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Wiesbaden, Germany The International Conference “Illegal Migration – society and the police activity sphere in the stage of changes” started on November 14 in Wiesbaden, Germany. the Chairman of the State Border Guard Committee of the Republic of Belarus Lieutenant-General Alexander Pavlovsky, Minister of Interior of Germany, chiefs of the Federal Criminal Police of Germany, EU Border Agency “Frontex”, Europol, border and law enforcement agencies of the EU states as well as German scientists dealing with migration problem took part in the conference which is annually organized and held by the Federal Criminal Police of Germany. Within two days the participants of the conference were to exchange experience in struggling against transboundary organized crime, illicited migration and terrorism.
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A hearing, organised by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), in Paris on 11 December dealt with the advantages and draw-backs of regularisation programmes for irregular migrants, taking into account the different experiences in Europe to date – Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Portugal. In his concluding statement the rapporteur on regularisation programmes for irregular migrants, John Greenway (United Kingdom, EDG) said: "The Council of Europe’s focus is on human rights and the rule of law. It is therefore very disturbing to hear that the rule of law is breached by millions of people being employed in the black economy, illegal employment often linked to organised crime. Our member states should be concerned about the breaches of law and the consequent breaches of human rights. Breaking this cycle of breaches of law and human rights would be beneficial for every country in Europe and this is what we have to strive for. The key issue for the Council of Europe, the EU and all NGOs involved in the years to come, is to seek ways in which to adapt the concept of the regularisation of irregular migrants for a better management of migratory flows as one element of a cross-section of accompanying measures needed when adopting and operating such programmes. There is growing awareness that with anything from 5 to 10 million irregular migrants across the European continent, the idea of doing nothing is unsustainable. But I am optimistic because the Spanish and Italian situations suggest that it is possible to be more pro-active and thus contribute to the protection of human rights and the quality of life of migrants. I am also optimistic that the benefit will outweigh prejudices and thus receive public support.“ Mr Greenway’s report is due to be debated by PACE in the first half of 2007. | | |
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The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, and the European Data Protection Supervisor, Peter Hustinx, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 30 November in Brussels. The purpose of the agreement is to ensure the consistent treatment of complaints concerning data protection and to avoid unnecessary duplication. In pursuit of this goal, each of the signatory institutions undertakes: - to inform complainants about the other institution when this could be relevant to them and to facilitate the transfer
of complaints; - to inform the other institution about complaints relevant to it;
- not to reopen a complaint that has already been brought forward, unless significant new evidence is submitted;
- to adopt a consistent approach to legal and administrative aspects of data protection, thereby promoting the rights and interests of citizens and complainants.
In a joint statement, the Ombudsman and the EDPS said: "Because maladministration includes failure by the EU institutions to comply with their data protection obligations, it is important that we coordinate on cases where our competences partly overlap. This agreement builds upon the current practice of good cooperation between our two institutions". To see the full text of the Memorandum please visit: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/dataprot/en/edpsmou.htm
or
http://www.edps.europa.eu/legislation/06-11-30_EO_EDPS_MoU_EN.pdf
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22-23 November 2006, Kiev, Ukraine The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the State Committee of Ukraine for Nationalities and Migration hosted a two day international round table on the protection of human rights of migrants and refugees. The round table aimed at discussing practical obstacles that make it difficult for migrants to enjoy their rights and how the vulnerability of migrants to human rights abuse can receive adequate attention in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe. The event, entitled “Justice and Migration Policies: Core Values in the Protection of Human Rights, Readmission, Integration of Migrants and Minorities” was held on 22-23 November 2006 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. All relevant materials – agendas and recommendations from the round table can be found here.
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| By the end of the year, Interpol will install on the Ukrainian territory 27 stations of Interpol’s “I 24-7” global system, which will make it possible to send and receive information about criminals and illegal migrants. Secretary General of Interpol Ronald K. Noble said about it during a briefing. According to him, those stations will make it possible to send current information about criminals, specifically, their finger prints, to various parts of the world. “This will make it possible to secure Ukraine’s borders against penetration by criminals and illegal migrants”, he noted. Also, according to Mr. Noble, a regional seminar to train personnel in operation of the systems is planned.
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| Vienna, Austria Eva Biaudet, recently appointed the OSCE Special Representative on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, called on the Organization's 56 participating States to strengthen the implementation of their commitments to combat human trafficking. In her first speech to the OSCE's Permanent Council, Ms. Biaudet said the Organization is uniquely placed to battle trafficking because its participating States have made substantial political commitments to do so. She also underlined the crucial role individual countries play in this fight. "It is the primary responsibility of the participating States to take action at the national level to establish a solid anti-trafficking legal framework in accordance with international standards," she said. "And even that is not enough. We need to work towards creating an environment that is clearly hostile to trafficking in human beings, through prevention, prosecution or protection activities. "A strong system of co-operation between the State bodies and non-governmental organizations contributes much towards ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice and that victims are assisted and compensated for harm suffered." Ms. Biaudet outlined four priorities for 2007: translating knowledge into policy, improving strategic communication, building capacity and strengthening institutions, and reporting on human trafficking in the OSCE area. She also said she would focus particularly on areas that have not yet received adequate attention, such as human trafficking for labour exploitation, links between migration and human trafficking and safe return or stay. A two-day OSCE high-level meeting, in the framework of the "Alliance against Trafficking in Persons", on trafficking for labour exploitation starts 16 November in Vienna. Ms. Biaudet, a Finnish parliamentarian, was appointed Special Representative last month. The Permanent Council is the OSCE's main regular decision-making body.
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| Brest, Belarus Recently Brest hosted seminar which was dedicated to combating human trafficking. In the work of the seminar except the representatives of the Border Guards of the Republic of Belarus and the International Organization for Migration, the officials of the Ministry of Interior, Supreme Court, chiefs of the Belarusian public societies and the Polish Border Guard took part. Within two days the participants analyzed the role of the international instruments and Belarusian legislation in combating human trafficking and illicit migration, got acquainted with the Belarusian and Polish Border Guard men’s experience in revealing and suppressing the channels of women’s trafficking. The seminar’s participants visited the museum of the rescued values of art and the border control detachment “Warshawsky Most”.
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Helsinki, 27 October 2006 The 10th EU-Ukraine Summit took place in Helsinki on October 27th 2006. The EU was represented by the Finnish Prime Minister Mr Matti VANHANEN in his capacity as President of the European Council and by the President of the Commission, Mr Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO. Prime Minister Vanhanen was accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Erkki TUOMIOJA and Minister for European Affairs/Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ms Paula LEHTOMAKI. The President of the Commission was accompanied by the Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Dr Benita FERRERO-WALDNER. The Ukrainian Delegation was led by the President Viktor YUSHCHENKO accompanied by Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Boris TARASYUK. The European Union and Ukraine agreed on the crucial importance of political and economic reforms in Ukraine and on the need for Ukraine to finalise the WTO accession process which would allow the development of stronger economic and trade relations with the EU. The Parties agreed on a joint comprehensive and ambitious approach to the new Enhanced Agreement between the EU and Ukraine, including a deep free trade area as an important element thereof. Both Parties are looking forward to the launch of official negotiations early 2007. The Parties also welcomed progress made in reforms in all fields covered by the EU - Ukraine Action Plan and agreed on the need to continue the implementation of the Action Plan.
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New York
The European Union (EU)-Ukraine Troika meeting took place in New York on 21 September 2005. Minister of State for Europe in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Douglas Alexander and European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Ms. Benita Ferrero-Waldner represented the EU, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Borys Tarasyuk headed the Ukrainian delegation.
In view of the forthcoming EU-Ukraine Summit scheduled for 1 December 2005 in Kyiv, the parties discussed a series of bilateral and international issues. The former included the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Action Plan, the EU-Ukraine co-operation in the field of foreign and security policy, and the need for granting Ukraine market economy country status prior to the summit. The parties also confirmed their readiness to start negotiations on signing an EU-Ukraine Free Trade Area Agreement after Ukraine’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The EU representatives also officially informed the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine of ratification by the EU Council of the mandate for negotiations relating to visa regime liberalisation between the EU and Ukraine
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Minsk, Belarus
The workshop on the use of biometrics to address key migration challenges in the CIS took place in Minsk, Belarus, on 30-31 August 2005. It was co-organized by IOM and the Ministry of Interior of Belarus upon a request by the CIS Council of Ministers of Interior. The workshop focused on the use of biometrics within four main areas - travel documents and their issuance, identity cards, border management, and privacy and data protection. Senior technical experts from the CIS as well as international and regional biometrics experts participated in the workshop. With the fast-changing pace of biometrics technology, it gave the participants an opportunity to share experience on biometric applications, define best practices, enhance the impact of biometric initiatives, and engage in joint planning.
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