In the past days EU in Bruxelles discussed on the “The Council directive that introduces minimal EU rules on the recognition and withdrawal of refugee status”.
This a juridical passage that should be enforced before May 1st (the day of the enlargement of European Union) and it is to provide for some strict restrictions for the recognition of refugee status. The applicants must be coming from countries that are considered objectively risky. Asylum seekers may also be repatriated to a “safe” country and protection may be refused.
Many associations, groups, ngos are protesting against EU choices, they ask for this directive withdrawal and they report of all the risks the same directive could take to.
HWR against UK and EU choices
This proposal, which the Italian government approves of, was accepted during the EU Council meeting that took place in Greece in June 2003. “We have for years faced the restriction of asylum rights within EU now Europe starts preventing asylum seekers entries”, says Human Right Watch.
“Immigration management policies should not only take care of leaving migrants in their home countries” HRW affirms. “We are extremely worried about UK’s proposal of detaining asylum seekers in centres that should be built outside EU territories”.
In such centres (often run by UNHCR or IOM) asylum seekers have many times been humiliated and beaten up before being forcibly repatriated to the countries they were fleeing away from.
The Italian situation
Associations and groups are very worried about the negative impact of the quoted directive.
The law decree, which is actually being discussed at the House of deputies, was recently deeply changed according to the government will. Rules if enacted will strongly limit asylum rights in Italy. Seekers won’t be anymore safeguarded during the evaluation of their application period, they will be forced inside identification centres.
The Council of State expressed its own negative opinion on the rules for the enforcement of Boss-Fini law and the rules for the recognition of refugee status.
Asylum shut down!
The news we managed to collect on our web page show that through out EU new local immigration management policies are extremely worrying.
For instance, in Sweden migrant citizens use razors, knives and acids to cancel their own fingerprints; in Switzerland the government enacted rules that will make asylum seekers unwilling to go there.