Britain should not fear legal immigration
Britain should not fear legal immigration. As RIA Novosti reports, this was stated by the country's prime minister, Labour Party leader Tony Blair, in his election speech on immigration and asylum issues.
The head of the British cabinet, who is seeking a third term, spoke in Dover, a port town on the English Channel. It is in Dover that checks are carried out on those arriving in Britain by sea.
"We have nothing to fear from legal immigration," Tony Blair said. According to him, the British entry system for legal migrants and people who genuinely need asylum is working successfully. "It is open to those who genuinely need asylum and use legal channels," the prime minister said.
He cited figures according to which the number of immigration officers in Britain has doubled since 1997, from 2,400 to 4,800 people. In addition, thanks to changes in legislation, the number of asylum applications has been reduced to two thousand per month, compared with about eight thousand per month in 2002.
"Britain is not a country with a high level of immigration," Blair stated, comparing it with continental Europe. The prime minister recalled that over the past two centuries Britain has hosted many immigrants - Irish, Jews, Poles, Italians, people from the Caribbean and its former colonies. The influx of foreigners continues today, he added. "Without them, London would not have become the financial capital of Europe," Blair noted.
At the same time, the head of the British cabinet stressed that the government intends to intensify the fight against illegal migration. "We have already established stricter border controls; all vehicles passing through the Channel Tunnel undergo X-ray screening, and 500 British immigration officers work in France and Belgium to filter out passengers without documents before they enter Britain," he said.
Blair also criticized statements by British conservatives about the threat facing the country from immigrants. "The Tories are playing on people's fears," the Labour leader said. "I have never wanted the issue of migration to divide our society, our tolerant and honest nation," he assured. "It is the government's duty to deal with asylum and immigration issues, but this topic should not be exploited by politicians who are desperately seeking refuge in it," Tony Blair noted.
France remains attractive to immigrants
France still remains one of the most attractive European countries for immigrants. As RIA Novosti reports, this is evidenced by data from an annual report published by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons.
According to this document, in 2004 the office received 65,000 asylum requests, which is 5.8% more than in 2003. However, as the office's management noted at a press conference in Paris, this increase was achieved mainly due to a nearly threefold increase in the number of repeat asylum applications. If only primary applications are taken into account, their number decreased by 2% compared with 2003. At the same time, across the European Union as a whole, the number of asylum requests fell by about 20%.
According to the office, in 2004 French authorities granted 16.6% of asylum requests (in 2003 - 14.8%).
As for geographic and national affiliation, former Russians lead the list of those whose requests were granted - 12%, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Turkey with the same 9% figure, and 6% of granted applications each came from immigrants from Sri Lanka and Serbia and Montenegro.
Ukraine chided over refugee problems
Ukraine must adhere to international standards for ensuring refugees' rights, but must not become a migration gateway.
As reported by the press service of the Ministry of Justice, this position of the UN was expressed during a meeting with Justice Minister Roman Zvarych by the Regional Representative in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Guy Ouellet.
He expressed concern about the situation with respect for refugees' rights in Ukraine. In Ouellet's view, the application in Ukraine of temporary restrictions when considering refugee applications does not meet Council of Europe standards. According to him, one third of people are denied refugee status precisely for this formal reason. Today, according to the Regional Representation, there are 2,495 refugees in Ukraine, and their social rights are not properly ensured.
Ouellet proposed providing additional forms of refugee protection in Ukraine's legal framework. This would give the state a choice: to grant a person refugee status itself or an additional status that would guarantee their social rights.
The UNHCR Regional Representative reported on the assistance that the UN has been providing and plans to provide to Ukraine in solving the refugee problem. Since 1996, Ukraine has received $19 million through the Regional Representation. Ouellet noted that the European Commission has also become involved in solving the problem. At the same time, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is concerned that, as a result of the strengthening of the EU's eastern border protection, the number of illegal migrants in detention centers in Ukraine's border regions is increasing. With this in mind, the UN Refugee Agency recommends that EU countries be conscientious in fulfilling their obligations under the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto. The UN Refugee Agency does not share the position of those European Union countries that propose turning Ukraine into a migration gateway.
Ouellet also spoke in favor of Ukraine's accession to the Council of Europe Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. In Ukraine, during a verification conducted by the Regional Representation, 80,000 people identified themselves as stateless persons.