Resettlement

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The term Resettlement ( Engl. : Resettlement) refers to the permanent relocation of particularly vulnerable and vulnerable refugees from a Erstaufnahmeland in which they have sought protection in a ready third country (resettlement State). This grants them refugee or subordinate protection status.

For a long time, the term “new settlement” was used in German. In recent years, however, the English term "resettlement" has also established itself in German-speaking countries. Not only the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) but also numerous non-governmental organizations and government agencies use the English term these days.

Although efforts towards an active resettlement policy have been observed as part of the Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement (ATCR) since 1995, the global demand for resettlement places has not yet been met. According to the UNHCR, around 1.4 million refugees were dependent on resettlement in 2019, but only 63,696 people were able to benefit from this. This corresponds to less than 5 percent of the total requirement.

In order to better meet the needs of refugees in the future, UNHCR formulated in June 2019, the "three-year strategy resettlement and alternative access routes 2019-2021" ( Engl . Three-Year Strategy on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways 2019-2021). The aim of the strategy is to gain new resettlement states and to open up further alternative access routes for refugees.

Since most of the refugees nowadays are resettled through the UNHCR resettlement program, the requirements for participation in it and the procedures for the resettlement selection and admission process are outlined below.

UNHCR criteria for resettlement

In order to be considered for the UNHCR resettlement program, a person must be recognized as a refugee, have special protection needs and be unable to return to the country of origin or to integrate permanently in the country of first reception.

Refugee status

To participate in the UNHCR resettlement program, a person must a priori fulfill the refugee status according to the Geneva Refugee Convention of 1951 and the associated protocol of 1967 . In addition to the Geneva Refugee Convention - according to which there must be a specific threat to a person - the UNHCR also recognizes people as refugees who cannot return to their country of origin due to a general threat or a situation of collective violence. However, since the national resettlement programs of many countries are limited to the admission of refugees in accordance with the Geneva Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol, resettlement of persons who fall under this broader definition of the UNHCR is less promising.

Special protection requirements

In addition to refugee status, people must also have an increased need for protection in order to participate in the resettlement program. According to the UNHCR, the following people are particularly in need of protection or vulnerability:

  • People with special legal and physical protection needs;
  • Survivors of violence and / or torture;
  • People with special medical needs;
  • Women and Girls at Risk;
  • People whose family members are already in the resettlement state;
  • Children and adolescents at risk;

Best of the three permanent solutions

According to the UNHCR, there are three permanent solutions for recognized refugees: voluntary and safe return to the country of origin, integration in the country of first reception and resettlement. Participation in the resettlement program is therefore only an option if the two other solutions do not appear realistic or if resettlement is considered the best of the three options in individual cases.

Selection process and immigration organization

The selection and admission process within the framework of the UNHCR resettlement program usually consists of three phases: First, the UNHCR checks whether a person fulfills the basic requirements for resettlement (refugee status, special protection needs and resettlement as a permanent solution); if these are given, the persons are proposed to a resettlement state; and if approved by the resettlement state, the trip will be organized.

Selection process UNHCR

In order for the UNHCR to consider a person for the resettlement program, they must already be recognized as a refugee. The determination of refugee status by the UNHCR takes place in a separate procedure and is independent of possible participation in the resettlement program.

If there are indications of a special need for protection in the case of refugees recognized by the UNHCR, this will be followed up in the context of further clarifications (e.g. interview, inquiries with partner organizations, inspection of other relevant documents, home visits). Only if the UNHCR an increased need for protection according to one or more of the under section "requiring special protection" establishes criteria, the person to UNHCR resettlement program received and a resettlement registration form ( Engl . Resettlement Registration Form) (RRF) is created.

The RRF is then sent to the responsible authorities of a resettlement country. In doing so, the UNHCR tries to take into account the admission criteria of the individual countries or the national resettlement programs (e.g. geographical focus or the priority admission of certain groups of refugees).

Selection process resettlement state

The competent authorities of the resettlement state check whether the person meets the national criteria for resettlement. After the RRF has been screened beforehand, the states usually subject the proposed person to a detailed examination as part of a selection mission - inclusion on a dossier basis is also possible.

During the selection missions in the initial host country, the persons proposed by the UNHCR are heard by government employees of the resettlement states. In addition to the reasons for fleeing and the situation in the country of first reception, the integration potential of the refugees and their willingness for social and economic integration in the resettlement state are also increasingly being examined.

Immigration organization

If the resettlement state has a positive admission decision and if the person agrees to resettlement in the respective country, organization of the immigration can begin. This includes travel planning (flight, transit, visa, etc.) and, if necessary, medical clarifications in the country of first reception to ensure that a person is able to travel.

Most resettlement countries also provide for the departure of several days orientation courses ( Engl . Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO)) in Erstaufnahmeland ago. These serve to inform the refugees about the conditions in the resettlement state and to prepare them for their new life there.

As a rule, entry is organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in cooperation with the competent authorities of the resettlement state.

Once in the resettlement state, the refugees receive protection in accordance with the respective national law. While some states grant them full refugee status and the associated rights, in others they only receive a subordinate protection status.

At the same time, the integration work begins after arrival. Here, too, the coverage ratio and period of the measures differed between the various resettlement states. Some offer specific integration programs for resettlement refugees. In others, they are supported under the general integration programs for refugees and asylum seekers.

Participating host countries

According to the UNHCR, 29 countries participated in the resettlement program in 2019. With 21,159 refugees admitted, the USA was the most important resettlement state, followed by Canada (9031) and Great Britain (5774).

The majority of the newly settled refugees came from Syria (23,625), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (14,673) and Myanmar (5,224).

Europe

In the European context, “resettlement” means taking in vulnerable refugees from a non-EU country. This must be distinguished from the intra-European redistribution of asylum seekers in the Schengen area ( English : relocation).

Efforts towards a common resettlement policy have been observed at the European level since 2012. So has the Council of Ministers on 8 March 2012, already in 2009 by the EU Commission proposed Joint EU Resettlement Program ( Engl : Joint EU Resettlement Program.) Adopted. The framework program laid down non-binding guidelines and priorities for the national resettlement programs of the member states as well as the associated possibilities for financial support from the EU - initially under the European Refugee Fund III and from 2014 under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) (2014 -2020).

As a result of the increasing migration flows since 2015, the guidelines formulated in the joint EU resettlement program have been partially replaced by other ad-hoc resettlement initiatives: As part of which, EU member states committed themselves to accepting a total of 20,000 refugees for the years 2015 to 2018, and the provision of a further 50,000 places from 2018 to 2020. The focus was on Syrian refugees from the surrounding initial reception countries Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey - the latter were partly also in Europe within the framework of the EU-Turkey agreement from 2016 newly settled - as well as groups of refugees from North Africa and the Horn of Africa . By the end of the respective programs, however, the allocated quotas were not exhausted; 18,563 people came to Europe as part of the 20,000 program and by the end of the 50,000 program in December 2019, 41,300 resettlement refugees had been accepted by EU member states.

For the year 2020, the member states have made a further 30,000 places available for resettlement, with the EU supporting the receiving states with 10,000 euros per resettled person.

In parallel to these ad-hoc programs, efforts towards a pan-European resettlement practice in the true sense are continuing. In 2016, for example, the EU Commission submitted the draft for the Union Resettlement Program. Specifically, this provides for the definition of generally applicable geographical focuses and admission contingents in a two-year cycle as well as the harmonization of the work processes of the national programs.

Resettlement in Germany

At a conference of interior ministers in early December 2011, it was decided that Germany would be permanently involved in the resettlement program. As part of the program (initially as a pilot project from 2012 to 2014 inclusive), 300 particularly vulnerable refugees were admitted to Germany every year from 2012; they were granted temporary humanitarian protection. In 2012 these were African refugees from Tunisia and Iraqis from Turkey. In 2013 all resettlement refugees from Turkey were admitted; these were Iraqis, Iranians and Syrians. In 2014, refugees of various nationalities (e.g. Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka, China, Afghanistan) and stateless persons from Syria and Indonesia were admitted.

At the interior ministers' conference in autumn 2013, it was decided to continue the program indefinitely and to provide 500 admission places annually from 2015.

While most of the countries that accept resettlement refugees grant the newcomers full refugee status, people who come to Germany do not receive full refugee status, but only temporary humanitarian protection status, which is limited to five years and did not include the same rights (temporary Protection / humanitarian reception). Through the law on the redefinition of the right to stay and the termination of residence of July 27, 2015 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 1386 ), which came into force on August 1, 2015, the legislature created an independent legal basis for admission with Section 23, Paragraph 4 of the Residence Act of resettlement refugees. The law harmonized the rights of this group of people in many areas, such as granting settlement permits and family reunification, with those of refugees recognized in the national asylum procedure . However, the question of whether resettlement refugees may also be issued a travel document in accordance with Article 28 of the GRC remained unresolved . However, this is affirmed with regard to the "recognition" carried out by the UNHCHR and the legal residence following the issue of a residence permit.

On March 18, 2020, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany , the Federal Ministry of the Interior suspended both the resettlement procedure under the EU-Turkey Agreement and the resettlement procedure of the federal government.

Resettlement in Austria

In Austria there have already been three resettlement programs, the first of which was implemented in 2013. In 2014 Interior Minister Mikl-Leitner called for a resettlement program at European level. In 2018, Interior Minister Kickl stopped Austria's participation in resettlement programs, since resettlement only makes sense as a substitute for uncontrolled migration and not as a supplement to it.

Resettlement in Switzerland

Since the ratification of the Geneva Refugee Convention in 1955, Switzerland has repeatedly accepted groups of refugees through resettlement. In the 1990s, the Federal Council temporarily suspended the practice, as the number of asylum applications had risen sharply in the wake of the Balkan War. In 2013, in view of the crisis in Syria, Switzerland began to accept larger refugee contingents again through resettlement. In cooperation with the UNHCR, a good 4,300 particularly vulnerable refugees, mainly Syrian refugees, have been admitted to Switzerland by the beginning of 2020.

The Swiss resettlement practice in recent years has been based on several Federal Council resolutions. After the completion of a pilot project from 2013 to 2015, further decisions were made to accept refugees from Syria who were particularly in need of protection in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Switzerland will continue to participate in the UNHCR resettlement program in the future. A national implementation concept for resettlement has been adopted to make it easier to plan entry, accommodation and long-term care for refugees by the federal government, cantons and municipalities. From 2020, this provides for two-year contingents in the range of 1,500 to 2,000 people.

The 2020/2021 program is intended to accommodate 1,600 people. In addition to the victims of the Syrian crisis, further groups of refugees from the crisis regions of the Middle East and along the migration route across the central Mediterranean are to be accepted.

Switzerland also carries out selection missions in the initial host countries. In the event of admission, the refugees receive asylum upon arrival in Switzerland in accordance with Article 56 of the Swiss Asylum Act (AsylG).

After a short stay in a Federal Asylum Center (BAZ), the refugees are distributed to the various cantons and supported there in their social and economic integration within the framework of the Swiss Integration Agenda.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement. Retrieved May 14, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: More resettlement needed as only 4.5 per cent of global resettlement needs met in 2019. Accessed May 14, 2020 .
  3. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Three-Year Strategy on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways. Retrieved May 14, 2020 (English).
  4. ↑ Selection phase | European Resettlement Network. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
  5. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Resettlement Handbook . Geneva 2011, p. 19 ( unhcr.org [PDF]).
  6. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Resettlement Handbook . Geneva 2011, p. 21 ( unhcr.org [PDF]).
  7. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Resettlement Handbook . Geneva 2011, p. 247-298 ( unhcr.org [PDF]).
  8. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Resettlement Handbook . Geneva 2011, p. 28 ( unhcr.org [PDF]).
  9. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Resettlement Handbook . Geneva 2011, p. 9 ( unhcr.org [PDF]).
  10. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Resettlement Handbook . Geneva 2011, p. 73 ( unhcr.org [PDF]).
  11. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Resettlement Handbook . Geneva 2011, p. 308-329 ( unhcr.org [PDF]).
  12. ↑ Hanne Beirens, Susan Fratzke: Taking Stock of Refugee Resettlement: Policy objectives, practical tradeoffs, and the evidence base. Ed .: Migration Policy Institute Europe. Brussels 2017, p. 18 ( reliefweb.int [PDF]).
  13. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Resettlement Handbook . Geneva 2011, p. 361-362 ( unhcr.org [PDF]).
  14. ↑ Hanne Beirens, Susan Fratzke: Taking Stock of Refugee Resettlement: Policy objectives, practical tradeoffs, and the evidence base. Ed .: Migration Policy Institute Europe. Brussels 2017, p. 18 ( reliefweb.int [PDF]).
  15. ↑ Travel phase | European Resettlement Network. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Pre-departure assistance phase | European Resettlement Network. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Travel phase | European Resettlement Network. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
  18. ^ The Expert Council's Research Unit (SVR Research Unit): What Next for Global Refugee Policy? Opportunities and Limits of Resettlement at Global, European and National Levels . Berlin 2018, p. 15 ( stiftung-mercator.de [PDF]).
  19. ↑ Integration phase | European Resettlement Network. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
  20. ↑ UNHCR - RSQ. Retrieved May 18, 2020 .
  21. ↑ UNHCR - RSQ. Retrieved May 18, 2020 .
  22. ↑ UNHCR - RSQ. Retrieved May 18, 2020 .
  23. ↑ What is resettlement? | European Resettlement Network. Retrieved May 18, 2020 .
  24. ^ European Commission: Statement by EU Commissioner Malmström on the Council adoption of a common position on the Joint EU resettlement program. 2012, accessed on May 18, 2020 .
  25. ^ The UN Refugee Council, European Council on Refugees and Exiles: Follow the Money III: Solidarity: The use of AMIF funds to incentivize resettlement and relocation in the EU . Brussels 2020, p. 14 ( ecre.org [PDF]).
  26. ^ The UN Refugee Council, European Council on Refugees and Exiles: Follow the Money III: Solidarity: The use of AMIF funds to incentivize resettlement and relocation in the EU . Brussels 2020, p. 14-15 ( ecre.org [PDF]).
  27. ↑ European Commission: RESETTLEMENT AND LEGAL MIGRATION THE COMMISSION'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE LEADERS 'AGENDA. 2019, accessed on May 18, 2020 .
  28. ↑ European Commission: DELIVERING ON RESETTLEMENT. 2019, accessed on May 18, 2020 .
  29. ↑ European Commission: Resettlement: EU Member States' pledges exceed 30,000 places for 2020. 2019, accessed on May 18, 2020 (English).
  30. ↑ Resettlement in Europe | European Resettlement Network. Retrieved May 18, 2020 .
  31. ↑ European Commission: REFORMING THE COMMON EUROPEAN ASYLUM SYSTEM: WHAT THE INDIVIDUAL REFORMS WOULD CHANGE AND WHY WE NEED THEM NOW. 2018, accessed on May 18, 2020 .
  32. ↑ 193rd meeting of the Conference of Interior Ministers on December 9, 2011: Collection of the resolutions approved for publication: P.19: Resettlement of refugees; Introduction of a permanent resettlement program / acceptance of refugees from North Africa
  33. ↑ Federal Ministry of the Interior December 9, 2011: Friedrich comments after the conference of interior ministers ( memento of the original of September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bmi.bund.de
  34. ^ Pro Asylum December 14, 2011: Germany said “yes”: Interior Ministers agree to resettlement
  35. ↑ Federal Ministry of the Interior December 12, 2014: Federal Humanitarian Admission Programs
  36. ↑ 198th Meeting of the Interior Ministers' Conference December 6, 2011: Collection of the resolutions released for publication: P.33: Resettlement program
  37. ↑ save me Bremen: From 2015: Resettlement program unlimited, 500 admission places per year ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . December 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.save-me-bremen.de
  38. ↑ cf. Tometten, ZAR 2015, 299 ff.
  39. ↑ Admission program for refugees stopped. In: tagesschau.de. March 18, 2020, accessed March 18, 2020 .
  40. ^ The Austrian Resettlement Program - UNHCR Austria . In: UNHCR . ( unhcr.org [accessed November 28, 2018]).
  41. ^ Wiener Zeitung Online: Migration: Mikl-Leitner for Resettlement . In: Politics & Law - Wiener Zeitung Online . July 5, 2017 ( wienerzeitung.at [accessed November 28, 2018]).
  42. ^ Asylum: Kickl on return centers: "It looks pretty good" . In: www.kleinezeitung.at . October 4, 2018 ( kleinezeitung.at [accessed November 28, 2018]).
  43. ^ Resettlement. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .
  44. ↑ Resettlement programs since 2013. Accessed July 9, 2020 .
  45. ↑ Federal Council approves implementation of the resettlement concept. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .
  46. ↑ Federal Council approves implementation of the resettlement concept. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .
  47. ↑ Selection process and entry into Switzerland. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .
  48. ↑ Restructuring of the asylum area: all locations in western Switzerland are fixed. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .
  49. ↑ Integration. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .

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