News on Undocumented Migration

EUROPEAN UNION

On 28 and 29 May the Council of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) will again discuss the proposed Framework Decision and Directive dealing with giving assistance to illegal entry, transit and residence (see PICUM Newsletter Nr. 1). There is almost complete agreement on the text of the two documents including the humanitarian clause and the system of minimum-maximum penalties. Only one Member State is against these two aspects, and as consensus is required it is not fully certain whether the two papers will be approved by Council members. The present text of the humanitarian clause is as follows: ‘Any Member State may decide not to impose sanctions in regard of the behaviour defined in paragraph 1(a) for cases where the aim of the behaviour is to provide humanitarian assistance to the person concerned’. Paragraph 1(a) indicates that (each Member State shall impose appropriate sanctions on) any person who intentionally assists or tries to assist a person who is not a national of a Member State to enter, or transit across, the territory of a Member State in breach of the laws of the State concerned on the entry or transit of aliens. Or stated briefly: those assisting irregular migrants to clandestinely enter a EU-country will be punished unless a government is willing to apply the humanitarian clause. 

However, even if certain good-willing countries ‘decide not to impose sanctions’, it is very well possible that they have to carry out sanctions imposed by other Member States as there is an agreement on mutual recognition and execution of verdicts by courts in other EU countries. It should further be noted that giving assistance to an irregular immigrant  to reside in the country, is only punishable if ‘financial gain’ is at stake (article 1 para. 1(b) of the proposed Directive). 

GERMANY

Debate on illegal migration  -  Apparently the last months a debate on the theme of irregular migration was initiated in Germany. The SPD and the Greens in the government are considering to improve the situation of undocumented migrants living in Germany. Besides a guaranteed access to health care for all undocumented migrants, is the ‘duty to denounce’ that exists now for all ‘official institutions’ in Germany an important issue in the discussions.

Last September, a ‘Zuwanderungskommission’ was set up by the Federal Government. This independent 'Commission on Immigration Policy' consists of MPs as well as of delegates from relevant groups of society, e.g. churches, trade unions etc. Its aim is to discuss all  issues concerning migration: the asylum procedure as well as integration measures for refugees and 'Spätaussiedler' (East Europeans of German origin) etc. This commission will present her recommendations on immigration to the public and the government at the beginning of July.

On 4 may 2001 Claudia Roth, chairperson of the Green Party in Parliament , organized a Round Table on ‘asylum and refugee policy”, were some of the conclusions of the ‘Zuwanderungskommission’ and the migration and asylum policies in general were discussed with members of NGOs and representatives of the big welfare organisations (eg Caritas and Diakonisches Werk).

Further in this public debate should be mentioned the conference organised by some left wing groups, on 23 June 2001, for the regularization of undocumented migrants. (More information on www.bo-alternativ.de/mfh)

The 'Deutsche Bischofskonferenz' published a paper on 'Life in Illegality in Germany - a humanitarian and pastoral challenge', a thorough analysis of the situation which could lead to more understanding. Main themes addressed are also here the access to health care, education for children, claimable wages and the abolishment of the duty to denounce. The paper can be ordered via Herrmann Uihlein per email: uihlein@caritas.de. (More information on www.caritas.de/newsletter.)

THE NETHERLANDS

Buscampaign - The new Aliens Law of the Netherlands entered into force on 1 April 2001. One of the consequences of this law is that more people are excluded from public services, and will be put out on the streets. Not only NGOs but also the communes are protesting against this new regulation. This protest resulted among other things in a ‘Buscampaign’. A few NGOs (ASKV/SV, ‘Vuurdoop’, PRIME and ‘Vluchtelingen in de Knel’) gathered some refugees - that would be put out on the street under the new aliens law- in a bus to make a tour through the country. In the first part of the week, the bus visited several communes  and burgomasters were asked to sign a petition expressing their concern about the consequences of the asylum policy. In the second part of the week, several politicians were visited, with the request to give shelter to the people on the bus. In this way the Campaign symbolized what the NGOs are confronted with all the time. The Campaign turned out to be a big success, the organisation intends to carefully follow up its effects.  

A (Dutch) brochure "Vluchtelingen zet je niet op straat", with more information on the new Aliens Law and the consequences for refugees can be ordered at ASKV/Steunpunt Vluchtelingen:  askvsv@dds.nl (www.huizen.dds.nl/~askvsv).

BELGIUM

Regularization Campaign - In Belgium, a delay occurred in the regularization campaign. The finishing date of 1 July 2001, set by the Minister of Home Affairs, turned out to be a miscalculation. The delay is mainly caused by the administrative malfunctioning of the executives of the Secretariat and the Registry, and by the incompetence of the Minister to follow up the Regularization. Members of the Regularization Commission point to it that, if any acceleration of the procedure would prove necessary, all files should still be treated equally and respectfully.

Mental Health Care  - The ‘Medisch Steunpunt Mensen zonder papieren’ (Medical Support Point for Undocumented Migrants) – which was also present at the Health Care Seminar organized by PICUM (see below)– is continuing its efforts for the implementation of the right to urgent medical care. Together with the Health Sector a common list of demands has been prepared for the federal parliament and the Minister of Social Affairs and Social Integration. In this document, the request is made to extend the right to medical care to psychiatric patients outside the health institutions.

The Medical Support Point is also active in the preparation of a Seminar concerning mental health care for undocumented migrants, which will take place on 20 September 2001. The aim of this day is to enhance the expertise and to improve the services for this group of people, and to ask the policy makers to support this.

Permanent Regularization - A working group with jurists and members of NGOs is elaborating several bills concerning a permanent regularization policy by adapting the existing Aliens Law. Point of departure from this group is that many undocumented migrants did not file an application during the Regularization Campaign of January 2000, but are still illegally residing in Belgium. The aim is to offer the possibility to different categories of people to still apply for regularization on an individual basis. The contents of the Proposals will be finalized mid-June, and will subsequently be discussed in the next PICUM Newsletter. 

Research - On 31 May the ‘Steunpunt Mensen Zonder Papieren’ (Support Point for Undocumented Migrants) will conclude a research into the effects of the government’s policy on the behaviour and decisions of undocumented migrants in Belgium. The research is part of a large migration research commissioned by the King Baldwin Foundation. It has been made in collaboration with two universities (Université de Liege and Université Libre de Bruxelles), the conclusions will be based on over 120 in-depth interviews.

GREECE

Greece From 2 June onwards, Greece is setting up a regularization campaign for undocumented migrants. Main reason for this campaign is according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung the proportional increase of the ageing population, leading to a deficit of the pension funds, and subsequently bringing about a decrease in popularity of the left Pasok-government. With a regularization campaign the government also hopes to fight the illegal labour market. Candidates for regularization should be at least one year in the country, and should be able to prove their employment in Greece.

PICUM NEWS

Activities organised by PICUM:

·         On 22 and 23 March 2001 PICUM organised an International Experts Seminar on Health Care for Undocumented Migrants. The two main themes that were addressed during these days were access to health care, and the possibility of obtaining residence permits on medical grounds. Twelve experts from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom participated in the discussions. At the end of the Seminar, a set of conclusions and recommendations was formulated. The official (extensive) publication of the report on this Seminar will be available from the 20th of June, and can be ordered at the PICUM secretariat. (price: 9 Euro) 

·         On 22 February 2001 PICUM organised several Workshops: on the ILPA/ MPG Proposed Directive on Irregular Migrants (Amsterdam Proposals 2000/6), on the International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (UN, 1990), and on the Criminalisation of Assistance to Undocumented Migrants. The reports of these workshops can be obtained via the PICUM Secretariat.

New members:

·         Myriam de Feyter from December 18 is welcomed as a new member. December 18 is a young online voluntary organisation named after the International Day of Solidarity with Migrants, initiated in 1997 by Filipino and other Asian migrant organisations.

PICUM Publication:

·         The first Annual Report of PICUM (2000) was finalised in the beginning of April. It can be obtained by contacting the Secretariat.

Near Future:

·         In the course of June or July the PICUM Website will be activated. The address will be ‘www.picum.org’

·         The next project of PICUM is the realisation of the ‘Book of Solidarity’. This project aims at supporting and encouraging citizens and citizens’ organisations providing humanitarian support to undocumented migrants. The book of solidarity will render visible the manifold ways humanitarian support is given by social institutions, private organisations, organisations of volunteers and persons in European countries. In this way PICUM wants to present a solid ethical and legal basis for these various ways of humanitarian support so that the latter won’t be discouraged, forbidden or penalised.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Abbas Kömür, Celal: Sans Papiers in Deutschland - Vorschläge für ihre Legalisierung, Studie der PDS-Bundestagsfraktion, Berlin 2001

Fodor, R. & Alt, J., "Rechtlos? Menschen ohne Papiere", von Loeper Literaturverlag, Karlsruhe, 2000.

Gibney, M.J., Outside the Protection of the Law: The situation of Irregular Migrants in Europe, Refugee Studies Centre and Jesuit Refugee Centre, 2000.

Jesuit Refugee Service, Voices from the Shadows: Stories of men and women living with irregular migration status, Brussels, 2001.

Jurado, T. (ed.),  ‘Easy Scapegoats: sans papiers immigrants in Europe. State Strategies and Intervention Strategies for the Civil Societies’, Freudenberg Stiftung, Weinheim, 2000.

Pickels, A. (ed.), 'A la lumière des sans-papiers', Editions Complexes, Bruxelles, 2001.

Research, Development and Statistical Directorate (Home Office UK), 'Migration: an economic and social analysis', Occasional paper No 67, 2001

Simonin, B., Brun, F., Laacher, S., Gomel, B., De la régularisation à l’intégration: stratégies, atouts, obstacles…, Migrations études, n°97, jan-fev 2001. [ A report on the evaluation of the last Regularization Campaign for undocumented migrants in France]

Van Krieken, P.J. (ed.), Health, Migration and Return, A Handbook for a Multidisciplinary Approach, TMC Asser Press, The Hague, 2001.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The next PICUM General Assembly will take place 31 August and 1 September. The first part, on 31 August, is open to everybody and consists of a Workshop on ‘argumentations for working with undocumented migrants’. The aim is to reflect on the ethical side of assistance to people without a legal stay, both at the personal and the institutional level.

For further information: contact Nele Verbruggen, PICUM secretariat, Gaucheretstraat 164, 1030 Brussels, tel. +32-2-274.14.39, fax +32-2-274.14.48, e-mail: info@PICUM.org

(Top)