17. März 2003
Geneva, 17.03.03 - 25.04.03 - Written Statement by the Society for Threatened Peoples

In the aftermath of September 11 governments in the European Union (EU) equated the fight against illegal immigration with the war against terrorism. But the rights of refugees were already under assault in the EU prior to the September 11 attacks. Numerous reports documented the gradual erosion of the right to seek asylum in the EU in the last decade. Racial and ethnic discrimination, police abuse, collective and arbitrary expulsions, substandard conditions of detention and violations in administrative and criminal law proceedings have been reported in many countries of the EU.

Deliberately some politicians have encouraged negative images of refugees. In Denmark, the far-right Danish People's Party aimed much of its campaign for the Parliamentary elections in November 2001 at a foreign-born population that is 70% Muslim. The campaign was marked by "a fierce and …xenophobic debate on the issue of foreigners," criticized the Danish Refugee Council. The European Parliamentarian of the Danish People's Party, Mogens Camre, was quoted by the newspaper "Politiken" as saying :" All countries of the Western World are infiltrated by Muslims - some of them speak to us politely, whilst they wait until they are enough to kill all of us." During the election campaign right-wing groups issued provocative posters, contrasting a group of blond Danish girls ("Denmark today") with a group of weapon-yielding and blood-covered Muslim youths ("10 years from now"). Conscious of the rising support for the Danish People's Party, Denmark's mainstream Liberal Party decided that if they couldn't beat them, they should join them. The Liberal Party took a hard line on immigration which paid off. Refugees are becoming political scapegoats for politicians, who are unable or unwilling to tell their electorate the truth about the shortage of public services. In Denmark the new government passed a law which prevents anyone under the age of 24 from living in Denmark with a non-EU spouse. These tough new restrictions on marrying foreigners have forced Danes to go into exile in Sweden. Furthermore family reunification for refugees has been severely restricted by the new government.

The dangerous misuse of the highly sensitive immigration issue has contributed to an increase in xenophobia, not only in Denmark, but in many EU countries. A survey by BBC News Online showed that 47% of white people in the United Kingdom felt immigration had harmed British society. These trends have shown up right across the EU - from riots in Oldham in northern England and Genova in Italy, to pogroms in southern Spain, to the votes for the National Front leader Jean Marie Le Pen in France and to the rise of the assassinated Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn. In the Netherlands, a country with a rich multi-ethnic texture and 800.000 Muslims, accounting for 5% of the population, nearly 50% of the young people want no more Muslim immigration. Even after the brutal murder of Pim Fortuyn and the decline of his party, all leading Dutch parties emphasized the need of ahard-line immigration policy. Known before as one of the most tolerant countries of Europe, the Netherlands today are calling for a restrictive immigration policy.

In the northern German Land of Hamburg the Party for a Law and Order Offensive got 20% of the vote in state elections in urging a very restrictive immigration policy. In Flanders, the Dutch-speaking province in Belgium, the Liberal Party of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt defeated a proposal in March 2002 to give non -EU foreigners voting rights in Belgian municipal elections. In Italy, the government of Silvio Berlusconi has passed a law calling for the expulsion of immigrants. In Greece, refugees fleeing by boats from war-torn areas were summarily denied the opportunity to apply for asylum. After increasing international criticism, the Greek authorities reversed their decision. Society for Threatened Peoples expresses its deepest concern regarding the immigration policy in Spain. In numerous cases the rights of asylum seekers have been violated during immigration detention or repatriation and unaccompanied migrant children have been expelled illegally.

Society for Threatened Peoples strongly condemns the increase of anti-semitic attacks in the EU. Between April 3 and April 23, 2002, at least 360 anti-semitic incidents in France alone have been reported: A synagogue in Marseille burnt to the ground, another in Lyon was damaged by ram raiders. Synagogues in Strasbourg, Paris and Montpellier have been firebombed or vandalised. Anti-semitic violence has not been limited to France, but has been widespread in the EU: Synagogues have been attacked in 2002 in London and Berlin, in Belgium synagogues have been desecrated.

Society for Threatened Peoples urges the EU governments to ensure a better protection of Jewish institutions and to combat xenophobia and anti-semitic violence. The respect of fundamental rights of refugees should be guaranteed and politicians should refrain from inciting xenophobia and violence against asylum seekers. Furthermore rejected asylum seekers should be treated in respect to basic international human rights standards.