The theme of migration and asylum in election campaigns and its consequences on the reception of migrants and their rights
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 23 January 2024 (3rd sitting) (see Doc. 15832, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and
Displaced Persons, rapporteur: Mr Pierre-Alain Fridez; and Doc. 15888, opinion of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy,
rapporteur: Mr Tural Ganjaliyev). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 23 January 2024 (3rd sitting).
1. The Reykjavik Declaration, adopted
at the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of
Europe, reiterated the Organisation’s principles in the face of
the threats to human rights, the rule of law and peace in Europe,
including democratic backsliding, violations of freedom of expression
and the proliferation of hate speech. The Parliamentary Assembly
considers that the treatment of the theme of migration and asylum lies
at the intersection of these many challenges.
2. Considering that elections are milestone events that shape
democracy, the Assembly is concerned at the intensification of a
partial and biased treatment of the issue of migration and asylum
in election campaigns which legitimises political proposals aimed
at blocking access to rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers,
in contravention of the Council of Europe’s standards.
3. The Assembly acknowledges the importance of ensuring that
pluralist and even diverging opinions on the theme of migration
and asylum may be expressed during election campaigns. It firmly
underlines, however, that hate speech and discriminatory measures
cannot be part of a political programme which meets the Council of
Europe’s principles and standards, and calls on governments of member
States as well as key actors in the formulation and dissemination
of electoral propaganda to implement
Recommendation
CM/Rec(2022)16 of the Committee of Ministers to member
States on combating hate speech. The Assembly stresses that strong political
determination is urgently needed to put an end to the instrumentalisation
of the theme of migration and asylum for electoral gain, so that
this topic can be addressed in a balanced fashion, taking into account
all the challenges at stake.
4. The Assembly recalls that the theme of migration and asylum
cannot be limited to security matters and urgently calls on politicians
and the media to urgently weigh up the consequences that such restricted treatment
may have for social cohesion and public order. It expresses its
profound concern at the escalation of verbal and physical attacks
on people of foreign origin or on those perceived as such, in particular
on racialised people and members of religious minorities, which
has resulted from that process. In particular, the Assembly reiterates
the concerns expressed in
Resolution
2457 (2022) “Raising awareness of and countering Islamophobia,
or anti-Muslim racism, in Europe”.
5. The Assembly emphasises that the normalisation of such an
approach when covering the theme of migration and asylum is accompanied
by a rise in intolerance towards individuals (rights defenders,
elected representatives, journalists) and institutions (universities,
media outlets) favourable to the reception and the inclusion of
migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. It calls for manifestations
of such intolerance to be sanctioned, in particular restrictions
on fundamental freedoms, including freedom of assembly and association, of
expression and of the press, or attacks against the physical and
moral integrity of individuals.
6. Recalling
Recommendation
No. R (97) 20 of the Committee of Ministers to member
States on “hate speech”, according to which hate speech and intolerance
“undermine democratic security, cultural cohesion and pluralism”,
the Assembly:
6.1 reiterates the
importance for all member States to ratify Protocol No. 12 to the
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
(ETS No. 177);
6.3 urges member States to strengthen measures to protect
political debates against foreign interference and manipulation,
especially during electoral campaigns, and when this is aimed at spreading
hatred and xenophobic discourse.
7. In view of the recommendations to public officials, elected
bodies and political parties in
Recommendation
CM/Rec(2022)16, and taking into account
Resolution 1546 (2007) “The
code of good practice for political parties”,
Resolution 1889 (2012) “The portrayal
of migrants and refugees during election campaigns” and
Resolution 2275 (2019) “The
role and responsibilities of political leaders in combating hate speech
and intolerance”, the Assembly:
7.1 considers
that migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are an integral part
of European societies and calls on political parties and the media
to reflect this reality in a constructive manner. It reiterates
its support for underrepresented groups, especially migrants, in
the electoral process as candidates or voters;
7.2 stresses, as emphasised by the Committee of Ministers
in
Recommendation
CM/Rec(2022)10 on multilevel policies and governance
for intercultural integration, the need “for a strategic and coherent approach
across all levels of government to ensure policy effectiveness and
sustainability in the field of migrant integration and inclusion”
and “to foster a common pluralistic sense of belonging through valuing diversity
and building social trust, community cohesion and meaningful interaction
between people across their different socio-cultural backgrounds”;
7.3 recalls the obligation and moral responsibility incumbent
upon politicians not to use hate speech or stigmatising language
and to immediately and unambiguously condemn their use by others;
it reiterates its call on political parties to adopt self-regulatory
instruments which prohibit and sanction the use of hate speech by
their members;
7.4 underlines that the rule of law, democracy and human rights
are the core principles of European constitutional heritage and
calls on European political parties to comply with the Code of Good
Practice in the field of Political Parties (CDL-AD(2009)021) which
states that “[p]olitical parties should not act against the values
of the [European Convention on Human Rights] and the principle of
equality” (Article 18);
7.8 commends the adoption by the Congress of Local and Regional
Authorities of the Council of Europe of
Resolution
431 (2018) and
Recommendation
419 (2018) “Voting rights at local level as an element
of successful long-term integration of migrants and IDPs in Europe’s
municipalities and regions”, commends the work of the Committee
of Experts on Intercultural Inclusion (ADI-INT) which assists the
Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion
(CDADI), and calls for greater co-operation between the Assembly,
the CDADI and the Congress on such matters.
8. In line with the commitments made by the Committee of Ministers
in
Recommendation
CM/Rec(2022)16, the Assembly undertakes to play a leading
role in promoting the Council of Europe’s instruments and standards and:
8.1 strongly encourages the Council
for Democratic Elections and the Venice Commission to develop a
code of conduct for electoral candidates and/or for the media to
combat narratives which run counter to the European Court of Human
Rights case law on regulating freedom of expression and the prohibition of
hate speech. Such an initiative would provide a response to the
recurring problems during electoral processes, underlined in the
Report on electoral law and electoral administration in Europe
(CDL-AD(2020)023) and
debated in 2020 during the 17th European Conference on Electoral
Management Bodies, in particular the issue of negative campaigning
and hate speech during electoral campaigns;
8.2 encourages the No Hate Parliamentary Alliance to consider
examining the question of the treatment of migration and asylum
during election campaigns as part of its activities;
8.3 invites the Assembly’s election observation missions to
monitor and report on, especially during pre-electoral missions,
the use of hate speech, including subtle hate speech, in the framework
of the online and offline electoral campaign debate in the observed
country;
8.5 calls for regular consultations, on a formal footing,
between the Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities,
the CDADI, ECRI and the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations
(INGOs) with a view to looking at how migration and asylum questions
are treated during election campaigns, in the wider context of the
integration of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and to aligning
standards and initiatives in this area through the promotion of
training tools that are designed for electoral management bodies
and that reflect the Council of Europe’s standards on the fight against
hate speech. The Assembly stresses the importance of involving the
Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and
Refugees in this process, particularly in the context of her fact-finding
missions and of the implementation of the Council of Europe
Action
Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration
and Asylum in Europe (2021-2025), and in particular its pillar
“Fostering democratic participation and enhancing inclusion (human
rights and democracy)”.
9. The Assembly reiterates the recommendation made in
Resolution 2504 (2023) “Health
and social protection of undocumented workers or those in an irregular
situation” that the restriction on the personal scope of application
of the European Social Charter (ETS No. 35) be removed.
10. The Assembly recommends that the parliaments of member States:
10.2 recognise, in a self-regulatory instrument, the seriousness
of hate speech, including covert hate speech, and provide effective
mechanisms for reporting and taking action against such statements.
The Assembly recommends that national human rights institutions
be involved in this process;
10.3 work towards adopting a definition of hate speech to be
enshrined in civil or criminal law or amending such a definition,
and allow appeals against such statements to be considered in line
with ECRI’s General Policy Recommendation No. 15. The Assembly recommends
that national human rights institutions also be involved in this
process;
10.4 work towards the amendment of electoral legislation in
force so that electoral management bodies or other competent entities
are recognised as monitoring bodies empowered to refer cases of hate
speech by a candidate during an electoral campaign to a competent
authority. The Assembly also recommends working towards the development
of administrative mechanisms to tackle the use of such narratives
and to sanction them according to a fair, equal and swift procedure;
10.5 support the independence and financial capability of authorities
regulating public media;
10.6 request information reports from the competent parliamentary
committees on the participation of migrants, refugees and asylum
seekers in local public life;
10.7 take into account, prior to and following the adoption
of policy reforms on migration and asylum, analyses and feedback
from civil society organisations, academics and official human rights
bodies competent at national and European levels.
11. In line with
Recommendation
CM/Rec(2022)16, the Assembly recommends that press groups
and media outlets:
11.1 join and
support self-regulatory bodies, including for private media and
online media;
11.2 encourage migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to express
their views on content relating to them;
11.3 always contextualise commentaries on the theme of migration
and asylum and systematically rectify false information;
11.4 exercise a “media conscience clause”, declining to broadcast
statements or content that are anti-democratic or against freedoms.
12. Regarding civil society organisations and associations, the
Assembly:
12.1 commends the commitment
of the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe to a holistic approach
on migration as stated in the Recommendation for a global approach
of the rights of refugees and migrants and the role of civil society
(CONF/AG(2023)REC2),
and encourages the conference to promote the registration of organisations
founded by migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and to facilitate
their representation at the Conference of INGOs;
12.2 recommends that civil society organisations, including
those founded by migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, actively
communicate with political parties and with the media so as to share
views and, where appropriate, recommendations on policies ahead
of and during electoral campaigns;
12.3 encourages research institutes to pursue the wide dissemination
of their work on migration and asylum and urges them to invite politicians
to publicly debate the issue of migration and asylum.
13. In light of the various issues raised in this Resolution,
the Assembly favours the development of a parliamentary co-operation
project with national parliaments on the role of political parties
as guarantors of democratic security in Europe and promoters of
a pluralistic political offering on the theme of migration and asylum,
in full compliance with the norms and values of the Council of Europe.
14. The Assembly calls for greater pan-European co-operation against
hate speech and discrimination covering, inter
alia, the treatment of the theme of migration and asylum
during election campaigns. Such co-operation could involve the Organisation’s
competent entities and its partners, such as the Fundamental Rights Agency
of the European Union (FRA), the European Network of National Human
Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), the European Network of Equality Bodies
(EQUINET) and the OSCE/ODIHR.
