” “"The asylum laws that Europe has enforced jeopardise the life of the refugees and make their families suffer". This was denounced by 73 organisations working with refugees and by the members of the European Council for refugees and exiles (Ecre), and is contained in an open letter that was published today and sent to Franco Frattini, EU Commissioner for justice, freedom and security. In the letter, the signatories, including the Commission for migrants in Europe that is part of the Conference of European Churches, lay the blame on the "serious faults" of the current system, also known as the "Dublin rules" introduced in 2003, which should be revised by the end of the year. These rules bind those who escape persecutions to seek asylum from the first country they arrive in, regardless of its laws. According to Peer Baneke, secretary general of Ecre, "refugees are exposed to persecution in Europe too. This is why the system must be revised. Children, families and other vulnerable ones cannot wait". In drawing Frattini’s attention to the matter in hand, Ecre asks for "guaranteed access to asylum procedures for asylum seekers who have been transferred in accordance with the Dublin Rules; that families be reunited; that children separated from their families be exempted from such rules, unless such rules, in the children’s interest, allow them to be reunited with their families". ” “
