Accelerated Asylum Procedures

In 2006, the Council of Europe established a Working Group "to examine the question of human rights protection in the context of accelerated asylum procedures and, as appropriate, to draft guidelines in this field." The group held its first meeting in December 2006. Draft Terms of Reference for the group's mandate are provided in English as Appendix III to the report of the meeting. (A final version is also provided in French here.) Documents considered during the meeting included the following:

- Secretariat Memorandum on Recommendation 1727 (2005) of the Parliamentary Assembly Accelerated asylum procedures in Council of Europe member states [text]
- Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in member states for granting and withdrawing refugee status [text]
- UNHCR Provisional Comments on the Proposal for a Council Directive on Minimum Standards on Procedures in member States for Granting and Withdrawing Refugee Status (Council Document 14203/04, Asile 64, of 9 November 2004) [text]
- Amnesty International: Council of Europe: Briefing to the Working Group on Human Rights Protection in the Context of Accelerated Asylum Procedures (GT-DH-AS), IOR 61/024/2006 [text]

More recently (July 2007), Amnesty International reported its observations of the December meeting and recommendations for concerns to be addressed.

An earlier Sussex Centre for Migration Research working paper (April 2007) focused on the issue of accelerated procedures in the European context; it provides useful background to the current discussions and looks at the use of such procedures in the UK as a case study.

For more information about EU developments relating to asylum and refugee policies, visit ECRE, UNHCR and the European Commission.

Posted in Publications and Web Sites.