DOCSLIB.ORG

The Protection of Refugees and Their Right to Seek Asylum in the European Union

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Protection of Refugees and Their Right to Seek Asylum in the European Union INSTITUT EUROPÉEN DE L’UNIVERSITÉ DE GENÈVE COLLECTION EURYOPA VOL. 70- 2011 The protection of refugees and their right to seek asylum in the European Union Mémoire présenté pour l’obtention du Master en études européennes par Livia Elena Bacaian rédigé sous la direction de Nicolas Wisard Jurée : Giselle Toledo Genève, le 26 janvier 2011 Table of Contents Abstract List of Tables and Figures 2 Acronyms and Abbreviations 3 Introduction 4 Chapter I Main concepts – pertinent definitions 1.1 Refugee 10 1.2 Asylum Seeker 17 1.3 Person Eligible for Subsidiary Protection 18 1.4 Economic Migrant 19 1.5 Conclusion: Finding the link between Refugees, Persons Eligible for Subsidiary Protection, 20 Asylum Seekers and Economic Migrants Chapter II The Right to Asylum Under EU Law 2.1 Is there a European Refugee and Asylum Law 23 2.2 Conclusion 33 Chapter III The Principle of Non-refoulement under EU Law 3.1 Non-refoulement as a Fundamental Principle in International Law 35 3.2 The Council of Europe and the Principle of Non-refoulement 40 3.3 How is the Principle of Non-refoulement respected under EU Law 41 3.4 Conclusion 47 Chapter IV Case Study: The role of the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights in the development and application of the Right to Asylum and the Principle of Non-refoulement among Member States 4.1 The Asylum Acquis and the European Court of Justice 49 4.2 The applicability of the European Convention of Human Rights to asylum cases 53 4.3 Other forthcoming issues on the agenda of the ECJ and ECtHR relevant to Refugee Law : the 59 Fight against Terrorism and Climate Refugees 4.4 Conclusions 61 Final Conclusions and Remarks 63 Bibliography 67 Annexes 74 Abstract Refugee protection has been of great concern to the international community ever since the creation of the United Nations. By means of the asylum channel, refugees and others in need of protection could gain access to the assistance the States were providing them with. But sometimes, these national asylum systems were inefficient and provided unequal access to the asylum procedures. In order to solve this problem, the European Union, has been struggling to develop a Common European Asylum System, intended to harmonize the asylum systems and procedures of its Member States and to facilitate the examination of asylum claims. To do so, it relied on the pre-existing international legal framework, governed by the provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the principle of non-refoulement. The European law on asylum which thus emerged, was not an independent legal framework, but one closely connected with the international law on refugees. This paper is structured around the following research question: what are the procedures and minimum conditions for granting asylum in the European Union and how are the refugees protected under EU law? To answer this question, the paper traces the developments of the European asylum law, in with respect to two key principles: the right to asylum and the principle of non-refoulement. After a theoretical examination of these concepts, both at the international and the European level, the research continues its analysis by investigating the role played by the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights in the application and interpretation of these terms. After thoroughly analyzing these concepts, the paper concludes that after crossing European borders, and gaining access to the asylum procedures and systems, an asylum seeker can be granted two types of protection: international protection (refugee and subsidiary protection status under the Qualification Directive) and national humanitarian protection, according to the national legislation of each Member State. Moreover, an asylum seeker must also be protected against refoulement and against any treatment contrary to Article 3 ECHR (torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment). But even with this system in place, other issues still linger. With its harmonization not yet completed and with the emergence of new refugee situations (such as climate refugees) Europe will have to readapt its practices to respond to the new challenges of the 21st century. List of tables and figures Figure 1 – The European Asylum System 64 Table 1 – Decisions on asylum applications in 2008 75 Table 2 – Decisions on asylum applications in 2009 76 Table 3 – First instance decisions by outcome, 4th quarter 2009 (rounded figures) 78 Table 4 – First instance decisions by outcome, 1st quarter 2010 (rounded figures) 78 2 Acronyms and Abbreviations CFSP Common Foreign and Security Policy e.g. exempli gratia (for example) ECHR Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ECJ European Court of Justice ECtHR European Court of Human Rights ESDP European Security and Defence Policy etc. et caetera EU European Union i.e. id est (that is) OAU Organization of African Unity UN United Nations UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 3 Introduction Refugees and Asylum at a glance For centuries, people have been discriminated and forced to flee their homes because of conflict, political, racial and religious persecutions, natural disasters and inhuman treatments that took place in their societies. In exile, they sought either refuge or the protection of other countries. Human beings have migrated since the earliest societies. The first migrants were tribal people in search of food, water and resources. They were not yet refugees or asylum seekers; they were mere gatherers or hunters who began exploring new lands to settle. The land, provided for much of their basic needs and soon, “territory became associated with property”1. Conflicts emerged in order to gain or protect one’s territory, just like governments were created to organise and defend this very territory. In those early years, governments instituted laws and policies for security reasons in order to guard their natural resources. Not much has changed since then. The migration regulations that exist today were also introduced to enforce security throughout countries, as well as to fight terrorism or illegal traffic of people, drugs or weapons. But what happens should governments fail to protect their citizens and if people become displaced for any reason? In such a case, they become refugees, asylum seekers, stateless or internally displaced persons. The first refugees abandoned their homes due to religious persecution or conflicts that emerged in their societies. But the highest number of refugees ever recorded, was produced during and after the two world wars. This led to the necessity of creating a structure that could help these people. In the 1950s, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was created, replacing the previous refugee agencies that existed under the League of Nations. Its mandate was to provide refugees with international protection, as well as to seek “permanent solutions for the problem of refugees by assisting governments and […] private organizations to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of such refugees, or their assimilation within new national communities”2. Today, there are 43.3 million displaced people worldwide, of which 15.2 million are refugees, 27.1 million are internally displaced persons, and 1 million are waiting for their asylum application to be adjudicated, according to UNHCR’s 2009 report on refugees, asylum seekers, returnees, internally displaced and stateless persons3. Many of them flee to neighbouring countries to find protection. However, others, attracted by a higher standard of living, prefer western countries as destinations. The number one refugee hosting country in the western world is Germany, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Canada4. Europe hosts a mere 16% of the world’s refugees, most of whom come from Afghanistan, Iraq, Serbia or Turkey5. In terms of asylum applications, however, the European Union receives almost 200 000 asylum claims per year, becoming the main destination for asylum seekers in the western world and in second position after South Africa6. This means that the European Union is playing a major role in deciding the fate of refugees and asylum seekers from all over the world. 1 Daniel Warner, “Migration and Refugees: a challenge for the 21st century”, in Jean-Yves Carlier, Dirk Vanheule, Europe and Refugees: a challenge?, Kluwer Law International, The Hague, 1997, p. 58. 2 Chapter 1, par.1 of the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, available at <http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c39e1.html> [accessed on 8 August 2010]. 3 UNHCR, 2009 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons, Division of Programme Support and Management, 15 June 2010, p.2, available at <http://www.unhcr.org/4c11f0be9.html > [accessed on 8 August 2010]. 4 See Annex 1: Total population by category, end-2009. 5 UNHCR, 2009 Global Trends, p.6. 6 Ibidem, p.17. 4 But how is Europe dealing with these migrants? Is it welcoming them or is it restricting their right to seek asylum? Why did migration become a problem for many European States? Since its beginnings in the early 1950’s, the European Union has merely tried to defend itself against any threat that could come from outside its frontiers. One of these threats was illegal migration, phenomenon thought of causing political, economical, social and cultural instability, as well as provoking conflict among European countries. The measures taken to prevent illegal migration, range from controlling outside borders to engaging in civilian and military operations in conflict zones. In terms of controlling the borders, several agencies were created, such as Europol (the European Police Office), Eurojust (the European judicial cooperation body), to deal with immigration, terrorism, human trafficking, organised crime and any other international crime. Additionally, Frontex, the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders, was entitled with border security.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • General Assembly •
    United Nations THIRD COMMITTEE, 1192nd GENERAL MEETING ASSEMBLY Monday, 46 November 1964, at 10.45 a.m. SEVENT~ENTH. SESSIOIV ; " OffiCial Records • NEW YORK CONTENTS AGENDA ITEM 46 Page Draft Declaration on the Right of Asylum (A/ 4452 and Add.1 Agenda item 44: and Add.l/Cprr.1, A/4792, A/4793, A/5145, E/3335, Office of the United Nations High Commis­ E/3403 and Add.1-5) . sioner for Refugees (concluded): (§} Report of the High Commissioner; STATEMENT BY THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COM- (l2} Question of the continuation of the Office MISSIONER FOR REFUGEES of the High Commissioner Consideration of draft resolutions (con­ 2. Mr. SCHNYDER (United Nations High Commis­ cluded) sioner for Refugees) said that his Office attached The problem of Chinese refugees in Hong great importance to the draft Declaration on the Right Kong (concluded). • . • • . • . • • . 489 of Asylum (E/3335, para. 147). The adoption of a declaration would be a reaffirmation by the peoples Agenda item 46: of the United Nations of their faith in fundamental Draft Declaration on the Right of Asylum human rights, but the document would be of value Statement by the United Nations High Com­ only to the extent that it expressed, for the guidance missioner for Refugees. • . • • . • . 489 of States, positive principles reflecting such practice General debate. • . .. ! • • • • • • • • • • 489 as would protect and promote the right to seek asylum, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Ideally, therefore, ·the principles Chairman: Mr. Nemi Chandra !<ASLIWAL embodied in it should be stated without qualification, (India>. since the listing of every situation in which States might be un.able or unwilling to act in accordance with those principles would reduce the Declaration to an expression of the lowest common denominator of AGENDA ITEM 42 State practice and would tend to weaken, rather than strengtll.en, respect for the right to seek asylum.
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Identity in the Migration & Refugee Context
    Digital Identity in the Migration & Refugee Context: Italy Case Study Digital Identity in the Migration & Refugee Context: ITALY CASE STUDY Mark Latonero, PhD (Principal Investigator) Keith Hiatt Antonella Napolitano Giulia Clericetti Melanie Penagos Data & Society 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 1 I. Introduction: Digital Identity’s Double Edge 3 II. Research Design and Methods 9 III. Identity Data Ecosystem 11 IV. European Context: Migration/Refugee Policy and Digital Identity 15 Italian Context 18 Note on Mobiles and Social Media 22 V. Field Research Findings and Themes 23 Theme 1: Bureaucratic Bias in Identity Systems 23 Bureaucratic Harms 24 Technological Amplification 26 Losing Track 27 Theme 2: Privacy and Mistrusted Systems 28 Privacy and Informed Consent 29 System Avoidance 31 Trusted Intermediaries and the Role of Cultural Mediators 33 Theme 3: Data Responsibility for Organizations 35 Data Protection 36 VI. Conclusion 38 VII. Further Inquiry 39 VIII. Stakeholder Recommendations 40 Authors 41 Acknowledgments 42 Research in Italy was supported by Data & Society’s local partner, Coalizione Italiana Libertà e Diritti Civili (CILD). CILD also translated the Italian version of this report. This project was supported by a grant from the Open Society Foundations. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Increasingly, governments, corporations, international organizations, and nongov- ernmental organizations (NGOs) are seeking to use digital technologies to track the identities of migrants and refugees. This surging interest in digital identity technologies would seem to meet a pressing need: the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) states that in today’s modern world, lacking proof of identity can limit a person’s access to services and socio-economic participation, including employment opportunities, housing, a mobile phone, and a bank account.
    [Show full text]
  • UNHCR, Refugee Protection and International Migration
    UNHCR, Refugee Protection and International Migration Basic precepts 1. During the past decade, considerable attention has been given to the linkage between the movement of refugees and asylum seekers and the broader phenomenon of international migration. This paper is intended to clarify UNHCR’s role in relation to this linkage and to identify those aspects of international migration which are of particular concern and interest to the Office. 2. UNHCR’s position with regard to the relationship between refugee protection and international migration is founded on two basic precepts. First, the Office considers refugees to be a distinct category of people, by virtue of the fact that they are, as specified in the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, outside of their country of nationality and are unable or unwilling to return there because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. 3. In accordance with other international agreements, such as the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention and the 1984 Cartagena Declaration, UNHCR also recognizes that the refugee notion has been broadened to encompass other people who have fled events that pose a serious threat to their life and liberty. The refugee protection regime is premised on the international community’s recognition of the specific rights and needs of refugees and other people in need of international protection, as well as the obligation of states to refrain from returning them to countries where their life or liberty would be at risk. UNHCR consequently opposes any attempt to put in question the distinctive situation of refugees and other people of concern to the Office, their need for international protection and their right to seek and enjoy asylum in another state.
    [Show full text]
  • A Migrant “Hot Potato” System: the Transit Camp and Urban Integration in a Bridge Society
    Journal of Urban Affairs ISSN: 0735-2166 (Print) 1467-9906 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujua20 A migrant “hot potato” system: The transit camp and urban integration in a bridge society Danilo Mandić To cite this article: Danilo Mandić (2018): A migrant “hot potato” system: The transit camp and urban integration in a bridge society, Journal of Urban Affairs, DOI: 10.1080/07352166.2018.1490153 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2018.1490153 Published online: 03 Aug 2018. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 93 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ujua20 JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2018.1490153 A migrant “hot potato” system: The transit camp and urban integration in a bridge society Danilo Mandić Harvard University ABSTRACT The literature on migrant camps around urban spaces has concentrated on permanent, long-term camps in destination societies. Yet the 2014–2017 Middle Eastern refugee crisis in Europe demonstrated the centrality of transit camps in bridge countries for urban integration and the lack thereof. This article presents results of fieldwork from the Preševo migrant center near the Macedonia–Serbia border in January 2016 and from migrant camps across the country since. In a model bridge society, Preševo was the largest refugee camp on the Balkan route. Drawing on interviews with migrants, camp officials, experts, nongovernmental organization (NGO) and government representatives, I argue that transit camp operations are char- acterized by a “hot potato” system that thwarted urban integration by emphasizing hectic processing, bypassing cities, and urgent transportation of migrants off sovereign territory.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring the Link Between International Migration and Remittances: a Case Study of African Immigrants in Cape Town, South Africa
    EXPLORING THE LINK BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND REMITTANCES: A CASE STUDY OF AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA. BY JONAS NZABAMWITA Student Number: 3371818 A MINI THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (MA) IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES AT THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (ISD), FACULTY OF ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES (EMS), UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE. Supervisor: Dr. Mulugeta F. Dinbabo December, 2015 DECLARATION I……………………………………………….………. undersigned, declare that Exploring the link between international migration and remittances: A case study of African immigrants in Cape Town, South Africa, has not been submitted before for any degree, or examination in any University, and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and duly acknowledged by means of referencing. Jonas Nzabamwita Signature ……………………………. December, 2015. Page ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND DEDICATION First and foremost, I would like to thank Almighty God for his mercy, grace and blessings. He sustained me, and provided with an opportunity to successfully complete my studies. I wish to express sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Mulugeta F. Dinbabo, for his patience, guidance and timely feedback throughout this research journey. I don‟t think it would have been possible for me to complete a project of this magnitude without his supervision, wisdom and insight. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my draft chapters and providing me with constructive and informative comments. I wish to convey my heartfelt appreciation to the University of the Western Cape, in particular the Institute for Social Development for the financial contribution towards my post graduate education.
    [Show full text]
  • Migrants and Refugees on the Frontiers of Europe. the Legitimacy of Suffering, Bare Life, and Paradoxical Agency*
    16 Migrants and Refugees on the Frontiers of Europe. The Legitimacy of Suffering, Bare Life, and Paradoxical Agency* Estela Schindel** Reception date: April 30, 2016 · Acceptance date: September 21, 2016 · Modification date: November 6, 2016 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.7440/res59.2017.02 ABSTRACT | This article focuses on the tension between the figures of the migrant and the refugee as they are being defined and disputed in Europe today. There is a stratification of legitimacies in terms of the right to access to the European Union (EU) that favors those who escape persecution or war and delegitimizes economic migrants. After presenting the genealogy of the refugee category, this paper analyzes the consequences of this dichotomy for those who cross the maritime border of Europe. What kind of strategies, agencies, and subjectivities are mobilized by a border regime that favors suffering over enterprise? And what resources do travelers use, once they are reduced to the condition of bare life, to qualify to stay via the paradox of their own disqualification? Finally, the article mentions the challenges posed by the new biometric technologies of border control and raises the question of possible affinities between the refugee and other vulnerable social figures. KEYWORDS | Refugees, migration, European Union (Thesaurus); borders, bare life, agency (Author) Migrantes y refugiados en las fronteras de Europa. Cualificación por el sufrimiento, nuda vida y agencias paradójicas RESUMEN | En el artículo se trabaja la tensión entre las figuras del migrante y el refugiado tal como son definidas y disputadas en Europa hoy. Hay una estratificación de legitimidades en términos del derecho de acceso a la Unión Europea (UE) que privilegia a quien es objeto de persecución o guerra y deslegitima al migrante económico.
    [Show full text]
  • War Refugees and Asylum Policy in the European Union and the United States Maryellen Fullerton Brooklyn Law School, [email protected]
    Brooklyn Law School BrooklynWorks Faculty Scholarship 2011 A Tale of Two Decades: War Refugees and Asylum Policy in the European Union and the United States Maryellen Fullerton Brooklyn Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/faculty Part of the Immigration Law Commons, and the International Law Commons Recommended Citation 10 Wash. U. Global Stud. L. Rev. 87 (2011) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by BrooklynWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of BrooklynWorks. A TALE OF TWO DECADES: WAR REFUGEES AND ASYLUM POLICY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION MARYELLEN FULLERTON* "Death to Collaborators!" When he found this note on the front door of his Baghdad home in late 2006, Meki Elgafaji did not waste any time. An employee of a British firm that provided security for travel between the Baghdad airport and the "green zone,"' he and his wife fled Iraq. His was a "mixed marriage," his wife a Sunni Muslim. His uncle, an employee for the same firm, had been killed . Three years after the war in Iraq began, the future seemed to be closing in on the Elgafaji family. After escaping, Mr. and Mrs. Elgafaji made their way to the Netherlands, where they applied for a temporary residence permit based on the danger they faced from indiscriminate violence in Iraq. The Dutch authorities rejected their application, and a series of appeals brought the Elgafaji case to the Dutch Council of State, which stayed the proceedings while it sought an interpretation of the new European Union (EU) law on asylum from the European Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ).
    [Show full text]
  • I Don't See Anyborders. Do You?
    TEAM SLOVENIA YOUTH EXCHANGE: „I DON‘T ASYLUM SEE ANYBORDERS. DO YOU?“ HISTORY • In ancient Greece and Rome, an asylum referred to a place where people facing persecution could seek refuge. These locations were largely religious in nature, such as temples and other religious sites. ANCIENT GREECE • In ancient Greece the temples, altars, sacred groves, and statues of the gods generally possessed the privileges of protecting slaves, debtors, and criminals, who fled to them for refuge. The laws, however, do not appear to have recognised the right of all such sacred places to afford the protection which was claimed, but to have confined it to a certain number of temples, or altars, which were considered in a more especial manner to have the asylia (Servius ad Virg. Aen. ii. 761.). • There were several places in Athens which possessed this privilege, of which the best known was the Theseum, or temple of Theseus, in the city, which was chiefly intended for the protection of the ill-treated slaves, who could take refuge in this place, and compel their masters to sell them to some other person (Plut. Theseus, 36; Schol. ad Aristoph. Equit. 1309; Hesych. and Suidas, s.v.). • The other places in Athens which possessed the jus asyli were: the Altar of Pity, in the Agora, the altar of Zeus Ayopcuos, the Altar of the Twelve Gods, the altar of the Eumenides on the Areopagus, the Theseum in the Piraeus, and the altar of Artemis, at Munichia (Meier, Alt. Proc. p. 404). Among the most celebrated places of asylum in other parts of Greece, we may mention the temple of Poseidon in Laconia, on Mount Taenarus (Time.
    [Show full text]
  • “There Are No Angels in Calais” the Impact of French Migration Policies on the Migrants of Calais
    “There are no Angels in Calais” The impact of French migration policies on the migrants of Calais. Merijn van Nuland Human Geography, specialization: Europe: Borders, Identities & Governance. Email: [email protected] Student number: 0603031 Thesis supervisor: Henk van Houtum - 2 - “In fact, we are the untouchables to the civilians. They think, more or less explicitly— with all the nuances lying between contempt and commiseration—that as we have been condemned to this life of ours, reduced to our condition, we must be tainted by some mysterious, grave sin. They hear us speak in many different languages, which they do not understand and which sound to them as grotesque as animal noises; they see us reduced to ignoble slavery, without hair, without honor and without names, beaten every day, more abject every day, and they never see in our eyes a light of rebellion, or of peace, or of faith. They know us as thieves and untrustworthy, muddy, ragged and starving, and mistaking the effect for the cause, they judge us worthy of our abasement. Who could tell one of our faces from another? For them we are Kazet, a singular neuter word.” (Levi, 1958) - 3 - - 4 - I head for the clothes distribution organized by Secours Catholique in an old church in the Rue de Croy. Shadows on the wall give away the places where angels once stood. (travel diary: 5th of May) - 5 - - 6 - Summary. Calais, where France almost touches Great-Britain, is one of the many spots in Europe where immigration is highly visible. Because of its location, it has been an important knot for immigrants trying to reach the United Kingdom.
    [Show full text]
  • 2010 Macedonian Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection
    Unofficial translation LAW ON ASYLUM AND TEMPORARY PROTECTION (Consolidated version 11 April 2016) Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia" nos. 49/2003, 66/2007, 142/2008, 146/2009, 166/2012, 101/2015, 152/2015, 55/2016 and 71/2016). CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS Purpose of the Law Article 1 This Law governs the conditions and procedure for granting and cessation of the right of asylum to an alien or a stateless person (hereinafter referred to as: alien), seeking recognition of the right to asylum in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as the rights and duties of the asylum seekers and persons who have been recognized the right of asylum in the Republic of Macedonia. This Law governs also the conditions under which the Republic of Macedonia can grant temporary protection as well as the rights and duties of persons under temporary protection. Right to Asylum Article 2 The right to asylum is international protection granted by the Republic of Macedonia, under the conditions and in the procedure defined by this Law, to the following categories of persons: recognised refugee (refugee according to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees) and person under subsidiary protection. Asylum seeker Article 3 Asylum seeker is an alien who seeks protection in the Republic of Macedonia, and has submitted an application for recognition of the right to asylum, in respect of which a final decision has not yet been taken in the procedure for recognition of the right to asylum.
    [Show full text]
  • Setting Limits
    Setting Limits Research paper on the effects of limits on the freedom of movement of asylum seekers within the borders of European Union Member States European Council on Refugees and Exiles January 2002 European Council on Refugees and Exiles Clifton Centre 110 Clifton Street London EC2A 4HT Telephone +44 20 7729 5152 Fax +44 20 7729 5141 E-mail [email protected] Website www.ecre.org ECRE is a pan-European umbrella organisation of over 70 refugee- assisting agencies working towards fair and humane policies for the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. This research paper has been supported by the European Refugee Fund - Community Actions 2000 Contents CONTENTS Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………….1 1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….2 (i) Freedom of movement in relation to asylum seekers (ii) Freedom of movement in the EU context (iii) Arguments for and against freedom of movement restrictions 2 Testimony to the effects of movement restrictions…………………………………….7 Sunny Omwenyeke, an asylum seeker from Nigeria, and member of the refugee organisation THE VOICE, describes living with movement restrictions in Germany. Case studies 3 Germany………………………………………………………………………………...10 Introduction The reception system (i) First stage reception (ii) Second stage reception (iii) Welfare payments (iv) Family unity (v) Additional restrictions on movement The effects of this system (i) on government objectives (ii) on the welfare of individuals (iii) on the ability to comply with asylum procedures (iv) on integration (v) on public opinion
    [Show full text]
  • EU Migration Policy: an A-Z
    briefing EU migration policy: An A-Z # Hugo Brady about the CER The Centre for European Reform is a think-tank devoted to improving the quality of the debate on the European Union. It is a forum for people with ideas from Britain and across the continent to discuss the many political, economic and social challenges facing Europe. It seeks to work with EU migration similar bodies in other European countries, North America and elsewhere in the world. The CER is pro-European but not uncritical. It regards European integration as largely beneficial but recognises that in many respects the Union does not work well. The CER therefore aims to promote new ideas for reforming the European Union. policy: An A-Z Director: CHARLES GRANT ADVISORY BOARD PERCY BARNEVIK........................................ Board member, General Motors and Former Chairman, AstraZeneca ANTONIO BORGES..................................................................................................... Former Dean of INSEAD NICK BUTLER (CHAIR)...................... Director, Centre for Energy Security & Sustainable Development, Cambridge IAIN CONN ................................... Group Managing Director and Chief Executive, Refining & Marketing, BP p.l.c. LORD DAHRENDORF .......................... Former Warden of St Antony’s College, Oxford & European Commissioner VERNON ELLIS............................................................................................ International Chairman, Accenture RICHARD HAASS.................................................................................
    [Show full text]