A3-0402/93

Resolution on the general principles of a European refugee policy

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motions for resolutions by:

(a)Mr Turner on the common principles which should form the basis of a future common policy on refugees in Member States (B3-1665/92),

(b)Mr Christopher Beazley on refugee children (B3-0309/93),

(c)Mrs Gröner on the situation of unaccompanied refugee children in EC countries (B3-0484/93),

-having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community,

-having regard to Articles 3, 7a, 100, 100c and 235 of the EC Treaty and Title VI of the Treaty on European Union,

-having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,

-having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,

-having regard to its resolution of 9 July 1991 on human rights,

-having regard to the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951 as amended by the New York Protocol of 1967, which have been ratified by all Member States,

-having regard to its resolutions of 12 March 1987 on the right of asylum and 18 November 1992 on the harmonization within the European Community of asylum law and policies,

-having regard to its resolution of 11 March 1993 on the annual report on the situation with regard to human rights in the Community,

-having regard to the reports of its competent committee on European immigration policy, asylum policy, respect for human rights in the EC and the Schengen Agreements,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media (A3-0402/93),

A.whereas a change is to be observed in the reasons for seeking refuge, and the flight from civil war, religious and ethnic persecution, natural disasters and large-scale violations of human rights is causing millions of people to leave their country,

B.whereas it is necessary to identify the groups of refugees which cannot enjoy protection under the Geneva Convention and the New York Protocol,

C.whereas Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms stipulates that:

'1.An alien lawfully resident in the territory of a State shall not be expelled therefrom except in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law and shall be allowed:

a.to submit reasons against his expulsion;

b.to have his case reviewed; and

c.to be represented for these purposes before the competent authority or a person or persons designated by that authority.

2.An alien may be expelled before the exercise of his rights under paragraph 1 a, b and c of this article, when such expulsion is necessary in the interests of public order or is grounded on reasons of national security.',

D.whereas it is necessary that the European Union take action to harmonize Member States' refugee policies and whereas, for that purpose, a comprehensive European refugee policy is needed,

E.whereas the European Union has a special responsibility for resolving the world-wide refugee problem since, in addition to its historical responsibility, it is one of the world's wealthiest regions,

F.whereas it is necessary that the European Union contribute at world level to a long-term global strategy aimed at confronting the challenge of increasing and unpredictable movements of populations,

G.whereas the structures and arrangements for reception in the various countries vary greatly in scope and quality,

H.whereas a refugee is, by definition, very isolated and has been rejected by his official national environment,

I.whereas it is imperative to include a moral and humanitarian approach in dealing with the various problems of refugees and all categories of migrants in order to eradicate the resurgence of racism and xenophobia which the European Parliament has repeatedly and severely condemned,

J.whereas if it is to be accepted that all Member States share responsibility for a common refugee policy, it should follow that the much heavier burden borne by some of them due to geographical or other reasons should be equally shared by all Member States,

K.whereas the Intergovernmental Conference agreed that the Council would consider as a matter of priority Member States' asylum policies with the aim of adopting, by the beginning of 1993, common action to harmonize aspects of them,

L.whereas in this connection the Conference agreed that the Council would also consider, by the end of 1993, the possibility of applying Article K.9 of the Treaty on European Union to such matters,

M.whereas in its earlier resolutions Parliament decided on certain standards and guarantees for refugees,

1.Urges that the Commission assume greater responsibility and play the full role foreseen in Title VI of the Treaty on European Union and present a report on the possibility of applying Article K.9 to asylum matters without further delay;

2.Urges the Council, in accordance with the Declaration on Asylum in the Final Act of the Treaty on European Union, to decide before the end of 1993 to apply Article 100c of the EC Treaty with a view to achieving a more appropriate Union policy for asylum and refugee matters;

3.Reaffirms the need for a public debate and appropriate democratic controls in respect of the conclusions and resolutions so far adopted within the context of intergovernmental cooperation; expresses its utmost reservations with regard to the content of the conclusions and resolutions adopted by the EC ministers responsible for immigration, notably with regard to 'safe host countries', 'safe countries of origin' and 'manifestly unfounded' applications for asylum; reaffirms in this connection its aforementioned resolution of 18 November 1992 on the harmonization within the EC of asylum laws and policies;

4.Asks that all declarations, resolutions, conclusions, common policies etc. decided by the ministers responsible for immigration be immediately replaced by Conventions, as mentioned in Title VI of the Treaty on European Union, or Community legislation based on Article 100c, with the recommendations contained in its abovementioned resolution of 18 November 1992 on the harmonization within the EC of asylum laws and policies serving as a basis;

5.Reiterates its concern to see common criteria established on 'safe' host countries, 'safe' countries of origin and on accelerated procedures for 'manifestly unfounded' claims for asylum;

6.Insists on being fully informed and permanently consulted in the same way as for usual legislative proposals on any action taken within the framework of Title VI of the Treaty on European Union concerning asylum and refugee policies;

7.Urges the Commission to bring forward proposals for a broader refugee and migration strategy which will take into account the guidelines proposed by the European Parliament and will integrate technical, economic and political aid to non-EC countries, and to frame the relations between the European Union and those countries in the light of this strategy;

8.Calls on the Commission to bring forward proposals on the organization of reception programmes (language teaching and vocational training) for refugees as well as information campaigns on the social and political situation in the refugees' countries of origin for the benefit of the population of the host country;

9.Points out that the external border legislation and its implementation must be such that they do not adversely affect the right of asylum enshrined in the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees;

10.Considers that visa policy must take into account that refugees are not generally in a position to introduce applications for a visa in their country of origin a long time in advance; considers that they should therefore be issued provisionally with a visa within a reasonable time at the border, where possible;

11.Urges in this connection that possible measures making carriers responsible where their passengers do not have the required documents must not be at variance with the provisions of Annex 9 of the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, unless proof of gross negligence on the part of such companies can be established;

12.Points out that refugees must introduce their application for recognition at the earliest opportunity and must be treated with dignity;

13.Considers that the UNHCR Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for determining the status of refugees should be used as the basis for according refugee status in each case as it provides authoritative guidelines for the interpretation of provisions in the 1951 Convention;

14.Reiterates that a clear-cut category of refugees is that of refugees entitled to protection under the Geneva Convention of 1951 as amended by the New York Protocol of 1967;

15.Considers that there must be guarantees that the asylum procedure remains open to individual refugees and that those who do not qualify for refugee status but are in great need of international protection should be entitled to protection within the European Union if they are persons who:

(a)flee their country because they have good reason to fear that their life is threatened by general or individual violence towards them, and who cannot be sent back to their country because their life would be in danger there, for instance because of a civil war;

(b)flee their country because they have personally good reason to fear exceptionally harsh punishment, having regard to the situation in their country of origin in which overall respect for human rights, as reflected in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms or Parliament's abovementioned resolution of 9 July 1991 on human rights, is evidently insufficient;

(c)are legally resident or present on the territory of the Union and who cannot be forced to return to their country of origin because they have good reason to fear that they will be tortured or subjected to inhumane or degrading treatment, capital punishment or other serious violations of fundamental human rights;

(d)would, if they were to return to a first host country, find themselves in that country in one of the situations referred to in (a), (b) or (c);

(e)would, if they were returned to a first host country, be sent back to their country of origin where they would find themselves in one of the situations referred to in (a), (b) or (c);

(f)risk being persecuted because of their gender or sexual orientation and are in one of the situations referred to in (a), (b) or (c);

(hereinafter referred to as "tolerated" status);

16.Calls on the Commission to draw up plans for a European Fund for Refugees and to draw up an emergency plan for the reception of refugees which provides for them to be distributed evenly amongst the countries of the Community;

17.Asks for reception arrangements to be introduced as part of a European refugee policy which will respect the moral and cultural dignity of refugees and the social equilibrium of the host countries;

18.Suggests that town, borough and parish authorities should be more closely involved in the definition and implementation of refugee policy;

19.Proposes that applicants for refugee status should have their applications registered and decided as quickly as possible by independent bodies, after the persons concerned have been heard, and that

(a)the decision should be drawn up in a language which the refugee is able to understand,

(b)it must be possible to lodge an appeal against the decisions of the central body with a court or a comparable independent institution,

(c)it must be possible, from the time when an application is first made to the time of the final decision, for a refugee to be given legal assistance and counselling by independent organizations or associations,

(d)applicants must not be deported during this procedure,

(e)applications may not be rejected collectively, for instance by invoking 'safe countries of origin' or 'safe third countries';

20.Considers that appeal possibilities remain a cornerstone for international refugee protection and therefore proposes that in cases of rejection, appeal possibilities will be maintained in accordance with Conclusion No. 30 of the Executive Committee of the UNHCR on manifestly unfounded or abusive applications for refugee status or asylum, which stipulates that 'unsuccessful asylum applicants should be able to have a negative decision reviewed before rejection at the frontier or forcible removal from the territory';

21.Insists that, in accordance with Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, the Court of Justice must have jurisdiction to interpret any provisions on asylum and to rule on any dispute regarding their application;

22.Regards as inadmissible the obligation imposed by Member States on carriers to carry out checks on their passengers;

23.Considers that, in addition to the foregoing points - which should be defined at Community level - a future refugee policy must also take account of any compelling humanitarian reasons for allowing third country nationals to stay in the Union;

24.Insists that refugees must not be discriminated against, whatever their status, and that appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that they are not subjected to racism and xenophobia;

25.Recommends that refugees should be granted work permits and the right to move freely within the Union, including the right of residence, irrespective of their status;

26.Calls on the Commission to provide for a mandatory system of data protection at Community level which also applies to refugees and asylum-seekers;

27.Considers that the protection afforded by the Union is temporary, and that refugees under "tolerated" status are under an obligation to leave the Union as soon as they do not fully qualify for protection any more; acknowledges that the Union and the Member States must take all necessary monitoring and implementing decisions;

28.Urges Member States to harmonize their treatment of unaccompanied children with respect to both the procedures concerning refugee status and the provision of appropriate care;

29.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, and to the governments of the Member States.