DATE

MEASURE

UPDATE

1951

Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees

This is the legal basis for granting asylum.  It defines a refugee as a person who “owing to a well founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion is outside the country of origin of her nationality and is unwilling owing to such fear to avail herself of the protection of that country.”

Ratified by all EU Member States

1967

Protocol to the Geneva Convention

This states that the principle of ‘non-refoulement’ cannot be applied, i.e. send asylum seekers back to their country of origin.

Ratified by all EU Member States

1999

Tampere Summit

Member States agreed to work towards a "common asylum system" :  MS retain competence for asylum but agreed to harmonise the systems throughout the EU to limit « asylum shopping ».

Tampere Conclusions:

- clear and workable determination of the State responsible for the examination of the asylum application ;

- common standards for a fair and efficient asylum procedure ;

- common minimum conditions of reception of asylum seekers ;

- approximation of the rules on the recognition and content of the refugee status + supplemented with measures on subsidiary forms of protection (for those who fall outside the Geneva Convention but who require protection on humanitarian grounds)

To be reviewed by the Belgian Presidency in 2001.

(report prepared by the Commission  – see below)

2000-

2004

European Refugee Fund

Financial aid to Member States to « ease the burden » of the increase in the number of asylum claims.

The fund will support Member States’ measures in the areas of reception,  integration, and voluntary repatriation and has provisions for emergency financing measures to provide temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons.

Budget of 216 million Euro (until December 2004)

2000

(Nov)

Commission Communication on a « common asylum procedure and a uniform status for those who are granted asylum valid throughout the Union »

2001

(May)

Directive on « minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof »

Adopted in 2001 (Denmark opted out)

2000

Proposal for a Directive on « minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status»

Minimum standards:

1) to guarantee fair procedures for asylum applicants (including the right to appeal and to be fully informed during the procedure).

2) to have a three tier system in the decision-making process : authority to determine the status ; authority to hear appeals based on administrative and/or judicial outcomes ; an appellate court.

3) on concepts such as: inadmissible applications, manifestly unfounded applications, safe country of origin, safe third country.

Due to have been adopted at the 6/7 December 2001 Council meeting

2001

(Sept)

Resolution by the European Parliament on « Female Genital Mutiliation » (rapporteur Ms Valenciano Martinez-Orozco).

This calls for FGM to be recognised as legitimate grounds for seeking asylum.

Paragraphs 15-17 state that the Commission and Council should:

15)…take into account, in a common EU policy on immigration and asylum, of the aspect of genital mutiliation of women and girls.

16)…include the risk of being subjected to FGM as a valid legal ground for asylum.

17) …in their work on a common immigration and asylum policy, seek to develop guidelines to deal with the specific situation of female refugees and in this connection also to tackle the problem of genital mutiliation of women and girls.

Paragraphs 18-19 state that

18) … purely legal considerations are not enough when assessing asylum cases, since although many third countries have legislation formally in place, it is not implemented and that social pressure in favour of FGM is huge, and … such factors must be fully taken into account.

19) …there must be a legal basis for the examination of asylum applications and that current laws generally grant asylum as a protection against political persecution by the authorities of a State, whereas genital mutiliation tends to be carried out by private individuals. 

Adopted by a large majority (September 2001)

2001

Proposal for a Directive : « laying down minimum standards on the reception of applicants for asylum in Member States ».

Provisions to ensure that applicants for asylum are afforded comparable living conditions in all Member States :

1) Reception conditions : information, documentation, freedom of movement, housing, food, clothing, daily expenses allowance , unity of the family, health care, schooling for minors. Possibility of access to the labour market and vocational training if they are long term in the country awaiting the outcome of the asylum decision.

2) Requirement of some reception conditions (material reception conditions and health care).

3) Provisions for reducing and withdrawing access to some or all reception conditions (to avoid abuse of the system) including the possibility of review before a court.

monitoring of implementation at national level and European level (through a Contact Committee)

Currently before the European Parliament for exchange of views and amendments.

Leading Committee : Citizens Freedom and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs . Rapporteur : Jorge Hernandez-Mollar (Spanish, PPE).

A draft report will be presented in the Committee on 20/21 January 2002. Deadline for amendments 5 February. The report will be adopted at the plenary of 11-14 March.

2001

Proposal for a Directive : « laying down minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals and stateless persons as refugees, in accordance with the 1951 Geneva Convention…and the 1967 protocol, or as persons who otherwise need international protection » (ie. the definition of a refugee)

The proposal will determine which applicants qualify for :

1)      refugee status (within the Geneva Convention) or

2)      subsidiary protection (outside the Geneva Convention but requiring temporary protection).  This aims to be complementary to the Geneva Convention and is based on international human rights instruments that offer subsidiary protection, such as the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment ; International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights).

Some Member States already have provisions to bridge the gap between  different protection needs and the proposed directive aims to harmonise the systems to avoid « unwarranted secondary movements of asylum seekers ».

The proposal is very significant for women and gender-based persecution because it :

1) recognises  that the agent of persecution can be a non-state agent where a state is « unable or unwilling to provide effective protection » ;

2) proposes specific rules for assessing the claims of women and children

3) obliges Member States to provide appropriate medical and other assistance to persons who have been subjected to torture, rape and other serious forms of psychological, physical and sexual violence ;

4) provides provisions on minimum rights and benefits to be accorded to both status.  (however some of these benefits, for example, the right to work, may not be offered to persons in the second category.

The proposal accepts the concept of « safe country » and if the applicant is from such a country then none of the status will apply. 

To be adopted in 2002. Discussions will commence under the Spanish Presidency and are likely to be finalised during the Danish Presidency.

The European Parliament has yet to designate a Rapporteur.

2001

Communication from the Commission on « the common asylum policy, introducing an open coordination method ».

The first of regular reports to review developments, published at the eve of the Laeken Summit. It provides the basis for an annual Commission report on the Common European Asylum Policy.

Commission working paper.

This aims to establish a balance between improving internal security in Europe following September 11, and protecting the rights of refugees and other values that are essential to European democracies.

Requested by the Justice and Home Affairs Council.  It will provide a basis for discussions among Member States. The Commission considers it a contribution to the wider debate within civil society.

Significant measures taken at national level

Germany – move to formally recognise gender-based persecution as grounds and non state agents of persecution.