B4-0037, 0052, 0065, 0071 and 0094/98

Resolution on Kurdish refugees and on the position of the European Union

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on migrations, the Kurdish question, asylum policy and Turkey,

A. whereas a growing number of third-country nationals, both economic migrants and people fleeing political repression, are attempting to enter certain EU Member States,

B. noting with concern the recent landings on the Italian coast by around one thousand migrants travelling on old ships, in extremely dangerous and inhumane conditions, especially for the women and children, after journeys which were organised for profit by international criminal gangs,

C. whereas most of these victims of criminal organisations are Kurds, including those fleeing repression in Turkey and Northern Iraq as well as economic migrants,

D. whereas the problem of Kurdish and other migrants is a longstanding one, affecting a number of Member States; whereas their applications should be treated on a case-by-case basis,

E. whereas the only way of reducing uncontrolled emigration is to find a solution to the political, economic and social problems behind it,

F. regretting that the Union has no common position on immigration and that no significant progress was made when adopting the Amsterdam Treaty,

G. noting that the Justice and Home Affairs Council agreed, on 4-5 December 1997, to prepare an action programme to deal with the recent influx of Kurdish asylum seekers and economic migrants from Iraq; whereas this programme is due to be adopted on 26-27 January 1998,

H. whereas the Dublin Convention specifies that decisions on refugee status must be taken by the first country of asylum,

I. whereas the influx of refugees is not a problem of law and order, but a political and moral issue which must be tackled with humanity,

1. Reaffirms its growing concern about the conditions of human rights, war and political repression which force people to leave their homes and seek asylum within the EU;

2. Supports the solidarity and the humanitarian approach of the Government of Italy, as the first country of asylum for the recent migrants, and supports its decision to consider positively, case by case, asylum applications from citizens of Kurdish origin, taking into account the special circumstances in their countries of origin;

3. Calls on the Council to adopt a common policy to deal with situations of this kind which arise more and more frequently, and not merely to propose purely national measures;

4. Notes that the Treaty of Amsterdam sets a five-year deadline for the transfer of immigration and asylum policy into Community legislation; regrets that this currently prevents the EU adopting efficient Community measures in these areas;

5. Calls on the Council to adopt without delay the draft Commission Convention on external border controls and, with due regard for Parliament's opinion of 23 October 1997 ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 6.)), the Commission proposal for a Joint Action based on Article K.3(2)(b) of the Treaty on European Union concerning temporary protection of displaced persons;

6. Stresses that there must be a fair division of responsibility between Member States in sharing the burden of such influxes of persons in need of protection; calls on the Council and the Member States, despite the position taken in the Amsterdam Treaty, to renew their efforts to find ways of sharing the burden of humanitarian support in these cases, and calls on the Commission to draw up a specific and concrete proposal in this regard;

7. Strongly condemns the international criminal gangs which profit from this human suffering and calls for specific and coordinated international police action to prosecute their activities; calls on the Member States and the other states concerned to take practical measures, possibly with the aid of Europol, to combat the involvement of organized crime in the trafficking in human beings;

8. Considers that the fact that criminals are using the misery of others to make money in no way detracts from the legitimate right of those suffering persecution to seek refuge in the Union;

9. Calls on the Member States, the Council and the Commission to make fresh efforts to formulate a common EU foreign policy in the face of the challenges posed by the repression of the Kurdish people and the consequent migrations, including the promotion of the rule of law and democracy in the countries concerned;

10. Reaffirms that a solution to the problems of Kurdish migration can only be achieved by a political solution to the conflicts, both in Turkey and in Northern Iraq, and, in this context, calls again for an end to Turkish military operations in Northern Iraq; demands that the EU take an international initiative aimed at seeking a political solution to the Kurdish problem;

11. Calls on the Council and the Member States to take the political initiative to raise the issue of the violation of the rights of the Kurds at the UN Commission for Human Rights this year;

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the governments of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.