25/10/2007 Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
Strasbourg, 25.10.2007 - Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey, EDG), Chair of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s (PACE) Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, today urged European Ministers of Justice meeting in Lanzarote to clarify the rights applicable to regular and irregular migrants in Europe.
“Migrants are not second class human beings with second class rights”, stated Mr Çavusoglu. “They are entitled to access to justice and protection of their basic human rights”.
Mr Çavusoglu also raised concern about access to justice for asylum seekers. “The recognition rates for asylum seekers across Europe vary considerably from country to country creating an unfair lottery for asylum seekers. Ministers of Justice need to address this problem as a matter of priority”, he said.
Mr Çavusoglu welcomed the opening for signature of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. He called on Ministers of Justice to give particular priority to migrant and asylum seeking children who were doubly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse as children and as migrants or asylum seekers.