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Resolution 2073 (2015)
Countries of transit: meeting new migration and asylum challenges
1. “Transit” countries are countries
that migrants cross on their way to their country of destination.
Many migrants, however, do not have a clear destination when they
start travelling. Once they have left their country, whether they
decide to travel onwards and to where often depends on several factors.
Countries that experience transit migration, in whatever form, are
rarely if ever only “countries of transit”; many are also countries
of destination and/or asylum.
2. The concept of “country of transit” has nevertheless come
to play a key role in European policy, generally referring to European
Union neighbouring countries from which the final step across the
European Union’s external border is taken. However, several European
Union member States located between the European Union’s external
borders and migrants’ preferred final countries of destination also
experience significant levels of transit migration.
3. Whilst there may be certain policy measures that apply specifically
to countries of transit, migration policy should be seen in a global
perspective: all of the countries from, through and to which a migrant
may travel must co-operate and co-ordinate their actions, with the
support and assistance of international actors such as the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European
Union; and policies must focus on the situation of the individuals
whose decisions and actions drive migration. The Parliamentary Assembly
welcomes the fact that European Union policy increasingly recognises
this imperative, as reflected in the European Commission’s European
Agenda on Migration and the European Council’s conclusions of 26
June 2015. It considers that the Council of Europe, through its
European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity (North-South
Centre), could play a part in enhancing capacities for dialogue
to this end.
4. The European Union’s relations with countries of transit emphasise
migration policy. This may be expressed in the form of “mobility
partnerships”, which are part of the European Union’s “Global Approach
to Migration and Mobility” (GAMM). The result is “externalisation”
of border control, shifting responsibility for preventing irregular
migration into Europe onto the transit country. Transit countries
are also asked to accept readmission agreements extending to third-country
nationals, even if such persons cannot be returned to their countries
of origin. This approach creates problems for transit countries
in their internal socio-economic situation, as well as in their
relations with neighbouring countries and countries of origin.
5. But most of all, externalisation of European Union border
control has serious consequences for migrants and refugees. Large
numbers may find their intended onward journey blocked and thus
be stranded in the transit country. This may leave them in a precarious
or vulnerable situation, without legal status or protection or access
to basic needs and therefore at risk of exploitation, abuse and
violence. This is especially the case where domestic legal systems
contain insufficient safeguards and do not effectively implement
relevant international standards, including those of the 1951 UNHCR
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Conditions may become
so intolerable that even those who had not intended to do so are
constrained to move on, often forced into the hands of migrant smugglers
or traffickers.
6. The European Union’s influential relationship with many countries
of transit, however, could also provide a basis for co-operation
on a more holistic, rights-based and effective approach to migration
policy. The Assembly therefore considers that the European Union
should further reflect upon the aims and structure of its relations
with countries of transit, ensuring that this co-operation leads
to the prevention of human rights violations and does not put human
rights at risk.
7. As examples of how the situation in countries experiencing
significant levels of transit migration can improve, the Assembly
welcomes recent developments in Turkey and Morocco. These countries
are at different stages of introducing new migration policies, laws
and institutions, and further developing their co-operation with
international actors, notably the UNHCR and the IOM. Much needs
to be done, however, in order to effectively implement legislation
and policies, in full compliance with the Refugee Convention and,
in the case of Turkey, the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS
No. 5). The Assembly encourages both countries to continue with
their respective reforms until their completion and effective implementation,
which would have the potential to make both countries regional models
of good practice. It also urges the international community, in
particular the Council of Europe and the European Union, to reinforce
their encouragement and support for this process. These countries
and the European Union should refrain from agreements that could have
counterproductive effects, such as a one-sided emphasis on strengthening
border controls.
8. By contrast, the Assembly is profoundly alarmed at the situation
in Libya. The absence of a functioning State has contributed significantly
to transforming Libya from predominantly a destination country for
labour migration into a country of transit, especially for those
seeking to reach Malta and Italy. Migrants in Libya now find themselves
at risk of grave violations of their human rights and forced to
confront mortal danger when attempting to cross the Mediterranean
Sea, as shown by the horrendous number of deaths in recent years. Strong
political and technical support for peace-building in Libya and
its subsequent transition to democracy, with full respect for human
rights and the rule of law, whilst necessary in itself, would also
serve the interests of European migration policy. Operations to
prevent migrants and refugees from leaving Libya risk putting their lives
and safety in danger and constitute a breach of their human rights.
Instead, the European Union should create legal channels and binding
resettlement programmes for refugees.
9. The Assembly is also deeply concerned about the ongoing situation
in the eastern Mediterranean, western Balkans and central Europe.
The current, incoherent European Union response is having disastrous effects
for refugees in transit and for Greece and other transit countries
in the western Balkans. The statement following the informal European
Union summit on 23 September 2015, whilst promising welcome and
much-needed increases in support to countries of first asylum and
transit and humanitarian agencies, focuses on keeping refugees out
or at the periphery of the European Union. Beyond that, however,
it reveals a reluctance to accept protection responsibilities, with
no mention of resettlement, and a lack of solidarity in burden-sharing between
States. This suggests that, overall, action will remain inadequate
and ineffective. The Assembly recalls that all European States are
legally obliged to provide effective protection to people in need
and are prohibited from sending them to countries where that protection
is not guaranteed. It considers that if States isolate themselves
from European neighbours behind fences and strict border controls,
there will be serious geopolitical consequences for wider European
integration.
10. Once migrants or refugees have reached the border of a European
country, the authorities need to assess their protection needs on
an individual basis before deciding whether or not to deny access
to territory. Even outside European territory, where a national
authority or the European Agency for the Management of Operational
Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the
European Union (Frontex) has control over migrants and refugees,
there is an obligation to ensure access to protection if needed. Unfortunately,
this obligation is not always complied with. The Assembly is deeply
concerned at continuing, credible reports of unlawful push-backs
and related human rights violations, despite the judgment of the European
Court of Human Rights in the case of Hirsi
Jamaa v. Italy. It is further concerned about recent legislative
amendments in Spain, which the Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights has criticised as being “aimed at legalising push-backs
of migrants arriving in Ceuta and Melilla [and] in clear breach
of human rights law”.
11. The Assembly recommends that the European Union:
11.1. ensure coherency in overall
migration policy, taking a “triangular” approach involving the countries
of both origin and transit, promoting and respecting human rights
and the rule of law and avoiding a narrow emphasis on border control
and security. This should include measures such as:
11.1.1. providing
significant, unconditional and sustainable support to improve the
protection of migrants’ rights in transit countries;
11.1.2. greater investment in reception and asylum-processing
capacity in transit countries and promoting and supporting effective
implementation of international standards such as the 1951 Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees;
11.1.3. reconsideration of its policy of encouraging transit countries
to sign readmission agreements extending to third-country nationals;
11.1.4. increased and better targeted development aid, aimed at
both economic development and good governance;
11.1.5. further development of initiatives such as the Rabat and
Khartoum processes, ensuring that human rights compliance is at
their core and a condition for any co-operation on border controls;
11.2. include adequate and effective resettlement and relocation
policies in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), with a binding
mechanism and meaningful numbers of refugees;
11.3. ensure that any system of “hotspots” for the reception
and processing of asylum seekers fully respects all relevant international
standards, including those of the European Convention on Human Rights,
and is subject to independent, external monitoring;
11.4. acknowledge responsibility for any breaches of human rights
outside European Union territory and at its external borders, including
push-backs, where Frontex is involved, and ensure that they come to
an end.
12. The Assembly calls on the Council of Europe member States
to:
12.1. recognise that the challenge
of mass arrivals of refugees and migrants is a matter of common concern
and requires the formulation of effective and adequate common responses;
12.2. not return asylum seekers to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey,
Greece, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Serbia or Hungary,
or any other country already bearing a disproportionate responsibility for
looking after migrants and/or where protection is not guaranteed
on account of deficiencies in reception conditions, asylum procedures
or other relevant areas;
12.3. ensure that they refrain from any unlawful push-backs
of migrants, whether at land or sea borders or during operations
outside their territory, as required by the European Convention
on Human Rights;
12.4. ensure that their bilateral co-operation with third countries
on migration aims at promoting and ensuring compliance with human
rights, and to refrain from agreements on border control if it cannot
be guaranteed that the third country fully respects the human rights
of migrants and refugees.
13. The Assembly calls on the Executive Committee of the North-South
Centre, which already has a co-operation agreement with the European
Commission, to consider the feasibility of further developing its
role in enhancing capacities for dialogue between countries of origin,
transit and destination, building on the experience of the conference
organised in co-operation with the Assembly from 30 to 31 March
2015 in Lagos (Portugal). It urges the executive committee to put
human rights at the centre of this dialogue.