Joint Statement on the Consequences of the Planned EU Asylum Compromise for Refugees and Women Seeking Protection, 2023.
Organization/group/initiative: Istanbul Convention Alliance
Short Description:On June 1, 2023, the European Union acceded to the Istanbul Convention (IC). This means that comprehensive protection against violence for women and girls is enshrined not only in German law, but but also at the EU level. The Istanbul Convention is to be implemented without discrimination, protecting all women and girls in the EU – including those seeking asylum, whether or not they have legal residence rights. Just one week after joining the IC, the Council of EU Interior Ministers agreed plans for a reform of the European Asylum System (CEAS) that would undermine the human rights of refugees, and particularly the rights of vulnerable asylum seekers including women, mothers, girls, children, people with disabilities and people from LGBTIQA* communities. If the EU Council’s plan becomes reality, its mandate under international law to protect against violence will be upended. The Istanbul Convention Alliance rejects the EU Council’s plans, which will not result in better asylum policy but a further escalation of violence on the EU’s external borders.
We call on stakeholders in women’s policy to do everything in their power to prevent the reform being implemented, and to advocate instead for humane asylum legislation in line with the Istanbul Convention and other requirements under international law.
Language: German