CMS: Draft-Law on Asylum Restrictive and Lacks Courage to Propose Progressive Measures

12 June 2007

The Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) greeted yesterday, June 11, 2007, the final Draft-Law on Asylum that just entered parliamentary procedure. The draft does, in their opinion, is largely harmonized to EU policies and improves the asylum procedure in Croatia. The draft, however, has a number of defects and omissions.

The final text, therefore, contains provisions that remain below standards listed in EC directives. Another, possibly bigger issue, says CMS, is the fact that the legislators lacked the courage to go over the Directives� minimal standards.

�Asylum policies are important - lamentably, among the most restrictive - in EU and we believe that Croatia had a chance to impose its own asylum policy that would become a positive example for other EU countries, in terms of the quality of protection of human rights of asylum seekers and refugees�, comments CMS.

CMS laments the fact that such a positive step forward was not made, in spite of the fact that Croatia has the capacity to adopt a modern and progressive asylum policy. That, in CMS view, is actually in the national interest.

�This Law is based on the assumption that the right to asylum is there to be abused. As a consequence, the possibility to get asylum in Croatia reduces, but the possibilities for subsidiary protection are increased. We are not quite sure whether such approach is in our national interest, since the Law seems to have omitted the value of more permanent integration of foreigners, while subsidiary protection excludes such integration, having in mind the limits n the period of time for which it is awarded�, says the public statement issued by CMS.

Other major objections to the law include the presence of safe third country concept, contrary to Directive 2005/85/EC; the right to work remains available to asylum seeker only after one year of stay; no legal protection and assistance is available in the first degree procedures.

CMS proposes several amendments to this Draft in order to eliminate the detected flaws, available at www.cms.hr. CMS expects from the competent Parliamentary committees to officially endorse and submit the amendments in the debate on the Draft.