‘Don’t make refugees suffer more’, UN warns

Date: 20/01/05

Introducing minimum standards for dealing with asylum and immigration questions at EU level could result in the protection offered to those fleeing persecution being watered down, the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned this week. Ruud Lubbers said that the protection of refugees might deteriorate, in particular in northern Europe, as a result of the new EU laws.

The former Dutch premier also said he believed that many government ministers in western Europe had sought to give the impression that "our countries are being flooded with refugees" over the past few years. "That simply is not true," he added.

Data compiled by the UNHCR indicates that there was a 20% decrease in the number of asylum claims lodged in the EU in the last four months of 2004, compared to the same period in 2003.

Visiting Brussels on Tuesday (18 January), Lubbers said it was "positive" that EU governments have been able to introduce the measures on asylum and immigration foreseen in the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty.

Yet he said that there was "a risk that in parts of northern Europe, minimum standards might easily lead to a deterioration" in the quality of refugee protection. Lubbers pledged to speak out more actively on this, "so that the agenda is not one where we now go down in quality". He encouraged those concerned about any weakening of protection standards to "name and shame" the governments responsible. Another UN official explained that it would be premature to pinpoint cases where Nordic countries would reduce the protection offered to asylum-seekers because of harmonised EU standards. The deadline for the new directives to be placed onto the national statute books of EU countries has still not expired. For example, the Union's member states have until 6 February to transfer a directive on the standards of reception for asylum-seekers into national law.

But the official noted a "tendency" of some lawmakers to decrease the length of residence permits offered to asylum-seekers and to place new restrictions on their access to higher education, training and employment.

To discourage a weakening in standards, he urged the European Commission and EU countries to jointly promote 'best practices'. In particular, he urged that there should be a better co-ordinated approach to conflict-riven countries or regions, from where refugees flee violence. "It is strange that Chechens are not treated the same in different EU countries," he remarked. "Poland has a tendency to consider Chechens as people who are probably refugees. But other countries do not recognise Chechens as such, probably under a philosophy that Chechnya is part of Russia and must be safe."

He voiced unease too about the possible interception of boats carrying asylum-seekers on the high seas - a tactic employed by Italian authorities last year. "If this happens and the ships are brought ashore, we would insist that the people are screened individually to see if there are refugees amongst them. And if there are refugees, they should be accepted."

Lubbers is to take part in a meeting of the Union's justice and interior ministers in Luxembourg next week (27-28 January).

This will discuss a paper on the external relations dimension of justice and home affairs, prepared by Luxembourg's EU presidency. The paper says that the issue of reaching an agreement with China on sending home its nationals from the Union will have to be dealt with between now and the end of June. It also raises the issue of so-called readmission accords being negotiated with Morocco, Algeria and Pakistan.

A UNHCR source expressed concerns that such agreements could lead to asylum-seekers being returned home without having their claims assessed in Europe. Jan Niessen from the Migration Policy Group in Brussels said he felt "not enough" attention was being paid by EU institutions to human rights issues in China and Pakistan in their deliberations on readmission agreements.

Morocco has indicated an openness to sign a readmission accord but is adamant it should not have to take back non-Moroccan nationals who have passed through the country on the way to Europe. "The Moroccans say 'if they slip your borders and our borders, why should we be the ones to take them back'," Niessen commented. "But I think the Moroccans would be willing to take back their own if they get a more open visa regime from the EU."

Visiting Brussels on 18 January 2005, Ruud Lubbers, the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned that introducing minimum standards for dealing with asylum and immigration questions at EU level could result in the protection offered to those fleeing persecution being watered down. Lubbers said that the protection of refugees might deteriorate, in particular in northern Europe, as a result of the new EU laws. On the other hand he welcomed the introduction of measures on asylum and immigration as foreseen in the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty.