No human being is
illegal
Report:
Human rights of irregular migrants
PACE,
27th of June 2006
On
walls in Amsterdam is written ‘ No human being is illegal’.
I
think this is a basic principle of humanity.
People
can behave like criminals, because they are stealing, murdering, raping and thus
bring shame and sadness to other people’s life and goods.
But
the simple fact that a person stays in a country without a legal pemit doesn’t
make this person illegal. OK, it’s an illegal act, but it doesn’t hurt
anybody personal.
Of
course, you can discuss about the wording, but what I try to say is that the
approach of migrants without a permit is in most countries far beyond the
princinples of human rights.
They
are treated like non-existing persons, without any rights, while their only
illegal act is that they don’t have a permit to stay.
At the same time, when they are caught and seems to be existing,
they are treated like criminals.
I
think mr. Ed van Thijn makes with his report a very good attempt to make these
non-existing persons visible.
To
make it clear that the so called irregular migrants are really existing human
beings, who should have human rights.
This
morning was the much attended debate on the Marty-report in which the the
Assembly condemns the depriving of suspected people of their basic human rights.
Of course this was right and I supported the Marty report fully.
Now
we discuss a report about approximately 3 – 5 million people, who arne not
suspected of any crime against another person, but are also deprived from basic
human rights.
The
report and the resolution underlines that there is a number of international
laws, conventions, protocoals and treaties who are in some way dealing with the
rights oif migrants without a permit.
Then
the report and the resolution, on basic of these international laws, tries to
formulate basic human rights for migrants without a permit.
And,
very important, the rights of their children to have education, protection and
attention.
The
Council of Europe has a good reputation as the guarding angel of human rights in
Europe. We have the obligation to keep our standards on a high level, to avoid
double standards and to keep our eyes wide open for every offending of human
rights.
Therefore,
the proposals in this report, the reseolution and the recommendation deserves
our fully support.
Therefore
it’s necessary that this report, when adopted, leaves this building and is
discussed in the parliaments and governments of the memberstates and –of
course- by the committee of ministers.
I
underline the proposal in the resolution to ask the Commissioner for Human
Rights to take up this issue and to pay attention in his reports to the way
memberstates are dealing with this issue.
It’s
a cornerstone of a broader approach of how all the member states of the CoE are
inmplementing and defendcing hman rights.
