European context

Introduction
50 years ago, in the aftermath of the second world war, the international community made a commitment to protect the victims of persecution and the Refugee Convention relating to the Status of Refugees was born. We are all now familiar with the images of refugees being forced to leave their home, some never to return. They are the survivors of atrocities, of genocide or torture.

In Europe we have a proud tradition of democratic freedoms and providing for and upholding human rights. Today the true test of Europe's commitment to human rights is how it treats those who seek protection from persecution from so many different countries around the world.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that there are some 22 million refugees and displaced people in the world. The vast majority of these people have found sanctuary in regions around the countries from where they fled. Only 19% of refugees are estimated to be in Europe, in Asia 39%.

Protection today
European governments have an important role to play in addressing the urgent need for the protection of people fleeing human rights abuses. In a direct sense, their response is important to the many refugees who arrive in Europe each year. Refugees arrive with horrific stories of torture, rape and other forms of violence. They have often lost, or simply had to leave behind, most of their possessions. They need to be received with dignity and to be accorded the full protection laid down in the Refugee Convention. Whether they stay for a short period or settle, they need to be provided with the resources to establish themselves and to contribute to their host society.

Leadership by example
European governments also have an important symbolic role. If they, with the considerable resources available to them, meet the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention in full it provides an example to the many other governments in the world who provide protection to perhaps higher numbers of refugees, often with vastly fewer resources.

This applies to all European governments. Yet the Member States of the European Union have an even greater responsibility. They are increasingly shaping asylum policy together. The decisions they take will have an impact on refugees arriving not only in the European Union but also in neighbouring countries and beyond. Central European States, in particular, are adapting their asylum legislation to European Union norms as part of the enlargement process. It is expected that, before they join the European Union, they will change from being transit countries to countries where refugees routinely settle on a permanent basis.

The dangerous road to safety
A critical step for all refugees is securing access to a country where they can safely apply for asylum. However currently most refugees seeking to enter the European Union to find protection can only do so illegally and often dangerously. Visa requirements are imposed upon people trying to enter the European Union from refugee-producing countries yet asylum seekers often do not have the luxury of even applying for passports from their governments, still less for entry visas. In addition to the necessary papers, fines are levied against drivers or companies found to be transporting refugees into European Union countries. In short there is for most refugees no legal way of reaching safety in Europe. In this context it can come as no surprise that those desperate to find a safe haven should resort to people smugglers and traffickers.

European Union commitments
At the Tampere Summit in 1999, the European Union governments committed themselves to an asylum policy “based on the full and inclusive application” of the 1951 Refugee Convention; to the “absolute respect of the right to seek asylum”; and to “guarantees to those who seek protection in or access to the European Union”. They also endorsed the need to study the situations that refugees flee from with a view to finding solutions to the root causes of refugee flight. In Tampere the governments agreed to review progress after two years - at the Laeken summit in December 2001. This makes the ECRE Appeal, extremely timely. We hope that it will help to promote a better understanding of the need for the sort of asylum system that Member States had in mind in Tampere.

Report on progress towards a European Asylum Policy
ECRE has released a new report on progress in the development of an EU asylum policy since the European Union Council meeting in Tampere, 1999, where European leaders spoke proudly of their shared commitment to freedom, based on human rights, democratic institutions and rule of law and underlined their absolute respect of the right to seek asylum. In their Conclusions, they committed themselves to working towards establishing a Common European Asylum System based on the full and inclusive application of the Geneva Convention, thus ensuring that nobody is sent back to persecution.

The ECRE report "The Promise of Protection: Progress towards a European Asylum Policy since Tampere" aims to take stock of progress over the past two years to assess whether the spirit of Tampere is reflected in the EU asylum and migration legislation that is being developed. It also considers whether the EU asylum harmonisation process provides a sound foundation for the creation of an area of "freedom, security and justice" for asylum seekers and refugees in Europe.

Download the report:
The Promise of Protection: Progress towards a European Asylum Policy since Tampere.
Published report: promise_of_protection.pdf – 1.03Mb Acrobat file

Entire document: promise_of_protection_all.doc – 159Kb Word document
Entire document: promise_of_protection_all.pdf – 105Kb Acrobat document

Key Recommendations: promise_key_recommends.doc – 40Kb Word document
Key Recommendations: promise_key_recommends.pdf – 12Kb Acrobat document