European Union
Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘Integration of refugees in the EU’ (exploratory opinion) (C 264/03)
On 27 April 2016, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted the exploratory opinion on Integration of refugees in the EU. The exploratory opinion draws on the experiences of other times and geographic areas that witnessed the arrival of refugees on comparable or larger scale, focussing on the role of civil society.
The EESC stresses that integration is a necessity in order to preserve social cohesion. Integration policies need to adopt a two way process by targeting both refugees and local population. Media, local authorities, trade unions, employer organisations and NGOs play an important role in this process. Other key recommendations include the special attention to (unaccompanied) minors, access to information about the rights and obligations of refugees, and language training.
The EESC further addresses the need for investment in integration as it will not only lead to social cohesion but also to economic growth and job creation. The EU funding should be increased in order to achieve better co-financing of measures to integrate refugees.
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United Nations
UNHCR: Good Practices Paper – Action 6: Establishing Statelessness Determination Procedures to Protect Stateless Persons
UNHCR has published the Good Practices Paper – Action 6: Establishing Statelessness Determination Procedures to Protect Stateless Persons. The Good Practices Papers are designed in order to help States achieve the goals of its Campaign to End Statelessness within 10 years. These goals are to (i) resolve the major situations of statelessness that exists today, (ii) prevent the emergence of new cases of statelessness, and (iii) improve the identification and protection of stateless populations.
Action 6 of the Global Action Plan calls on States to grant protection status to stateless migrants through the establishment of statelessness determination procedures (SDP), and facilitate their naturalisation. It presents a brief overview of the procedural guarantees relevant to SDPs, such as the institutional location of statelessness determination procedures, access to procedures, evidentiary considerations, and the rights granted to recognised stateless persons. The Paper illustrates these key elements with good practices from selected countries that are among a small pool that have established such procedures to date (e.g. France, Hungary, Mexico, the Republic of Moldova).
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National Developments
Netherlands – Council of State Advocate General’s opinion on ‘Safe Country’ concept in asylum cases
On 20 July 2016, the Advocate General of the Council of State published his opinion regarding the concept of ‘Safe Country’ in asylum cases.
The case concerned the appeal of two Albanian nationals against the rejection of their application for temporary asylum residence permits. The applicants argued that they would suffer problems in Albania based on their homosexual orientation. The State Secretary of Security and Justice rejected their application based on the Safe Country of Origin concept. The Court of First Instance agreed and dismissed the applicant’s appeal. The applicant appealed before the Council of State.
According to the Advocate General, a country cannot be considered a Safe Country if:
- a systemic risk of persecution or inhuman and degrading treatment of certain minority groups, such as LGBTI, exists there; and
- the security situation is fluid or certain parts of the country are unsafe, unless only a significantly small segment of the country is unsafe/insecure.
A country can nevertheless be considered a Safe Country if the State Secretary:
- provides for an exception clause for minority groups, such as LGBT; and
- creates a geographical restriction for the unsafe part of the country, if a clear demarcation can be made between the safe and unsafe parts.
Regarding the burden of proof, the State Secretary must investigate to what extent the country can in general be considered safe (‘general burden of proof’). The applicant will then have to demonstrate that in his or her circumstances the country cannot be regarded safe (‘specific burden of proof’).
Based on an unofficial translation by the ELENA Weekly Legal Update.
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Sweden – Swedish Parliament adopts temporary restriction on residence permits
On 20 July 2016, the new Swedish law regarding the restriction on residence permits and family reunification for beneficiaries of international protection has entered into force. The new law will apply for the duration of three years.
As from now, individuals, who have been granted refugee status, will receive a temporary residence permit for the duration of three years. Individuals, who have been granted subsidiary protection, will receive a residence permit for 13 months. After these periods have elapsed, the residence permit will be extended, if the individual still has grounds for protection. A permanent residence permit will only be issued if the individual is able to support him/herself. Previous law will apply to unaccompanied minors and families with children under the age of 18, who have submitted an application for asylum before 24 November 2015, and they will be entitled to apply for permanent residence permits.
In addition, the family reunification opportunities are severely restricted under the new law. Only individuals, who have been granted refugee status and a residence permit for the duration of three years, will be able to apply for family reunification. The same applies to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, who have applied for asylum before 24 November 2015. Individuals, who have submitted their application for subsidiary protection after this date, will only be able to apply for family reunification in exceptional instances.
The following family members are able to apply for family reunification in Sweden: the husband, the wife, the registered partner, the cohabiting partner and unmarried children under the age of 18. In order to be granted a permit based on family reunification, the residence permit holder and his or her family member have to be older than 21 years and they have to have lived together before moving to Sweden.
For more information on the importance of residence permits and family reunification in European countries, please refer to the recently published legal briefing by ECRE/AIDA entitled ‘Asylum on the Clock? Duration and review of international protection status in Europe’ and the information note by ECRE/ELENA entitled ‘Information Note on Family Reunification for Beneficiaries of International Protection in Europe’.
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NGOs
ECRE: ECRE is recruiting a 11-month Legal Intern
ECRE is offering an 11-month legal internship. The purpose of this position is to assist ECRE’s Legal Support and Litigation Team with legal research on specific topics relating to international protection, contributing to ECRE’s AIDA and EDAL databases as well as providing support for the ELENA training courses.
Interested candidates should apply before 19 August 2016.
More information on how to apply here.
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ECRE: ECRE is recruiting a 10-month Legal Officer (deadline extension)
ECRE is offering 10-month Legal Officer’s post starting in August 2016. The purpose of this position is to enhance capacity of ECRE’s Legal Support and Litigation Team in providing legal and litigation support to ECRE and ELENA members. The post holder will be expected to contribute to ECRE/ELENA’s legal research on specific topics relating to international protection, legal training and EDAL database.
Candidates should apply by 29 July 2016 stating “Application Legal Officer”.
More information on how to apply here.
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