25th report on the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (1987)
Recommendation 1105
(1989)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 9 May 1989 (2nd Sitting) (see Doc. 5914, 25th report of UNHCR, and Doc. 6038, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, Rapporteur : Mr Bota). Text adopted by the Assembly on 9 May 1989 (2nd Sitting).
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Having examined the 25th report on the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for 1987 (
Doc. 5914), and the report of its Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography (
Doc. 6038) ;
3. Noting with satisfaction that all Council of Europe member states are observing the provisions of the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, but regretting, however, that Italy and Turkey still maintain their geographical reservations to the convention ;
4. Welcoming the fact that, on 14 March 1989, the Government of the Hungarian People's Republic deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations Organisation instruments of accession to the 1951 Convention and to the 1967 Protocol relating to the status of refugees ;
5. Noting with concern that persons in need of protection have been expelled and refused asylum in some member countries, which seems to point to a restrictive application of the criteria for determining refugee status ;
6. Disappointed by the reply from the Committee of Ministers to
Recommendation 1031 (1986) on the 24th report on the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) during the period 1982-84 ;
7. Noting that some states are adopting measures, either unilaterally, or in the framework of the Schengen Agreement, or within the European Community, aimed in particular at restricting the entry of asylum-seekers into their territory, a procedure which runs counter to the liberal humanitarian tradition of European states ;
8. Reaffirming that measures to combat unauthorised immigration, including the imposition of visas, must not be used to restrict access to asylum procedures for persons in genuine need of protection ;
9. Supporting the campaigns launched by UNHCR to improve information to the public on the situation of refugees and asylum-seekers ;
10. Convinced of the need to improve the statistical basis for decisions concerning refugees and to standardise the methods of calculating the number of asylum-seekers ;
11. Anxious about the manner in which the governments of member states intend to apply the principles contained in Committee of Ministers Recommendation No. R (84) 1 on the protection of persons satisfying the criteria in the Geneva Convention who are not formally recognised as refugees,
12. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :
12.1 take the necessary steps to standardise statistical data on refugees, including the methods employed by member states in calculating the number of asylum-seekers, and invite UNHCR to participate in this work ;
12.2 invite the Commission of the European Communities and the states party to the Schengen Agreement to inform it of their initiatives in respect of the right to asylum ;
12.3 invite Italy and Turkey to withdraw their geographical reservations to the 1951 Geneva Convention ;
12.4 adopt as soon as possible the draft European agreement on responsibility for examining asylum requests ;
12.5 invite the governments of member states :
a to step up their support, including financial aid, for UNHCR's activities ;
b to improve information to the public on the situation of refugees and asylum-seekers, their countries of origin, and the activities of UNHCR ;
c to sign and/or ratify, if they have not already done so, the European Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees and the European Agreement on Transfer of Responsibility for Refugees.
