The United Nations Refugee Agency is releasing a series of recommendations today for the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) and the Czech Republic, which will take over in July.
The asylum and migration reform, initiated by the European Commission in September 2020 but which comes up against deep divisions between the 27 EU member states, will be one of the main issues of the French presidency, which has started January 1st.
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In a document that brings together its recommendations, UNHCR calls for ” negotiate a sustainable reform of asylum on the basis of the Pact “Migration presented by Brussels, as well as to accentuate the” support to countries »Poor or developing, where 85% of refugees live.
Guarantee access to territories
For the spokesperson of the UNHCR in France, Céline Schmitt, it is necessary to guarantee access to the territory of all the people who wish to make a request for protection. “ Allowing people to have access to the territories to seek asylum, to have access to adequate reception conditions, is crucial, she explains. For example, legal channels do not replace and are not an alternative to access to territories. We have repeatedly denounced returns to the external borders of the European Union, but also human rights violations. “
The UNHCR also denounces attempts to externalize asylum. “ They are contrary to the spirit of the 1951 Geneva Convention, but also against the spirit of the global compact on refugees ”, indicated Céline Schmitt, UNHCR spokesperson in France.
Rescue in the Mediterranean Sea
The Migration Pact ” offers the opportunity to move from an approach ad hoc to a comprehensive, well-managed and predictable common approach “, By strengthening” intra-European solidarity “, continues the UNHCR. On this last point, the High Commission wants ” relaunch a European search and rescue operation at sea “, especially in Mediterranean where only NGO boats are trying to rescue candidates for exile, explained Céline Schmitt.
” At a time when the number of forcibly displaced people in the world is reaching an all-time high, where (…) the number of arrivals in the EU remains manageable, it is essential (…) to re-engage in solidarity towards refugees, between member states themselves and with countries hosting the majority of refugees in the world Said Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR representative for European affairs, quoted in a statement.
By presenting his roadmap for the presidency of the EU, at the beginning of December, the French head of state Emmanuel Macron had pleaded for a Europe which “ know how to protect its borders »In the face of the migratory crises and outlined a series of reforms, including that of the Schengen area. He also warned against a Europe where the right of asylum would be ” misguided “.