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efms Migration Report
February 2009 |  | | | |
 UN present new report on
human trafficking
On 12 September 2009, the Office on Drugs and Crime of the United Nations (UNODC)
published the so far most comprehensive report on the issue of "modern slavery",
which is titled "Human trafficking - a crime that shames us all". The core finding
of the survey was that the total number of victims of human trafficking cannot be estimated.
Concrete figures are only available for officially registered and/or legally prosecuted cases of
human trafficking. For 2006, 111 member states of the United Nations reported a total of
21,400 of such cases. According to UNODC Director Antonio Maria Costa, this figure was
merely the tip of the iceberg, however. The report is widely based on information provided by
155 governments cooperating with the UNODC. But also information from international
non-governmental organisations have been taken into account. The investigation for the
survey started in December 2003; that time, the adopted "Protocol to Prevent, Suppress
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children" supplementing the
"UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime" provided for the first
time a generally accepted definition of human trafficking. The main results from the analysis
of the incomplete data material: amounting to 79 per cent, the most frequent purpose of
human trafficking is the sexual exploitation of women and children, followed by forced
labour in households or as child soldier (8 per cent). Minor victims under 14 years make up
20 per cent of all cases. In geographic terms human trafficking is taking place above all
within one region or a country and only in exceptional cases it is cross-continental, according
to the report. To implement its convention against human trafficking adopted in 2008, the
Council of Europe recently set up the expert group Greta, above all in order to take actions
against the sexual exploitation of people.
taz 13.02.09 // NZZ
13.02.09
Swiss vote in favour of EU
freedom of movement of persons On 8 February 2009, the Swiss population voted
in a referendum in favour of the agreement on the freedom of movement of persons with the
EU, which was entered into within the framework of the accession of Switzerland to the
Schengen area. With a clear majority of 59.6 per cent, the Swiss opted thus also for the
extension of the freedom of movement to the new EU Member States of Romania and
Bulgaria, which had been harshly debated in the country. Workers from throughout the EU
having an employment in Switzerland are now entitled to a secure resident status in
Switzerland.
FAZ 09.02.09
EJC strengthens protection
of refugees With a judgement of 17 February 2009, the European Court of Justice
(ECJ) has strengthened the protection of refugees in the EU: refugees who have applied for
subsidiary protection under the European Convention on Human Rights, do not necessarily
have to provide evidence that they are facing individual threats when being deported to the
country of origin. If there is a high degree of "indiscriminate violence" in a
country, refugees do not need to provide evidence for being individually threatened.
Irrespective of their specific situation, violence could in such case effect these persons,
according to the reasons given for the judgement. If there is vice versa a low degree of
indiscriminate violence, providing evidence of being threatened due to personal circumstance
would be sufficient for being granted subsidiary protection. Subsidiary protection is granted
in the EU according to the European Convention on Human Rights if there are threats of
being tortured, sentenced to death or subjected to indiscriminate violence.
Press release of ECJ of 19.02.09 // FR 18.02.09
Federal Government to
facilitate the recognition of foreign qualifications In cooperation with the Federal
Employment Agency (BA), Federal Integration Commissioner Maria Böhmer (CDU)
wants to achieve a quicker recognition of training qualifications of migrants acquired abroad.
Currently, 500,000 of the 15 million immigrants living in Germany possessed qualifications
that are not recognised, said Böhmer. At the same time, about 18 per cent of them were
unemployed in 2008. According to Böhmer, a denial or slowed recognition of
qualifications would not only complicate the access to gainful employment but also was the
reason that qualified workers needed to take unqualified jobs. Against the backdrop of the
current lack of qualified workers in Germany, this constituted a "massive waist of
resources". In order to better integrate qualified migrants into the labour market,
already existing recognition procedures are to be handled in a more efficient way, on the one
hand; on the other hand also a legal right to get foreign qualifications examined should be
established. Meanwhile, a pilot project in the federal state of Brandenburg aimed at reducing
the high unemployment rates among qualified immigrants and at tackling the lack of
physicians in Brandenburg was successfully finished: Within the framework of a 6-month
training course, 20 physicians who came as late German repatriates to Germany and had been
not allowed to practice, could take an "equivalency test". After passing the test,
17 of them are now allowed to work as assistant doctors in Brandenburg.
dpa 09.02.09 // BZ 11.02.09 // Berliner Morgenpost online
21.02.09
Federal Office for
Building and Regional Planning: migrants increasingly living in isolated areas In a
report based on different studies, the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning
(BBR in its German abbreviation) warns of an increasing segregation of neighbourhoods for
migrants and socially disadvantaged persons. As the Pisa study had shown, a segregation in
education and in social areas leads to the setting up of severe education and integration
barriers, according to the BBR report. Even though the Federal Government and the federal
states had been trying to fight the problem within the framework of the programme
"Social City", established in 1999, the reach out of this programme was too
limited, said the BBR staff member in charge of it, Martina Kocks. So far, only 330 of the
550 municipalities participated with a least one quarter in the programme. As reason for this
situation, Kocks has identified the large amount of funds participating municipalities had to
invest. In many cases, even the cities themselves contributed to an aggravation of segregation
tendencies, said Lutz Freitag, president of the GdW federal association of German housing
and real estate companies. The fact that Employment Agencies forced receivers of Hartz IV
welfare assistance to move to cheaper dwellings turned the problem of ethnic segregation
increasingly into a social problem, said Freitag.
Die Welt online
03.02.09
Bundesrat adopts
introduction of electronic identity card On 13 February 2009, the upper house of
the German parliament, the Bundesrat, has paved the way for the introduction of the new
electronic identity card. From November 2010, the digitalised document in credit card format
will be available. In contrast to the electronic passport introduced in 2005, the new identity
card is equipped with an integrated chip that allows to voluntarily store two finger prints
besides the compulsory biometric picture. Moreover, the identity card will contain an
electronic signature that can be used to verify the holder"s identity when dealing with
authorities or for doing internet transactions.
Spiegel online
13.02.09 // Die Welt 14.02.09
No extenuating
circumstances granted for claimed "honour killing" The Regional
Court of Hamburg sentenced on 13 February 2009 a 24-year old man of Afghan origin to a
lifelong prison term for killing his 16-year old sister. The judges considered it proved that the
defendant planned and insidiously carried out the murder of his sister on 15 May 2008. With
this decision, the judges considered the declaration that the defendant wanted to restore the
family"s honour, which he considered to be "spoiled" by his sister"s western way
of life, as inappropriate pretext. The presiding judge, Wolfgang Backen, considered the
family of the defendant, living in Hamburg for many years, to be also responsible for the
crime. It could be blamed with a high moral guilt. The son had been under a high pressure as
a result of the family"s expectation, said Backen. Following the delivery of the judgement, the
family and family members of the victim and the defendant reacted with commotions. The
Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD) welcomed the judgement. The 24-year old
defendant put forward religious reasons as a pretext to be granted extenuating circumstances,
said ZMD secretary general, Aiman Mazyek. In Islam, however, there would be no clues
justifying murders for honour or any other reasons, he added. At the beginning of the trial the
women"s rights organisation Terre de Femmes organised a demonstration. More than 50
women claimed in front of the Regional Court more protection for persons affected by forced
marriages, honour killings and violence.
NDR online 16.12.08 //
NN 14.02.09 // Die Welt online 16.02.08 // SZ 17.02.08
Berlin: Initiative achieves
plebiscite on religious instruction classes By collecting signatures, the initiative
"Pro Reli" achieved its goal of holding a plebiscite to clarify the dispute among
the citizens of Berlin regarding the right to chose between religious instruction classes and
classes in ethics. So far, all school students were obliged to take ethics classes whereas the
attendance of religious instruction classes was voluntary. The supporters of the currently
employed model argue that classes in ethics would embrace all students irrespective of their
ethic, religious or ideological origins and thus facilitated the mutual understanding for each
other. Moreover, they added, the freedom to chose favoured by "Pro Reli" lead to
an "obligation to chose". The current model offered students the opportunity to
attend both subjects instead of having to take one of the two only. In contrast, "Pro
Reli" is of the opinion that students first needed to get familiar with their own culture
and religion before being able to discuss with others of the same age about other cultures and
religions. Moreover they criticise the state would claim a monopoly on defining values by
obliging students to attend ethics classes. The Berlin Senate decided to hold the plebiscite on
26 April 2009.
FAZ 15.02.09 // SZ 12.02.09 // FAZ
18.02.09
Cologne: New concept to
support illegals The head of the department for social affairs of the city of
Cologne, Marlis Bredehorst, has developed a comprehensive concept to support the about
15,000 to 20,000 immigrants living illegally in Cologne. Due to their illegal residence status,
such migrants often would be subject to economic exploitation and not granted basic human
rights, said Bredehorst. The concept titled "Menschen ohne Papiere" (People
without Documentation), which was jointly developed with the "round table for refugee
issues", is to show lawful ways of dealing with illegals. On the one hand, the concept
comprises counselling services, such as information about how to legalise persons" stays, on
the other hand it is also meant to provide practical help: in cooperation with the German
Association of Trade Unions (DGB), illegals are to be offered for instance counselling
services on "labour related issues"; moreover, the medical outpatient care service
previously offered is to be changed to include also inpatient services ("beds for the
poor"). Moreover, the enrolment procedure at schools in Cologne had been changed in
a way that no school headmaster has to refuse children without residence permit, said
Bredehorst. The head of the department for social affairs considered the concept as unique in
Germany due to the comprehensive cooperation of a wide range of institutions.
Kölner Stadtanzeiger online 04.02.09
Dortmund: First Turkish
carnival association established On 11 February 2009, the first Turkish carnival
association throughout Germany was established in Dortmund under the name of "1.
Türkische Narrenzunft Dortmund 09" (1st Turkish fools guild Dortmund 09). At
the beginning, it was just "a crazy idea", said Aytac Arman, spokesman of the
association. A TV satire about Turkish citizens who had no understanding for carnival then
had been the decisive factor for establishing the association, which so far has seven members.
The association does not pursue any political or Muslim objectives, said Arman. It rather
wanted to encourage also other nationalities living in Germany to celebrate carnival and make
jokes about themselves - this goal is to be also expressed by the association"s coat of arms
showing a doner spit and a fool"s cap.
NN 16.02.09
Asylum statistics
In February 2009, a total of 1,936 persons submitted an application for political asylum
in Germany, a decrease of 17.3 per cent (-406 persons) over the month before. Compared to
February 2008, the number of asylum applicants increased by 6.5 per cent (+118 persons).
The main countries of origin in February were Iraq (533), Afghanistan (208), Vietnam (101)
and Kosovo (95) followed by Turkey (87). In this month, the Federal Office for Migration
and Refugees decided on 2,261 asylum applications. A total of 705 persons (31.2 per cent)
were recognised as refugees under the Geneva Refugee Convention. These included 23
persons (1 per cent) who were recognised as entitled to asylum under Art. 16a of the German
Basic Law, and 682 persons (30.2 per cent) protected under § 3 of the Asylum
Procedure Act in conjunction with § 60 (1) of the Residence Act. The applications of
872 persons (38.6 per cent) were rejected. The cases of a further 592 persons (26.2 per cent)
have been closed for other reasons (e.g. due to suspensions of asylum procedures because
persons have withdrawn their applications).
Press release of the
BMI 17.03.09
February 2009 | | | | |
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