scholarly journals European Asylum Policy and Procedures - Violating Human Rights?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Nabiyar
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Life Stories ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Racial Violence ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Asylum Policy ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
The Eu

Based on the human rights approach this study investigates the process of gaining asylum in the European Union (EU) from the first step which is access to the territory, up to the last point of deportation and/or the granting of refugee status. A qualitative study is used to examine two countries with the largest numbers of refugees around the world: Afghanistan and Syria. The method consists of a thematic analysis of six videos that cover the real life stories and narratives of eighteen asylum seekers from different countries of the EU. The findings and existing literature conclude that asylum seekers face many obstacles and challenges, and that EU asylum policy and procedures are violating human rights. These EU rights violations include closing the borders, putting asylum seekers in prison, forced deportation, homelessness, poverty and racial violence. Ultimately, this research concludes that even though all these European countries are signatories of the United Nations/Geneva Conventions, in reality they do not fulfill their obligations.

scholarly journals European Asylum Policy and Procedures - Violating Human Rights?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Nabiyar
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Life Stories ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Racial Violence ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Asylum Policy ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
The Eu

Based on the human rights approach this study investigates the process of gaining asylum in the European Union (EU) from the first step which is access to the territory, up to the last point of deportation and/or the granting of refugee status. A qualitative study is used to examine two countries with the largest numbers of refugees around the world: Afghanistan and Syria. The method consists of a thematic analysis of six videos that cover the real life stories and narratives of eighteen asylum seekers from different countries of the EU. The findings and existing literature conclude that asylum seekers face many obstacles and challenges, and that EU asylum policy and procedures are violating human rights. These EU rights violations include closing the borders, putting asylum seekers in prison, forced deportation, homelessness, poverty and racial violence. Ultimately, this research concludes that even though all these European countries are signatories of the United Nations/Geneva Conventions, in reality they do not fulfill their obligations.

Harmonisation of Asylum Law and Policy within the European Union: A Human Rights Perspective

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-184
Author(s):  
Hannah R. Garry
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Asylum Policy ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Amsterdam Treaty ◽  
Asylum Law ◽  
The Eu

From 1986 to the present, there has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of asylum applications within the borders of the European Union largely from Eastern European countries and former colonies in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Reacting to the influxes of the 1980s, European States began to implement and coordinate policies to control entry of asylum seekers. Within this climate, the EU has moved towards harmonisation of asylum policy and procedure as necessary for its pursuit of an ‘area of freedom, security and justice’ without internal borders for the purpose of greater economic and political integration. In light of the current restrictive attitudes and practice towards asylum seekers in the individual Member States of the EU, the harmonisation of asylum policy through the institutions and law of the EU may prove to be problematic from a human rights perspective. This paper first traces the development of a common asylum policy within the EU through the Maastricht Treaty and the Amsterdam Treaty. Second, this paper analyses the implications of harmonisation after the Amsterdam Treaty with reference to the international obligations of the Member States under international human rights and refugee law. Third, this paper critiques the development of various current asylum policies and practice through intergovernmental development of ‘soft law’. Through this overview and analysis, it is argued that further steps towards harmonisation will continue to reflect European concerns with security, economic prosperity, and cultural homogeneity unless the moves towards supranationalism within the EU framework lead to a deliberate effort to make respect for human rights the core of asylum law and policy.

scholarly journals The Threat of Destitution as a Deterrent against Asylum Seeking in the European Union

Refuge ◽  
2006 ◽  
pp. 81-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie Da Lomba
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Eu

The problematization of asylum has detrimentally impacted on the provision of support for asylum seekers in host countries. The threat of destitution has become instrumental in restrictive asylum policies and is increasingly used as a deterrent against asylum seeking. The EU experience reveals acute tensions between the EU asylum agenda and the EU Member States’ obligations under international refugee and human rights law. The provision of support for asylum seekers challenges narrow approaches to the realization of socio-economic rights for “others” and to host countries’ duties in that respect. The EU Reception Conditions Directive, which aims to set out standards for the reception of asylum seekers across the Union, exemplifies this predicament. Yet international refugee and human rights law provides a legal framework that establishes minimum standards critical to dignified living for asylum seekers and the protection of the right to seek refugee status in the EU and beyond.

Between Persecution and Protection: Refugees and the New European Asylum Policy

2000 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 169-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elspeth Guild
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Asylum Policy ◽  
Minimum Standards ◽  
Amsterdam Treaty ◽  
European Court ◽  
Common Policies ◽  
The Right

The admission, reception and treatment of asylum seekers in the European Union has been an issue of continuing political and legal concern throughout the 1990’s. The rising numbers of persons seeking protection at the beginning of the period coupled with a rapidly developing regional jurisprudence on the right to protection from the European Court of Human Rights in particular, changed the nature of the debate. The Member States began to search for common policies and practices as regards asylum through intergovernmental measures. With the Amsterdam Treaty, the most important aspects of asylum have been transferred to the EC Treaty: criteria and mechanisms for determining which Member State is responsible for considering an application for asylum; minimum standards on reception of asylum seekers; minimum standards with respect to the qualification of nationals of third countries as refugees; minimum standards on procedures for granting and withdrawing refugee status amongst others.

Between Persecution and Protection: Refugees and the New European Asylum Policy

2000 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 169-197
Author(s):  
Elspeth Guild
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Asylum Policy ◽  
Minimum Standards ◽  
Amsterdam Treaty ◽  
European Court ◽  
Common Policies ◽  
The Right

The admission, reception and treatment of asylum seekers in the European Union has been an issue of continuing political and legal concern throughout the 1990’s. The rising numbers of persons seeking protection at the beginning of the period coupled with a rapidly developing regional jurisprudence on the right to protection from the European Court of Human Rights in particular, changed the nature of the debate. The Member States began to search for common policies and practices as regards asylum through intergovernmental measures. With the Amsterdam Treaty, the most important aspects of asylum have been transferred to the EC Treaty: criteria and mechanisms for determining which Member State is responsible for considering an application for asylum; minimum standards on reception of asylum seekers; minimum standards with respect to the qualification of nationals of third countries as refugees; minimum standards on procedures for granting and withdrawing refugee status amongst others.

Facing the Refugee Challenge in Europe: A Litmus Test for the European Union

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-260
Author(s):  
Cecilia Rizcallah
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
Common European Asylum System ◽  
Litmus Test ◽  
The One ◽  
The Eu

Abstract According to mainstream discourse, the EU is facing a ‘refugee crisis’ due to a mass influx of asylum seekers, which is putting the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) under pressure. Although this article acknowledges that the CEAS is currently under pressure, it aims to take a different view from the assumption that the—admittedly significant—arrival of asylum seekers constitutes in itself a problem for the EU. It suggests that the problems encountered by the CEAS are rather symptomatic of a deeper gridlock resulting from this system’s lack of compliance with two main EU’s fundamental values, the respect of which constitutes the ‘fundamental premise’ of EU integration, namely solidarity and human rights. From both an historical and a legal perspective, the EU is indeed founded on a set of values comprising the respect of human rights and solidarity. The treaties further require their respect internally (i.e. Articles 2 and 6 TEU), but also vis-à-vis the rest of the world (i.e. Articles 3(5) and 21 TEU). However, the current responses to the arrival of asylum-seekers are, in several respects, in contradiction with these founding values. On the one hand, the internal management of the influx of refugees reveals a lack of solidarity and results in breaches of asylum-seekers’ fundamental rights. On the other, the EU’s asylum policy does not meet the requirement according to which the Union shall, in its relations with the wider world, uphold and promote these values. These observations lead us to believe that facing the refugee challenge constitutes, from a normative perspective at least, a litmus test for the EU at large. Indeed, the EU’s difficulties in dealing with the arrival of the asylum seekers—which have already been the subject of extensive research—appear to be the evidence of an identity crisis. The way the EU, hand in hand with its Member States, responds to this challenge thus amounts to a ‘decisively indicative test’ for its normative foundations that are a prerequisite for the viability of the entire undertaking, and, notably, of the principle of mutual trust.

The CEAS and the Europeanization of Turkey’s Asylum Policy after the Syrian Crisis

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
A. Asli Bilgin ◽  
Harun Arikan
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Asylum Policy ◽  
Syrian Crisis ◽  
Common European Asylum System ◽  
The Eu

Although the European Union (EU) has a Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the policy stance of the Member States towards the Syrian crisis caused some problems in the implementation of the CEAS. Within this context, Turkey has turned into the most important partner of the EU due to the fact that it prevents the entrance of the asylum-seekers into the territory of the Member States. Therefore, the Syrian issue has become a bargaining chip between Turkey and the EU. This article examines the Europeanization process of Turkey’s asylum policy as well as the development of the CEAS and its implementation with respect to Syrian refugees within the EU.

Constitutional and Legal Restrictions in the European Union Countries in the Context of the COVID 19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 92-97
Author(s):  
A. V. Kuznetsov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
International Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
Legal Restrictions ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
The Eu

The article examines the norms of international law and the legislation of the EU countries. The list of main provisions of constitutional and legal restrictions in the European Union countries is presented. The application of the norms is described Human rights conventions. The principle of implementing legal acts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is considered. A comparative analysis of legal restrictive measures in the States of the European Union is carried out.

Human rights and the rule of law in judicial cooperation in criminal matters under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

2021 ◽  
pp. 203228442199593
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Schomburg ◽  
Anna Oehmichen ◽  
Katrin Kayß
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cooperation Agreement ◽  
Judicial Cooperation ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Criminal Matters ◽  
The Eu

As human rights have increasingly gained importance at the European Union level, this article examines the remaining scope of human rights protection under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. While some international human rights instruments remain applicable, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union did not become part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The consequences, especially the inapplicability of the internationalised ne bis in idem principle, are analysed. Furthermore, the conditionality of the TCA in general as well as the specific conditionality for judicial cooperation in criminal matters are discussed. In this context, the risk that cooperation may cease at any moment if any Member State or the UK leave the European Convention of Human Rights is highlighted. Lastly, the authors raise the problem of the lack of judicial review, as the Court of Justice of the European Union is no longer competent.

The EU's Economic Cooperation with North Korea: The Possibility as a Useful Tool to Complement Korea-US Cooperation

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Sue Lee
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Korean Peninsula ◽  
North Korea ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The North ◽  
The Eu

North Korea conducted 2nd nuclear test on May 25, 2009. It made a vicious circle and continued military tension on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea regime got a question on the effectiveness of the six party talks and ‘security-economy exchange model’. In addition, the North Korea probably disappointed about the North Korea issue has been excluded from the Obama administration's policy position. So the dialogue or relationship recovery with the United States and North Korea through six-party talks or bilateral talks will be difficult for the time being. This paper examines the EU policy on North Korea. Based on the results, analyzes the EU is likely to act as a balancer on the Korean Peninsula. Through the procedure of deepening and expanding the economic and political unification, the EU utilizes their cooperative policies towards North Korea as an ideal opportunity to realize their internal value and to confirm the commonness within the EU members. The acceleration of the EU's unification, however, began to focus on human rights, and this made their official relationship worse. Yet, the EU is continuously providing food as wells as humanitarian and technological support to North Korea regardless of the ongoing nuclear and human rights issues in North Korea. Also, the number of multinational corporations investing in North Korea for the purpose of preoccupying resources and key industries at an individual nation's level has been increasing. The European Union has unique structure which should follow the way of solving the problem of member states like subsidiary principle. It appears to conflict between normative power of the European Union and strategic interests on member states. This paper examines if the European Union is useful tool to complement Korea-US cooperation in the near future.

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