Activities of the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration (ICM) (1 January 1984-31 December 1985)
Recommendation 1054
(1987)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 5612, 24th report on the activities of the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration (ICM), and Doc. 5705, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 27 March 1987.
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
2. Having examined the 24th report on the activities of the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration (ICM), covering the period 1 January 1984-31 December 1985 (
Doc. 5612), and the report by its Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography in reply thereto (
Doc. 5705) ;
3. Welcoming the fact that, during this period, ICM played an essential role in the assistance and transport of migrants and refugees, in co-operation with governments and other international organisations such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as well as in other fields such as the transfer of human resources ;
4. Noting with satisfaction that some 134 000 people received ICM assistance in 1984, and 120 000 in 1985 ;
5. Paying tribute to ICM's contribution to the resettlement of Soviet Jewish migrants in Israel and other countries ;
6. Recognising the very considerable increase in the number of displaced persons and refugees assisted by ICM in Latin America in 1984 and 1985, and which is likely to continue ;
7. Noting the rise in the number of people authorised to emigrate directly from Vietnam under the Orderly Departure Programme for Vietnamese, implemented by the Vietnamese authorities since 1979, and regretting that some West European host countries have adopted restrictive measures in respect of those refugees ;
8. Deeply disturbed by the plight of the disabled refugees with whom ICM has been dealing for many years ;
9. Stressing the need to reduce as far as possible the waiting period of refugees needing to be resettled elsewhere ;
10. Recalling that, in its current affairs debate during the second part of its 38th Session (17-25 September 1986), the need for a common stance by member states on the question of receiving refugees and asylum-seekers was strongly emphasised ;
11. Paying tribute to the high quality of ICM's activities, not only those aimed at assisting migrants and refugees, but also those concerning the return of talent, selective migration and the recruitment of integrated experts ;
12. Expressing great satisfaction at the co-operation between ICM and other international organisations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which permits, thanks to the complementarity and co-ordination of their respective operations, a satisfactory use of the resources allocated to each of them ;
13. Considering that ICM's action contributes to an international sharing of the costs involved in receiving refugees and asylum-seekers ;
14. Hoping that relations between ICM and the Council of Europe's intergovernmental sector will be further developed in the framework of :
14.1 the European Committee on Migration (CDMG), on which ICM is represented by an observer, and
14.2 the ad hoc Committee of Experts on Legal Aspects of Territorial Asylum, Refugees and Stateless Persons (CAHAR) ;
15. Welcoming the generous support given to ICM by the member states which belong to this organisation ;
16. Reiterating the wish it expressed in its
Resolution 829 (1984) on the activities of ICM, that Council of Europe member states which have not yet joined ICM should do so promptly : they could thus benefit from rationalisation of the resources offered by a multilateral organisation which co-operates with other multilateral organisations to which in many cases they already belong ;
17. Considering that the assistance obtainable through such membership would make for more even sharing of costs between states and would be less expensive than developing national administrative resources to deal with the growing number of asylum-seekers or with the specific problems of certain ethnic groups ;
18. Considering that co-operation among the Council of Europe member states in the field of migrants and refugees would be more beneficial if they were all involved in ICM's programmes of activities ;
19. Earnestly requesting its members to engage actively in publicising and supporting ICM's action, both within national parliaments and vis-à-vis governments,
20. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :
a examine the scope for extending co-operation between ICM, on the one hand, and the CDMG and the CAHAR, on the other ;
b urge France, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom to join ICM ;
c request the governments of member states which already belong to ICM to confer together with a view to unifying their positions within the organisation.
