provisions of the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. With regard to the asylum-seekers referred to in Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1475, the Commissioner’s Recommendation stresses that these persons must be able, where appropriate, to lodge a request for asylum, enumerates a number of standards for the treatment of persons held in waiting areas and points out that the right of effective remedy must be guaranteed to anyone wishing to challenge a driving back or expulsion order.
7. With regard to paragraph 11, the Committee of Ministers points out the importance of training for those officials who make the first contact with asylum seekers, at border points. It recognises the value of the various Council of Europe and European Union programmes on administrative co-operation in asylum matters and encourages member states to make use of those programmes. In addition the Committee of Ministers recognises UNHCR expertise in the training of border officials and the need for member states to step up co-operation with UNHCR in such training.
8. In this context, the Committee of Ministers brought Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1475 (2000) as well as the present reply to the attention of the European Commission and the UNHCR.