Interdiction references: Primary Sources

Partial and incomplete bibliographical listing, prepared as background for the workshop
Interdiction and Refugee Protection: Bridging the Gap, Ottawa, May 2003

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(n.d.). Bangkok Declaration on Irregular Migration. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from http://www.bmw-2.com/bangkok_declaration_on_irregular.htm.

(2000). United Nations Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from http://www.uncjin.org/Documents/Conventions/dcatoc/final_documents_2/convention_smug_eng.pdf.

(2000). United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from http://www.uncjin.org/Documents/Conventions/dcatoc/final_documents_2/convention_%20traff_eng.pdf.

(2000). United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from http://www.uncjin.org/Documents/Conventions/dcatoc/final_documents_2/convention_eng.pdf

(7 October 2001). Council directive 2001/51/EC of 28 June 2001 supplementing the provisions of Article 26 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985. Retrieved April 23, 2003, from http://www.ecre.org/eu_developments/controls/sanctdir.pdf

(March 2003). Bullet point summary of the Strategic Presentation on UNHCR's Operations in Asia and the Pacific. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from http://www.unhcr.ch/prexcom/standocs/english/asia_0303.pdf.

• Updates for specific countries and the region as a whole. Report organised along 5 goals: strengthening implementation of the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol; protecting refugees within broader migration movements; sharing burdens and responsibilities more equitably and building capacities to receive and protect refugees; redoubling the search for durable solutions; and meeting the protection needs of refugee women and children.

• This report, as well as the following seven others, are brief, direct, and comprehensible explanations of Australia's asylum and humanitarian programs. Further, issues related to interdiction, such as excised islands, people smuggling and border controls are also approached.

 

Council of the European Union. (13 September 2002). Joint operations for the control of the southeastern external maritime borders of Mediterranean European Union Member States (Greece, Italy, France, Spain). Retrieved April 23, 2003, from http://www.ecre.org/eu_developments/controls/ext_borders.pdf

Council of the European Union. (14 June 2002). Plan for the management of the external borders of the Member States of the European Union. Retrieved April 25, 2003, from http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/02/st10/10019en2.pdf.
 

Council of the European Union. (10 October 2002). Status report on the follow-up on the Plan for the management of the external borders of the Member States of the European Union and the Comprehensive plan to combat illegal immigration. Retrieved April 23, 2003, from http://www.ecre.org/eu_developments/controls/followup_borders_plan.pdf.
 

Home Office (UK Government). (February 2002). Secure Borders, Safe Haven: Integration with diversity in modern Britain. Retrieved April 25, 2003, from http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/downloads/white_paper/white_paper.pdf

• Original version of the new legislation. Asylum, tackling fraud (people trafficking, illegal entry), and border controls, chapters 4, 5, and 6 respectively, contain information pertaining to interdiction.

 

• The code of conduct outlines the objective of ILO programs in foreign countries, as well as the officers' roles and tasks.

• Two interdiction practices are discussed in this paper: first country of asylum and safe third country. Both of the concepts, distinct in nature, limit irregular secondary movement.

The "safe third country" concept presumes that an applicant could and should have already requested asylum if s/he passed through a safe country en route to the country where asylum is requested. Safety cannot be assessed on the sole basis of formal criteria, such as membership to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and/or to the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. This type of bilateral agreement seeks to transfer the responsibility of considering asylum claims, though the consideration of the claim's substance is appropriate in certain situations. Firstly, if an asylum-seeker passed through a "safe third country" but has close family or other significant ties with the country where asylum claimed or if compelling humanitarian reasons exists, the content of the claim may be considered. Secondly, if the asylum-seeker was merely transiting a "safe third country" where no links or contacts exist, in order to reach the destination country, the claim should be heard rather than transferred.

UNHCR, Global Consultations on International Protection. (18 March 2002). Background note on the protection of asylum-seekers and refugees rescued at sea. Retrieved April 8, 2003, from http://heiwww.unige.ch/conf/psio_230502/files/unhcr.pdf

• This 'background note' provides the general legal framework in which states may act. This framework includes international maritime law, international refugee law, international human rights law, and international criminal law. The responsibilities of states and the rights of asylum-seekers and migrants as they are relevant to the interdiction of migrants at sea, are outlined.

 

• Modern migration movements are heterogeneous, composed of "irregular migrants", economic migrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees. Both the UNHCR and the IOM recognise that current interdiction practices, while intended to control "irregular migration", simultaneously limit asylum-seekers ability to seek refuge. This paper outlines the views of the IOM on the trafficking in and smuggling of persons; interception and refugee protection safeguards; the return of persons not in need of international protection; and information activities. Further, the UNHCR presents its views on the trafficking in and smuggling of persons; interception and refugee protection safeguards; alternatives to interception, and the return of persons not in need of international protection.

• This meeting focussed on the situation in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe, a region which is increasingly becoming one of both destination and transit for substantial movements of persons in search of protection and/or better economic opportunities. Conclusions of the second and third topics, soit, the application of the "safe third country" notion and its impact on the management of flows and on the protection of refugees, as well as, inter-state agreements for the re-admission of third-country nationals, including asylum-seekers, and for the determination of the State responsible for examining the substance of an asylum claim, are included.

• This documents is an overview of the key conclusions and recommendations of two regional workshops: "Incorporating refugee protection safeguards into interception measures" (Ottawa), and the Asia/Pacific regional workshop in SAR Macau (PR of China) concerning the protection of refugees in the asylum/migration context.