Motion for a Resolution by the Committee on Human Rights (DROI)

The EUropean Dream: With wars looming and spreading across the world causing many to seek safety and a better life in the EU, the new EU Asylum and Migration Pact seems to be doing the opposite by diminishing the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers, making it harder for them to access safety within the EU, and causing a ‘surge in suffering’ on every step of an asylum seeker’s journey. What steps could the EU take to safeguard asylum seekers’ rights while helping to resolve its issues with the migration crisis and policy?

Submitted by: Maura Boesten (NL), Mihael Condruc (NL), Charlie Dowdall (NL), Benno Kronemeijer (NL), Isabel Peralta Schutte (NL), Fiene Smeets (NL), Loïs Thunhorst (NL), Sterre van Wijk (NL), Chrisje Ziekman (NL), and Kristofer Grigaitis (Chairperson, UK)

The European Youth Parliament aims to improve the rights and safety of asylum seekers and refugees whilst mitigating biases and xenophobic tendencies felt by them. It seeks to provide refugees with more accessible jobs and education opportunities, and shelter to better integrate into society. Furthermore, we hope to alleviate migration pressures experienced by border Member States distributing financial and housing responsibilities across the EU.

The above is decided upon because

Some Member States, especially on the EU’s border, carry a disproportionate amount of responsibility and burden regarding housing, asylum applications, and financial support provided to asylum seekers,
Member States have differing national procedures on welcoming and handling asylum seekers, causing large disparities within the EU,
Labour shortages and lack of productivity are being experienced in organisations that facilitate the processing of asylum claims, which slows down their results, resulting in the asylum seekers waiting in Asylum Seeker Centres (ASCs)¹ for periods upwards of several years,
First-generation immigrants are struggling to integrate into communities due to language barriers and cultural differences,
In 2023 alone, 8,565 asylum seekers passed away when travelling unsafely overseas, of which 36.5% disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea,
Misinformation and biases towards asylum seekers persist, resulting in discriminatory and unfair treatment from locals, often leading to violence and protests,
The waiting time for asylum claims is on average 15 months during which asylum seekers may be unable to legally enter the job market during an even longer period of time,
Many refugees are suffering from trauma after complicated journeys from their homes,
Member States face difficulties in providing asylum seekers with adequate and affordable shelter due to financial constraints and balancing this with the housing needs of local populations,
Asylum seekers may lack comprehensive understanding of their fundamental rights leading to abuses of these rights.

To that end, the European Youth Parliament

Calls upon the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) to distribute asylum seekers more efficiently and equally within Member States by:
- creating a distribution system based on national factors, such as, population sizes, GDP² and PPP³ per capita and unemployment rates,
- improving the quality and safety of routes from refugees’ home countries to the EU;
Invites the DG HOME to create an asylum policy establishing legislation harmonising the acceptance rates of asylum seekers across the EU;
Recommends the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) to adapt the asylum claims process by increasing staff numbers and use of innovative technologies;
Encourages DG HOME to support and subsidise the development of programmes through local NGOs and ASCs, such as sport clubs, language courses, and buddy programmes;
Calls upon the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EECEA) to create fast-track vocational training programmes for refugees to help them qualify through set European standards;
Invites the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) to implement measures combating fatalities during transportation by increasing the number of lifeboats patrolling popular refugee routes in the Mediterranean Sea providing medical support when needed;
Suggests that Member States’ national Ministries of Education include in school curricula education about refugees and non-EU cultures to combat xenophobia from an early age;
Requests the DG HOME to enable refugees who have not obtained resident status yet to work in low-skilled work departments by providing them with a temporary low-skilled work visa until they are accepted;
Urges the EUAA with supporting ASCs in creating support groups for asylum seekers that aim to provide mental health support and refugee mentees to help them transition more comfortably into society;
Calls upon Member States to establish support networks for asylum seekers to inform them on their rights, provide safe contacts, and distribute pamphlets in their native languages.

Lastly, the European Youth Parliament recommends participants to;

Research topics on migration and asylum-seeking, such as through NGOs like Oxfam and think-tanks like ECFR, and start and engage in productive dialogues with ASCs near you.
Sign yourself up for the Refugee Buddy Project and help refugees integrate into society.
Directly engage with refugees and invite them to social outings on RefugeeHelp.
Volunteer to help support the running of ASCs, such as through the Red Cross and Asylum Seeker Centre network.
Offer to provide a refugee in need a room in your home through Room for Refugees.

Asylum Seeker Centres (ASCs) are facilities that provide temporary housing, support, and services to asylum seekers. ↩︎
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is an economic metric of a country’s economy which measures the average economic output per person in the country. ↩︎
Purchase Power Parity (PPP) per capita adjusts GDP per capita for differences in price levels between countries, reflecting the actual purchasing power and standard of living. ↩︎