Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 108, December 2008

EXODUS NETWORK annual session* 

“Expulsion of Migrants and Foreigners: Should We Resist or Accompany?” This was the theme of the 2008 Annual Session of Exodus Network, an organization of individuals and organizations whose specific aim is to receive and accompany asylum seekers and migrants in an irregular situation held in retention centers in or connected with airports, or in the waiting and/or transit zones. So far, membership in the association is from European countries. However, since asylum seekers and irregular migrants also come from places outside Europe, networking with those operating in non European airports is being considered as a positive move.

The Session took place from 2 to 5 June 2008, at the Retreat Center of the Order of Lazarists, in Villebon sur Yvette, a quiet town at the suburbs of Paris, where some thirty persons from ten European countries came together. Six European airport chaplaincies were represented as well as 14 religious and non-governmental organizations. A delegate from the Commission on Airport Chaplaincies of the  Protestant Federation and the President of the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains were also present. The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People sent an Observer.

The meeting opened with a presentation by Ms. Angela Martini of the European Commission. She gave an account of the work being done for a common European asylum policy and discussed questions regarding expulsions and returns according to the Dublin Convention. During the discussion that followed, the first question asked was what happens after expulsion, which unfortunately she could not answer, it being the competence of another EC department. There was however an expression of general concern regarding this issue. The policy of non refoulement was also evoked. The participants underlined that legislation has no power to question fundamental human rights, and therefore the Dublin Convention should be applied in the context of the Geneva Convention. It was also mentioned that Christian NGOs usually have resettlement as their priority.

Speakers from the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, who had accepted the invitation to dialogue with Exodus, could not come at the last minute. However Ms. Ana Catarina Mendonça of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population of the Council of Europe sent in writing her presentation of the work carried out by the Committee. She gave the background of a Motion that activated the procedure of preparing reports regarding the detention of asylum seekers and irregular migrants in Europe. The reasons behind the reporting procedure were the following: detention of asylum seekers and migrants is widely practiced in Europe; conditions of detention are often harsh, overcrowded and dangerous; periods of detention vary widely from country to country; there are no guidelines for the detention of irregular migrants and asylum seekers; there is a need for more international and national monitoring of reception and detention centers. Ms. Mendonça is now gathering material for a report that will look more closely at monitoring of places of detention and the need for guidelines on detention and reception facilities for irregular migrants and asylum seekers.

The speaker representing the UNHCR explained that the Commission’s scope of action is direct implementation of protection measures in the absence of national protection laws and structures. The meaning of “non-rejection at the border” principle and “non refoulement” were also discussed. To respond to EU border control cooperation, UNHCR calls for a more systematic border monitoring and training of border guards and for the development of a standard response mechanism in refoulement cases. UNHCR of course cooperates with Frontex, the EU agency charged with the task of coordinating the operational cooperation between Member States in the field of border security. However, the idea of creating an asylum support office which will focus on protection is being considered.

Frontex operations were later explained by a representative of the agency. It coordinates joint operations in the management of external borders and assists Member States in the training primarily of border guards who are assigned to work with Frontex, but also of other border guards if necessary. It tries to identify “migrant risk” and to foresee such arrivals. It also assists Member States in border operations.

 A representative of the Committee against Torture (CAT) explained its procedure in accepting claims of being at risk or having been tortured. Individuals can submit a complaint if their rights have been violated by a State Party to the UN Convention against Torture. Article 3 of the Convention prohibits parties from returning or extraditing any person to a state "where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture". Cases already handled by the Human Rights Committee may not be submitted simultaneously to CAT, but cases not recognized by CAT may be submitted to HRC in appeal. An Exodus member may obtain authorization to represent a “refugee” before the Committee.

There was also a rich exchange regarding the concrete action undertaken by various associations and groups, represented by the participants, for those who are held in airport centers and in transit zones. ANAFE visits border zones, which include airports. It is aware that “non-admissibles” need protection. Its delegate maintained that because of the association’s intervention, a European country modified its law in this regard. CIMADE assists foreigners in having their rights respected. Its members are present in the administrative retention centers, and are charged by public authorities to accompany and defend the rights of foreigners who are forced to leave the territory. To change mentalities, CIMADE militates more generally for the defense of the fundamental human rights of foreigners and the respect of their human dignity. On its part, Migregroup is putting in place a Border Observer to analyze what is happening in the European borders. They are in  solidarity with those who support migrants and with migrants themselves who are criminalized. RESF offers resistance to expulsion, considering it an extremely violent process.

The last day was dedicated to the stand and experiences of the Churches.  J. A. de Clermond, representing the Council of European Churches (KEK) talked about the stand of the Churches in Europe regarding the “Return Directive” that will be voted on by the European Parliament. Those who were present called it the “shameful directive”. He affirmed that a common position of the Churches is that the European Parliament cannot be allowed to vote a directive that increases detention to 18 months and that expulsion should be banished from European legislation or, at least, this possibility should be reduced to a minimum.

Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, sent a Message to the participants which reiterated that the Catholic Church “acts in continuity with Christ’s mission” and “asks herself how to meet the needs, while respecting the law, of those persons who are not allowed to remain in a national territory.” He also stated that “every person in an irregular situation has the right to receive an aid so that he may be able to come out of illegality and take the place that is due him in the country of origin or destination.” Quoting Pope John Paul II, he affirmed that “the Church is the place where irregular immigrants are also recognized and accepted as brothers and sisters” and that “it must be ensured that these people, who are obliged to live outside the safety net of civil society,  may find a sense of brotherhood in the Christian community.” The reading of the message was followed by the concrete experiences of the Catholic chaplain of Brussels airport and of the Catholic pastoral agent assigned to the detention center in Schiphol (Amsterdam) airport.

Fr. Alain Richard, a Franciscan from Toulouse, explained the Franciscan action denouncing the situation in the retention centers where people in an irregular situation are held in France. It is a campaign calling people to join the Franciscan friars gathered together in silence and in prayer in solidarity with the undocumented people retained in these centers. Through this action they want to reach “the undocumented, those who make the law and those who implement it, as well as all of us who are actors, each one at his own level.”

The Exodus Network has grown bigger since last year’s meeting. Hopefully this cooperation will become a solid support for the safeguard of the human rights of these men and women who are considered ‘nobodies’. 

Ms. Nilda M. CASTRO

Official of the Pontifical Council

for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People