Migrants and Refugees: a Continuing Challenge for the Council of Europe‏

Migrants and Refugees: a Continuing Challenge for the Council of Europe‏

Speaking notes of Senator Ronan Mullen, EPP, Ireland - Friday, 30th April 2010

***

I welcome the report into the challenges posed by the issue of migrants and refugees to the Council of Europe. I wish to focus on some of the core topics identified. First, I think the main recommendations made here, such as the setting up of a transversal Council of Europe project on migrants, asylum seekers and displaced persons, as well as the establishment of a new inter-governmental committee with a permanent mandate to examine these issues, will only have an impact if closer collaboration between the Council of Europe and the EU occurs on the issue. Such collaboration would allow for greater sharing of expertise and resources and bring greater urgency, making the implementation of solutions more likely. Just as importantly it would help to refocus EU policy on these issues more towards fundamental rights than to the protection of the common internal market.

Second, better cooperation is also needed between the individual members states as these issues are necessarily trans-European - involving countries of origin, transit and destination. This is especially true in matters pertaining to human trafficking which involves criminal networks across many member states. Although not explicitly mentioned in the report it would be a wonderful development in human rights protection if member states could act with procedural and humanitarian unity in welcoming genuine asylum seekers who are fleeing from human rights abuses in their countries of origin. Harmonisation of approaches would provide greater clarity to asylum seekers and could potentially lead to a more even and efficient response by member states in accommodating asylum seekers.

With this in mind I support the report’s call for the inclusion of a right to apply for asylum in the European Convention of Human Rights.

Third, and linked to my second point, is the need to move away from attitudes and practices that lump immigration issues into public security policy. Certainly public security policy is one aspect of immigration but it is not its sole and certainly not its essential feature. Global solidarity, justice and human rights are core issues when considering the cause of both regular and irregular migrants.

Sometimes there is an over-emphasis on the failure by governments to monitor effectively issues such as social welfare fraud - to the neglect of any proper consideration of how governments also fail to safeguard the rights of immigrants who are within their jurisdictions. Governments must spell out simultaneously the rights and responsibilities of immigrants, and they must provide an objective, just and efficient administrative framework for dealing with asylum and immigration issues. We must not continue to reduce immigration to a matter of public security policy.

We face challenges from the global economic crisis and increasing globalization, it is true. But human dignity must be placed front and centre at all times.