Less asylum seekers ” “” “

The trend towards a gradual reduction of the number of asylum applications presented in the 36 industrialized countries, which began in 2002, is continuing. The finding emerges from the statistical report “Asylum levels and trends in industrialized countries second quarter, 2005”, presented by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday 6 September. Overall, applications fell by 28 percent over the same period (January – June) of last year, dropping from 189,900 to 156,200, and by 35 percent, if compared with the first six months of 2003, when the number of asylum applications was 240,800. APPLICATIONS TO THE EU. Asylum applications presented to 24 states of the European Union (the quarterly data relating to Italy were not available and therefore excluded from the report) totalled 112,200 during the first half of the year in course: that is 17 percent less than the figure for the first six months of 2004 and 30 percent less for the same period in 2003. The most marked variation was registered in the ten countries that entered the EU most recently: in the first six months of 2005 the number of asylum applications presented in these states was 34 percent less than the same period last year. The biggest fall (78 percent) was registered in the Republic of Slovakia, but sizable reductions also took place in Poland and the Czech Republic. CASES OF INCREASE. However, a contrary trend has been registered in a few of the states that entered the EU last year: states in which asylum applications have significantly increased over the same period in 2004. These states are Cyprus (4,000 applications, 26 percent more), Slovenia (850 applications, 38 percent more) and Malta (550 applications, an increase of 103 percent). The same trend has also been registered among some of the “old” countries of the Union, including Greece, where there was a 101 percent increase with 5,500 applications. In no other state however was there an increase of more than 10%. STATES. France is the nation that takes top place is terms of numbers of asylum seekers, with 27,400 applications. The figure however registers a slight reduction over the comparable figures for the previous years: 27,900 and 31,400 in 2003, 30,000 and 28,600 in 2004. The USA takes second place in the league table with 25,400 applications, i.e. 8 percent less that the same period of the previous year. Next come the UK (15,500 applications, 23 percent less), Germany (13,300 applications, 29 percent less), Austria (9,200 applications, 26 percent less), Canada (8,700 applications, 26 percent less) and Sweden (8,000 applications, 30 percent less). COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN. Most immigrants who presented an asylum application in the first six months of 2005 come from Serbia-Montenegro – including Kosovo – with 10,800 applications. The next most numerous countries of origin are China (9,400 applications), Russian Federation (including Chechnya, 9,400 applications), Turkey (7,100), Iraq (5,700) and Haiti (5,300). Altogether the number of immigrants from countries at the top of the asylum-seekers league table was reduced. The only exceptions are those arriving from Iraq and Haiti: the former increased by 31 percent, the latter by 20 percent. In the case of Iraq, this is a reversal in trend that began in mid-2004, whereas a substantial reduction had been registered in 2003. CONCERNS OF THE NGOs. “Great concern” has been expressed by the Commission of the Churches for Migrants in Europe (Ccme), in a statement released in early September, about the European standards for the repatriation of clandestine immigrants and political asylum seekers, “because it may seriously violate human rights”. The CCME is a coordination of thirteen non-government organizations (NGO) involved with migrants and refugees. They also include Caritas Europe. The statement, which refers to a directive on the standards of repatriation adopted by the European Commission, asks that “the human rights of migrants and refugees be seriously taken into consideration”. What the NGO’s in question do not find convincing, in particular, are “the policies on detention and expulsion of irregular immigrants and the rejection of asylum applications”. The 13 NGOs make some recommendations to the European Parliament and member states, including “nine principles” that should be taken into consideration with a view to respect for human rights: “Detention and expulsion – says the communiqué – must be the last resort. In any case particular importance must be given to cases involving vulnerable persons like juveniles”. The NGOs, that presented their proposals in Brussels and contest “the repressive logic” adopted by the EU, also ask for the creation of an independent institution to monitor the situation.