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The EU must respect the human rights it espouses in its migration and asylum policy In light of the flagrant human rights abuses at Ceuta and Melilla, six Christian organisations have written to the Justice and Home Affairs Council, which meets on 12 October, to demand that the European Union lives up to the rhetoric it espouses on human rights and concretises them within its migration and asylum policy.

Brussels, 11 October 2005.

In this letter, the six organisations working in the field of migration and asylum – Caritas Europa, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), the Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), the International Catholic Migration Commission, the Jesuit Refugee Service – Europe (JRS), and the Quaker Council for European Affairs – highlight the increasingly desperate situation that men and women face when trying to enter the EU, either as migrants or as asylum seekers. The killing of unarmed people at the EU’s borders is deplorable and a thorough judicial investigation must take place to assess the events at Ceuta and Melilla.

Yet again, these six organisations reiterate the inalienable dignity of all human beings and their corresponding human rights. There is a duty upon the EU to observe these in all their dealings in this area, particularly when considering re-admission agreements with third countries and in fostering partnerships with countries of transit and origin. Human beings who try to enter the EU by irregular means must not be criminalised, especially when considering that some of them may qualify for refugee status as depicted under the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention.

In defining itself as a community of justice, the European Union must develop a human rights based approach to migration and asylum policy if it wishes to provide a long-term solution in this field. The present proposals for the adoption of restrictive policies and increased funding do not provide a durable, humane response.

To read the letter, please click here.

Peter Verhaeghe, Migration Officer, Caritas Europa +32 (0)2 235 03 96
Henrik Lesaar, Legal Adviser, COMECE +32 (0)2 235 05 13
Doris Peschke, General Secretary, Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe +32 (0)2 234 68 00
Mariette Grange, Advocacy Officer, International Catholic Migration Commission + 41 (0)22 919 10 20
Jan Stuyt SJ., Regional Director, JRS +32 (0)2 250 32 20
Liz Scurfield, Programme Associate, Quaker Council for European Affairs +32 (0)2 234 30 63