OfficeUNHCR looks forward to the publication tomorrow (February 18th) by theEuropean Commission of a proposal to establish a European Asylum SupportOffice. We hope that such a support office will help ensure moreconsistent and better quality asylum decision-making across the EuropeanUnion.
Research by UNHCR has shown that asylum-seekers of similar backgroundsand profiles have widely varying prospects of finding protection indifferent Member States of the European Union. For asylum-seekers fromcountries such as Iraq, Somalia or Afghanistan, for instance, theseprospects can vary from 0 per cent to over 90 per cent depending on themember state in which they lodge their application.
In some cases,people in need of protection are not recognized as such, due to thenarrow approach taken by some states to key issues, such as protectionneeds faced by people in situations of generalized violence. UNHCR believes that a European Asylum Support Office would strengthenpractical cooperation and the sharing of good practice among memberstates. This should help to narrow differences between member states’approaches to the application of EU asylum legislation and ultimatelyresult in more consistent, fair and effective asylum systems across theEU.
However, the EASO will need the mandate and resources to enable itto help member states to address many concrete challenges. We look forward to cooperating with a future European Asylum SupportOffice, in a manner consistent with the UNHCR mandate. This couldinclude providing the services of experts, contributing to comparativeanalysis of the practice of states, or offering expertise regardingconditions in asylum seekers’ countries of origin or countries throughwhich they traveled.
Based on UNHCR’s supervisory responsibilityregarding implementation of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Statusof Refugees, we are well placed to help the EU and the future supportoffice to ensure that the Common European Asylum System develops in linewith international refugee law and high standards of protection. Suchcollaboration would be consistent with the Amsterdam Treaty, whichrequires consultation with UNHCR on all matters relating to asylum inthe European Union.
