Migration, refugees and population in the context of the third Summit of heads of state and government of member states of the Council of Europe (Warsaw, 16 - 17 May 2005)

Resolution 1511 (2006)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 28 June 2006 (20th Sitting) (see Doc. 10868, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, rapporteur: Mr Hagberg). Text adopted by the Assembly on 28 June 2006 (20th Sitting).

Thesaurus

1. At the 3rd Summit in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May 2005, the heads of state and government of the Council of Europe adopted a declaration and an action plan laying down the principal tasks of the Council of Europe for the coming years.

2. The Parliamentary Assembly has already welcomed the Warsaw Declaration and Action Plan and is committed to contributing to the implementation of the Action Plan in the different areas of its competence, including in the field of migration, refugees and population.

3. The Assembly recognises that there is a need to refocus its activities in the area of migration, refugees and population in order to take into account the changing role of the Council of Europe in the light of the political, human rights and democratic challenges that Europe is now facing.

4. With regard to the priorities laid down in the Warsaw Declaration and Action Plan, the Assembly intends to focus its activities in the field of migration, refugees and population around the following priority actions:

4.1 strengthening the rights of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons, and ensuring the setting up of a legal framework which fully respects their rights and upholds the core values of the Council of Europe;

4.2 promoting intercultural dialogue, fostering tolerance and ensuring the integration of immigrant communities in their host societies;

4.3 managing migration, including regular and irregular migration, while ensuring effective access to a fair asylum procedure for the persons in need of international protection and respecting the different needs of countries of origin, transit and destination.

5. The Assembly intends to strengthen its co-operation with external partners working in the field of migration, refugees and population. In this respect it will:

5.1 work closely with countries of origin, transit and destination, making use of parliamentary forums on migration such as those dealing with the Mediterranean, Asia and American regions;

5.2 increase co-operation with national parliaments, in particular with relevant committees, by exchanging relevant information and holding joint events whenever possible;

5.3 build up co-operation with the European Parliament, notably its Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, through information sharing, the holding of joint meetings, and participation in specific activities;

5.4 strengthen its ties with relevant United Nations agencies, including, inter alia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Labour Office (ILO) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), through regular contacts, participation in activities and the preparation of focused reports on the institutional activities of those organisations whose work is of relevance to the Parliamentary Assembly;

5.5 attempt to increase co-operation, consultation and transparency with a range of other governmental and non-governmental organisations, including with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), trade union and employer representatives and national and international non-governmental organisations.

6. The Assembly intends to strengthen its links with other sectors of the Council of Europe dealing with issues of migration, refugees and population, notably through active involvement in the Inter-Secretarial Task Force on Migration, through inviting intergovernmental committees and other Council of Europe bodies to participate in the work of relevant Parliamentary Assembly committees and through playing an active part in the regular meetings of the Political Platform on Migration set up by the Committee of Ministers.