Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe - Multiple Choices

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Refugees in Central and Eastern Europe
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M.Č.: What was the reaction to your
report by the European Commission?
A.K.: We have not heard any so far.
M.Č.: Does the Information and
Cooperation Forum have any plans for
future cooperation?
A.K.: We were lucky to have a second follow up
proposal admitted by the Commission, so we
started with the follow up project in December
which concerned the same countries: the Czech
Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Austria and Germany.
We already had our first meeting in January in
Prague where we invited NGO representatives
and those of other organisations, mainly form
Germany. There were some participants who
were very interested to get more information concerning
reception conditions and procedures in
the new member states and also on other items
concerning articles of the Directive.
After this first follow up meeting we will
now continually publish the results of our
research and findings. We will have a newsletter
every two months, which will be available
on the website, and also distributed between
different people interested in information concerning
the Dublin cases, reception and so on.
country after making a claim or wish to return to their
country of origin voluntarily (in this case they will be
detained until they leave the country). As of 1 January 2004,
asylum seekers remain in detention even after having made
their asylum claim.
In Germany, refugees are, in principle, not to be
placed in deportation custody during the asylum procedure.
However, there are exceptions to this basic rule. Asylum
seekers who have lodged their asylum claim through at an
airport are, in practice, held in some form of detention.
Secondly, the regulations contain exceptions for cases
where the application for asylum is made from custody.
Thirdly, it is possible to detain asylum seekers when they
are making a follow-up or second application.
In Poland, almost all asylum seekers are detained
at the beginning of their procedure or beforehand. The only
possibility for them to avoid detention of several weeks or
months (maximum 12 months) is to enter the country with
a valid passport and/or visa.
•• Recommendation
ICF maintains that the reception of asylum seekers
in 'closed' facilities at border points amounts to detention.
It should be avoided and, when resorted to in exceptional
cases, covered by the same legal safeguards as other forms
of deprivation of liberty in the host state.
Asylum seekers should not be detained! 4
Anny Knapp
Anny Knapp is a director of
Asylkoordination Österreich, an Austrian
non-governmental organisation set up
in 1991 to promote rights of refugees
and asylum seekers. For more information
see www.asyl.at
Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe: Unpacking the Diversity