"News from the Cross-border Asylum Network"

"Strong bonds are our answer to the EU member states` attempt to shift their responsibility for refugees further east or to regions of origin. Cross-border cooperation is our way to take responsibility for people in need of protection".

To our Friends and Supporters

Dear Friends and Supporters of the 'Information and Cooperation Forum' ICF Network!

We are excited to present you with the first edition of the ICF newsletter. This edition's focus is the implementation of the European Dublin II regulation and its impact on the protection of refugees in Europe. At an international seminar in Prague, ICF partners and international experts came to the conclusion that the implementation of the Dublin II regulation has had fatal consequences for refugee protection. The March edition of the ICF newsletter contains reports on the consequences of the Dublin II regulation as well as on trends and developments in the European asylum system, particularly in the area of social reception conditions. Our newsletter will appear every two months. Please feel free to respond by way of suggestions, information and commentary.
For more information on ICF cross-border cooperation take a look here!

Liliane Danso, ICF-Coordinator, PRO ASYL e.V.
Karl Kopp, Head of ICF, Europe expert at PRO ASYL, Board Member of ECRE

Focus: Impact of Dublin II

ECRE on Dublin II Regulation: 'unfair, inefficient and resource-intensive'

On 16 March 2006, ECRE launched a report about the impact of the Dublin II Regulation in Europe. The report concludes that the Dublin system is unfair, inefficient, resource-intensive and an obstacle to genuine sharing of responsibility between member states.
Read more ECRE Summary Report

Seminar on the impact of the Dublin II Regulation

An international seminar 'Impact of the Dublin II Regulation on the Protection of Refugees in Central Europe' took place on January 23, 2006, in Prague under the direction and coordination of ICF.
Read more

Slovenia: Dublin II in practice, legislative changes to asylum law and social reception conditions

Human rights activists in Slovenia note that the Dublin II regulation is applied very restrictively. The authorities and the courts do not take Dublin II provisions into account that could improve the conditions or mitigate the consequences for refugees. The number of detained asylum seekers in Slovenia continues to increase.
Read more

Austria: legislative changes, the status of refugee protection and Dublin II in practice

In July 2005, restrictive legislation on asylum was passed that continues to reflect the mindset of the asylum amendment of 2003. Under the pretext of fighting asylum misuse, the legislation contains heightened obligations to cooperate and sanctions, in particular the use of deportation custody during the Dublin consultation procedure and an increase in the maximum time period of deportation custody from six months to ten months.
Read more

NEWS: ICF Region

Detention in Poland

The majority of "illegal" immigrants in Poland are imprisoned in detention facilities. NGOs are continually pressuring authorities to limit the scope of detention or at least to limit the maximum time period for detention.
Read more

CPT published report on detention in Poland

The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its third periodic visit to Poland, which took place in October 2004. The report has been made public at the Polish authorities' request.
Read more

NGO 'Asyl in Not' accuses police in Slovakia of torture

The Austrian human rights organization, Asyl in Not, lodged serious accusations against the Slovakian police, who beat and humiliated a refugee in police custody.
Read more

DW-WORLD.DE on border patrols at the EU borders

The multimedia broadcasting station, Deutsche Welle, reports that increasing numbers of 'illegal' immigrants are being taken into custody at the Ukrainian-Slovak border. Overcrowded refugee camps, legal loopholes and the border authorities' lack of clear jurisdiction aggravate the situation at the borders.
Source: Natalja Sotowa, DW-RADIO/Ukrainian, Feb. 20, 2006, Fokus Ost-Südost.

UNHCR on the transposition of the EU Directive - Reception standards in Germany

The UNHCR Regional Office for Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic released a report on the transposition of the EU Directive on reception conditions for asylum seekers in Germany. In the report, UNHCR emphasized how refugee protection in Germany could be improved in the context of the EU Reception Directive. Particular attention was paid to the following areas: information and counselling, accommodation and freedom of movement, medical care, education and the needs of particular vulnerable asylum seekers.
Source: UNHCR Berlin, Nov. 22, 2005.

EU News

Decision by the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee

In December the Council adopted the directive without implementing any of the 174 amendments Parliament had suggested in September. On 23 February 2006 the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee decided to refer the Asylum Procedures directive to the European Court. Socialist MEPs have welcomed this.
Read more

UN campaigns for protection of refugees in Greece

The UNHCR is launching a campaign in Greece aimed at highlighting the multiple problems that refugees and asylum seekers face in the country which has one of the lowest rates for granting refugee status in the European Union.
Source: UNHCR, Athens, March 16, 2006.

Trend towards detention of children in Belgium

In February 2006, UNHCR publicly criticized the detention of children in the Steenokerzeel detention facility in Brussels. At the time, 66 children were detained solely because their parents were living in Belgium without proper documentation.
Read more

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The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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