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Case Study: ASYLUM SEEKERS IN EUROPE
- The number of people applying for asylum in western and central
Europe increased from 365,000 in 1998 to around 450,000 in 1999.
- Countries like the UK, which have signed the 1951 United Nations
Convention on Refugees, have an international obligation to provide
a safe haven for those fleeing torture, persecution and death,
regardless of their nationality. But restrictions exist to limit
the number of would-be asylum seekers from reaching host countries,
and increasingly vocal anti-foreigner sentiment is directed at
those who do get through.
Analysis
A growing number of people from countries where there is war or
human rights abuses are seeking refuge in the European Union. The
UK and Germany each receive just under one fifth of applications
and the Netherlands, Belgium and France around a tenth each.
As the number of refugees rises, though, the countries
to which they are fleeing are tightening the rules to stop them
from entering or to ensure they won't stay. In the process of harmonising
asylum laws across the EU, many member states introduced major new
legislation in 1999 and others passed amendments to existing laws.
This was justified on the grounds that tougher
rules were necessary to deter bogus claims from those who were economic
migrants rather than genuine refugees.
But although the spirit of international law protects
those suffering human rights abuses, the letter of the law throughout
the EU is, increasingly, designed to discourage people from seeking
refuge. For example, following a sudden increase in applications
from Slovakians, Denmark, Finland and the UK all imposed visa requirements
for Slovak nationals.
The reality is that many refugees find themselves
held in detention centres for several months, separated from other
members of their family, attacked or deported back to the countries
from which they have fled.
There are exceptions. Germany's new Citizenship
Law will entitle some four million foreigners resident in Germany
to apply for citizenship. Previously, they would not have been eligible.
Many governments in host countries argue that it
is reasonable to limit refugee inflows for a variety of reasons,
including limited resources. But human rights campaigners point
out the economic benefits that immigration can bring and refer to
a report published in September 2000 which says the EU will need
to admit more than 75 million immigrants to cope with labour and
skills shortages over the next 50 years.
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