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Dublin II - A summary of JRS experiences in Europe
October 28 - JRS-Europe has released a paper on how
the implementation of the Dublin II Regulation personally
impacts the lives of asylum seekers. Entitled, 'Dublin II: A
summary of JRS experiences in Europe' Surveying six JRS country
offices, the paper answers key questions on what it is like for
an asylum seeker caught within the 'Dublin system'. It
summarises the reflections of JRS country offices throughout
Europe on the faults of the Dublin system and how it may be
improved in the future.
According to the paper, JRS country offices conclude that the
Dublin system cannot work as long as the asylum systems of EU
Member States remain so different. Rather than the means towards
a Common European Asylum System (CEAS), a common system must be
in place before a regulation like Dublin II will work. “The
underlying assumption of the Dublin system is that the system in
Belgium, for example, is the same as Greece or Malta. This is
simply not true. As a consequence, some of Europe's asylum
seekers face an unfair system where they are forced to apply for
asylum in a country with sub-standard procedures”.
The Dublin II Regulation is an European law that lays down
criteria for determining which EU state is responsible for
processing an asylum claim. More often than not, the responsible
state is the country of first entry, which puts excessive
pressure on the EU's border nations. These states are often the
least able to offer asylum seekers the support and protection
that they need.
The JRS paper highlights the inadequacies of the regulation and
concern is expressed, that with the strict application of Dublin
II, asylum seekers may continue to use illegal means to access
Europe. Such circumvention of the system carries many risks for
the asylum seeker and their families, and a such, compromises
the fundamental human right of access to asylum and protection.
As of now, the most explicit failings of the regulation have
been seen in Greece. In July of this year, Medecins San
Frontières International (MSF) described the situation at a
migrant detention centre on the island of Mytilini as a
"humanitarian crisis". The influx of migrants due to the
implementation of the regulation led to what MSF described as,
"unacceptable living conditions" with "inadequate medical care".
Such reports coming from the region are now commonplace, with
many NGOs calling for the cessation of Dublin II transfers to
Greece. Earlier this month about 600 immigrants at a detention
centre on the island of Lesbos fell ill after drinking
contaminated water from dirty pipes. Those who had fallen ill
were not transported to a hospital as they were "too many and in
a bad state". MSF ended operations at the Lesbos detention
centre in September due to lack of cooperation from Greece's
conservative government.
Click here to view 'Dublin II - A summary of JRS experiences in
Europe' [80KB]
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