„Refugees are no parcels“

29.04.2010

The outcome of the so-called „Dubliners project“ was presented to the public this week in Rome. Instigated by the Italian Refugees Council (CIR) and in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs and six partner organisations, amongst them PRO ASYL, 75 refugees affected by the Dublin II regulations were interviewed in order to highlight

„Refugees aren’t parcel post“, said an Afghan describing his odyssey through Europe. As established by the so-called Dublin II Regulation it is the EU member state through which the asylum seeker first entered the EU that will be responsible of processing the asylum claim. This means, that a refugee reaching e.g. Germany on his run will most probably be shuttled back to the European country that he first set his foot in. The states on the EU’s outer borders thus have to deal with an inappropriate number of refugees and asylum claims and will be overstrained – as can perfectly be seen in Greece. The Dublin II Regulation also often provides for the detention of asylum seekers until the EU state responsible of processing the asylum claim has been established. In the meantime, much more often than not the asylum seeker will fail to learn about the procedure he is going through and about his rights.

The European Commission has brought forward a proposal on how to revise the Dublin II Regulation which is currently being discussed in the European Parliament. A revision is imperative. The Dublin system is inhumane, disregarding the rights of refugees and migrants. There are many urgent questions which have to be kept in mind for a new and better regulation. More attention must especially paid to the needs of unaccompanied minors.