Jesuit Refugee Service Europe Rue du Progrs 333 / 2 B-1030 Brussels Belgium Tel.

el. +32 (0)2 250 32 21 Fax +32 (0)2 250 32 29 europe.senioradvocacy@jrs.net

THE INVISIBLE BORDERS:

Destitution of Migrants in Europe
A report from the public conference on 29 March 2011 in Brussels
Contents: 1. 2. 3. 4. Introduction............................................................................................................................ 2 The media briefing.............................................................................................................. 2 Welcome and film ............................................................................................................... 3 Keynote presentations ........................................................................................................ 3 4.1 4.2 5 6 Destitution in a political perspective: Jean Lambert MEP ................................... 3 Destitution in a human rights perspective: Dr Nicolas J. Beger (AI)................... 4

Input from national events on destitution......................................................................... 5 Workshops on aspects of destitution................................................................................ 6 6.1 Workshop on access to education (Chair: Ms Anna Ranki, European Youth Forum) ....................................................................................................................................... 7 6.1 Workshop on access to health care (Chair: Mr Benoit Blondel, Mdecins du Monde) ....................................................................................................................................... 7 6.2 Workshop on access to housing (Chair: Mr Mauro Striano, FEANTSA) ..........10 6.3 Workshop on access to social services (Chair: Ms Adriana Opromolla, Caritas Europa).......................................................................................................................17 6.4 Workshop on access to work and payment for work (Chair: Mr Benoit Noel, CGSB Syndicat liberal) .........................................................................................................20

7 8

Panel discussion on the results from the workshops .....................................................21 Concluding remarks by the Conference Chair, Ms Gabriele Erpenbeck ................22

Appendix I: Profiles of the Speakers......................................................................................24 Appendix II: JRS Europes policy position on destitution of migrants................................25

ANDES is funded by:

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-21. Introduction Together with Caritas Europa, the European Trade Union Confederation, UNHCR and several other partners, Jesuit Refugee Service Europe organised a one-day European Conference on Destitution of Migrants that was held on 29th March 2011 at the Ateliers des Tanneurs in Brussels. About 100 persons attended this conference, coming not only from the refugee and migrant organisations but representing other Civil Society actors as well, such as Trade Unions, educational or medical professionals. The aim was providing a forum for a dialogue among all relevant stakeholders as well as with political decision makers so that concrete steps can be taken to improve the situation of destitute migrants. With this the impetus coming from the 2010 European Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion should be used and brought forward. This report will summarise the main elements and results of the conference. It is, therefore, not meant to be exhaustive, but rather to give an idea about what has been discussed. JRS Europe will be happy to answer any questions on details.

2. The media briefing Just before the start of the conference, JRS Europe held a media briefing with about ten journalists attending. Simon Tesfamichael, an Eritrean refugee now living in Italy, described his experiences: He did not receive any help from the Italian government nor could he get a job. He knew a lot of people living under even much worse conditions in Italy. For Simon the worst aspect of the destitution problem was that people are capable but not being allowed to help themselves. He applied to the Italian government to change their policies in order to give migrants a chance. At the moment, I couldnt see any rights for refugees in Italy. Refugees simply do not exist for the Italian authorities. JRS United Kingdom director Louise Zanr pointed out that it is the states policies that engenders destitution. States are more concerned about immigration control than about human rights of migrants. In the United Kingdom, for instance, asylum seekers are not allowed to work. This disintegrates society, Ms Zanr said, because people are kept separate and are not allowed to contribute to the public welfare, even if they are highly skilled. Instead, they are denied to flourish which would be for the benefit of themselves and of the society, and forced to be reliant on state support. This situation has severe consequences for the affected migrants: Destitution leaves people abandoned, let down and discarded, and it damages peoples health both physically and mentally. The solution to this pan-European problem, according to Stefan Kessler of JRS Europe, lies with creating networks that can place pressure on EUs institutions and member states governments. The destitution of migrants concerns all sectors of civil society, from employers to educators, doctors and to policy makers. Together we

-3agree that human rights should not depend on ones legal status. The EU and its member states are obligated to care for all persons within their territory.

3. Welcome and film Welcoming them to the conference, JRS Europes Regional Director Michael Schpf SJ alerted the participants to destitution of migrants being a Europe-wide phenomenon on the rise. Especially by denying them the right to work, state authorities hinder migrants to become self-sufficient. Goltom Yosief Asmelash, the spokesperson of the Eritrean community in Malta and a JRS collabourator, joined Mr Schpf in warning that people were put in a situation where they cannot help themselves. Referring to the situation in Malta, where he lives, Mr Asmelash added that access to education, health care and the labour market is the problem: Migrants do not receive any support to help themselves and become independent. Mr Schpf then introduced the Chair of the conference, Ms Gabriele Erpenbeck who is responsible for integration policies in the government of the German Land of Niedersachsen, a Spokesperson for Migration of the Central Committee of German Catholics, and Advisor to the Migration Commission of the German Bishops Conference. After a short welcome by Ms Erpenbeck, the film Somebody Among Us, produced by JRS Europe, was shown.
Conference chair Ms Gabriele Erpenbeck

4. Keynote presentations 4.1 Destitution in a political perspective: Jean Lambert MEP The first keynote speaker was Jean Lambert, a Green Member of the European Parliament for London and, inter alia, a full member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee and a substitute member of the Civil Liberties and Human Rights committees. Ms Lambert referred to the situation in the United Kingdom as an example for the overall treatment of destitute migrants in the EU member states and pointed out that even migrants either with full status or coming from countries to which they clearly cannot go back (such as Zimbabwe, DR Congo, or Iraq) find themselves without any support from the state.

-4A study commissioned by the European Parliament1 confirmed the findings of JRS Europes ANDES report: Destitution of migrants in Europe is caused by a variety of factors. In Germany and Romania, holders of a toleration status have little to no access to public housing and healthcare. Asylum seekers in the United Kingdom cannot work while they await a decision on their application, which can take many months. Migrants living in Italy fear seeking medical treatment since medical personnel might report them to local authorities. This is, in Ms Lamberts words, a political system that deliberately makes people destitute. Ms Lambert called on EU member states to stop criminalizing people for wanting to meet their basic needs. Solutions to stem migrant destitution include amending EU law to grant asylum seekers means to become more selfsufficient, and monitoring member state legal and social practices towards undocumented migrants. Including migrants within the EUs anti-poverty strategy is an absolute necessity. governments ought to understand the risks that destitution poses to public policy. It is a pan-European problem, and we have to do something about it. Organisations should use all tools available in order to bring the issue onto the European agenda. This includes discussing destitution in the context of the EU 2020 strategy and engaging with the Anti-Poverty Platform. 4.2 Destitution in a human rights perspective: Dr Nicolas J. Beger (AI)

In the second keynote speech, Dr. Nicolas J. Beger, director of Amnesty Internationals European Institutions Office in Brussels, put the destitution issue into the context of protection gaps in Europe. The overwhelming majority of the worlds refugees is hosted by countries outside Europe. The European Union is not taking its share. And even those who make it to Europe and seek protection are faced with the ridiculous Dublin Regulation under which they are returned to the country where they have first entered European territory. This results in a few EU member states at the external borders being over-challenged while others receive much fewer asylum seekers. As the current situation in Greece demonstrates, the Dublin regulation makes people destitute.

1 The status of persons who have been denied refugee status and who cannot be returned to their country of origin . Ed. by the European Parliament, Directorate General for Internal Policies/Policy Department C Citizens Rights and Constitutional Affairs. PE 419.624. Brussels 2010, available on the Internet at www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/studies.do?language=EN and www.ipolnet.ep.parl.union.eu/ipolnet/cms

-5In Greece, the treatment of asylum seekers is outrageous: Dr Beger recalled the story of an 18 years old boy with Hepatitis B whose requests for medicine were met with beatings. In another case, a 17 years old boy from Iran had fled after half of his family was murdered. He was detained in Greece for seven months under horrible conditions, with no access to a lawyer. After release from detention, he made it to the UK where he spent two years. Later he was sent back to Greece. From there he was sent to Iraq because he had lied about his nationality for fear of having to return to Iran. He fled Iraq and came again to Greece where he was again detained. Finally he was granted refugee status in the Netherlands. It took eight years to lodge an asylum claim for him. He is now 25 years old and has lost eight years of his youth. Similarly, refugees fleeing the violence in Libya are not given protection, Dr Beger said, even if they survive the dangerous trips over the Mediterranean Sea. Their situation, most notably in Italy, has become outrageous as well because of the Italian governments policies. The European Union has supported the Ghadaffi dictatorship for years and is now able to invest millions of Euros on military intervention but is scared of 15,000 migrants. In conclusion, Dr Beger reminded the participants that refugee protection and destitution are not questions just of values but of rights. In Europe, laws and policies must be changed if the commitment to human rights shall be more than only a lip-service.

5 Input from national events on destitution A major part of the ANDES project was the creation of networks against destitution of migrants on national level and the organisation of events on this issue in several countries. With Philip Amaral, JRS Europes Policy and Communications Officer, acting as facilitator, representatives of seven JRS offices (Germany, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, and the United Kingdom) briefly described the situation of destitute migrants in their respective countries and the lessons learned from the national events. While there were many possible solutions to destitution put forward by the panel, two main issues emerged from the discussion. The fi rst was improving access to healthcare for migrants, who often fear being apprehended while accessing social services. The second was improving communication with policy makers to make asylum procedures more effective. The establishment of a network of medical associations, health service providers and migrant organizations was suggested to combat the current situation faced by destitute migrants seeking medical attention; a major cause of distress for destitute migrants is

-6lack of access to such public services. Heiko Habbe of JRS Germany stated that undocumented migrants are fearful of visiting doctors because of laws which obligate medical practitioners to report undocumented migrants to the state authorities. Giuseppe Trotta SJ of JRS Italy echoed this sentiment, stating that undocumented migrants are essentially criminalized by society and face the threat of prison. They are often
From left: Roberta Buhagiar, JRS Malta; Louise Zanr, JRS UK; Giuseppe Trotta SJ, JRS Italy, Andr Costa, JRS Portugal; Heiko Habbe, JRS Germany; Stefan Leonescu, JRS Romania; Philip Amaral, JRS Europe

apprehended when they attempt to access social services.

The panel also highlighted the lengthy processing time of asylum applications. While their asylum claims are being processed, migrants are left destitute. government policies must be reexamined to shorten the average length of the asylum seeking procedure. Louise Zanre of JRS UK strongly stated the procedure is much too long in the UK, while Andre Costa of JRS Portugal spoke of migrants having to wait for up to eight months before a decision regarding their application has been reached. Migrant destitution is caused by a variety of inter-connected factors. Common strategies and solutions can be developed when organisations collabourate to address the many factors which contribute to the state of destitution. Panellists also presented several methods of stirring up a discussion on destitution at national level. Roberta Buhagiar of JRS Malta described how her office formed a network with several relevant stakeholders and made a pilot study on destitution in Malta. They conduct several public awareness-raising campaigns and advocate with policy makers. Somehow unique is what JRS Romania did: As Stefan Leonescu explained, they specifically conducted interventions with national courts on improving access to the asylum procedure and organized several training seminars for lawyers on migrants rights. They have built a network that works to encourage a public debate, focusing on the right to work for migrants, as a means of preventing destitution.

6 Workshops on aspects of destitution After lunch break, five workshops were run in parallel where participants discussed certain aspects of destitution.2

Most of the following reports were written by the respective Chairs of the workshops, hence the differences in the lengths, forms and wordings of the reports. JRS Europe is very grateful to the workshop chairs for their excellent work.
2

-76.1 Workshop on access to education (Chair: Ms Anna Ranki, European Youth Forum)

There was consensus about access to education being a fundamental human right and a key component to lifting and sustaining entire communities. No one should be prohibited from improving his or her life through education. With regard to migrants, the reality, however, is different. Destitute migrants are often not aware of educational opportunities in the community that might benefit them. Due to their lack of legal status, or an uncertain status, they do not have formal access to educational and training opportunities. Migrants with an irregular status are likely to not have enough financial means to pay for educational opportunities and there is no financial support from states. The consequence that comes with keeping large segments of the migrant population from accessing education is the growth of untapped resources they cannot contribute to society, and nor can society benefit from their contribution. In some EU member states, education is the domain of the regional bodies. In Germany, for instance, all 16 Lnder have different rules on education. In some of those regions, even children cannot go to school because only kids with legal status are admitted. In Germany, some cases are known where even children of migrants with a toleration or of asylum seekers are denied education. Adult migrants often cannot get their university diplomas recognized, or even participate in formal professional training courses. For them there is also often the problem of no possibility to access training in the language of the host country. To overcome this situation EU member states should provide access to basic education, as a minimum, to destitute migrant children. They should also explore ways to allow destitute migrants to take advantage of education and training opportunities. Local non-state actors, such as universities and charities, should make available lowcost or free education programs and opportunities for destitute migrants, while civil society organisations should raise migrants awareness of existing educational opportunities. 6.1 Workshop on access to health care (Chair: Mr Benoit Blondel, Mdecins du Monde)

Mdecins du Monde (MDM) has national programmes in about 10 EU countries. Recently, we conducted a comparative study on national legal frameworks in 16 EU

-8member states. More specifically, the study analyses the access to healthcare (Primary care, Secondary care, Hospitalisation, Emergency care, Ante- post-natal care), the access to treatment (medicines, HIV, other infectious diseases), and contains specific sections on children; detention centres; transfer or access to information by the authorities; non-expulsion for medical reasons. Some findings are: In some countries, undocumented migrants do not have access free of charge to any healthcare, even in the case of emergency or pregnancy (eg Sweden). In other countries, limited entitlements are completely overridden by the obligation (or possibility) to denounce (eg the rule for public administration in Germany). Some other countries give some protection but leave aside vital care such as antepost-natal care, or HIV treatment (eg UK).

Summing it up, it is fair to say that the right of undocumented migrants to access healthcare is not guaranteed in the EU. MDM also conducted a survey on practical obstacles, based on interviews with 1,218 undocumented migrants living in 31 towns in 11 European countries. In accordance to it, access is in practice limited namely by administrative problems and complexities of the system (69%)

financial barriers: consultation too expensive (31%); treatment too expensive (29%) fear of being reported to police or immigration authorities (17%) language barrier (17%) fear of discrimination, of being unwelcome or of being denied treatment (12%) actual denial of access to care (11%).

In situations where people had the theoretical right to access health coverage only a third had access in practice. When treatment is considered to be indispensable. 1/3 is not treated at all. Less than half of all pregnant women (48%) received ante-natal monitoring during their pregnancy. And 41% of respondents said they gave up on seeking health care for themselves. 29% of respondents had even given up seeking health care for their children. In the discussion, the participants at the workshops identified several problems:

-9 The denial of healthcare to migrants leads to the deterioration of their physical and mental health. On the other hand, the provision of healthcare is a fundamental right. It is one of the most basic ways to respect the dignity of a person, and a societys level of cohesion depends on the health of its entire populace. Hence, one way of dealing with the problem could be to raise public awareness on the lack of healthcare for certain groups of migrants and its effect (creating destitution). Raising awareness could end the ignorance of the public and of decision-makers on how serious the situation already is, but it was felt, however, that this approach might also be a bit nave: Especially for some policy-makers destitution is an objective rather than only a consequence. At least in some EU member states, denial of access to healthcare is seen as inciting undocumented migrants to leave the respective EU country and to deter others from entering. It is often argued that undocumented migrants did not have rights. Especially in the context of healthcare, this is clearly untrue: As the UN Economic and Social Council in its General Comment no. 14 on Right to Health has established, States are obliged under Article 12 of the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to guarantee access to healthcare to all persons living on their territory irrespective of their status.3 This is echoed by several statements of the World Medical Association and by the Health Professionals declaration Towards nondiscriminatory access to healthcare.4 A major obstacle is the lack of information on how to access healthcare. Therefore, both all relevant professionals as well as migrants must be fully informed of all existing possibilities to provide and receive healthcare. Undocumented migrants are often reluctant to access healthcare even where it is provided, due to fear of being exposed to the authorities and consequently be deported. The only solution to this problem is to regulate that medical professionals and those who work together with them are exempted from the obligation to denounce an irregular stay of a migrant.

Paragraph 34 of the UN Economic and Social Councils General Comment no. 14 (11 August 2000) reads in its first sentence: In particular, States are under the obligation to respect the right to health by, inter alia, refraining from denying or limiting equal access for all persons, including prisoners or detainees, minorities, asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, to preventive, curative and palliative health services; abstaining from enforcing discriminatory practices as a State policy; and abstaining from imposing discriminatory practices relating to women's health status and needs. (Emphasis added). See the General Comment no. 14 on the Internet at http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(symbol)/E.C.12.2000.4.En.
3

This declaration can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.humanetwork.org/averroes_uk/Petitions/European-Declaration-of-health-professionals-Towards-nondiscriminatory-access-to-health-care

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- 10 6.2 Workshop on access to housing (Chair: Mr Mauro Striano, FEANTSA)

Speakers in this workshop were Mr Christian Perl BAWO (Austria), Mr Bo HeideJochimsen and Ms Maj Kastanje Project Udenfor (Denmark), Ms Sonia Olea Ferreras Caritas Spain, and Ms Malena Bonnier and Mr Arto Moksunen Stockholm City Mission (Sweden). Mauro Striano - Evidence suggests that immigrants are often among the most vulnerable groups. This happens in the labour market but also with regard to access to housing. This workshop aims at identifying what the challenges are and possibly ways of granting access to housing for immigrants. We will have four presentations, made by four of our members, which cover different national contexts combining overall work of FEANTSA members and specific projects run at local level. It is paramount that through the debate we will have after these presentations we will be able to draw some policy recommendations. Our first speaker is going to be Mr Perl who is the project coordinator of BAWO, which is the Austrian umbrella organisation of non-governmental social services working with homeless people. He will be presenting some evidence on destitution among immigrants in Austria and in particular some facts on access to social housing for immigrants, focusing on how anti-discrimination measures are implemented with regard to housing in the Austrian law. He will present first findings on this issue and possibly some policy recommendations. Christian Perl According to figures referring to 2009, 12% of the Austrian population is at risk of poverty but if we look at non-Austrian households we have 30% at risk of poverty and even 21% for naturalised population. The same goes for young people and children: 12% of Austrian children and young people are at risk of poverty whereas for non-Austrian figures suggest 38% of children and young people are at risk of poverty. If we talk about poverty of migrants in a rich country like Austria we also have to talk about discrimination. Migrants in the Austrians public discourse today are mainly stigmatised as a security risk. In the frame of this rhetoric public authorities justify legislative measures and disciplinary action against migrants. This political climate means for migrants with low social and ecoomical resources, that they are discriminated. Extreme right parties and slogans as the socalled unwillingness to integrate have changed the question of integration towards a public repression instead of Equality. The higher risk of living in poverty for migrants is due to many factors, among which limited access to the labour market, lower education

- 11 and no acceptance of qualifications from the country of origin, lower salaries and discrimination on the housing market. The right to housing is not recognized as such by law or under the Constitution in Austria, but housing as a basic need is recognized politically. Austria probably has a comparably low level of homelessness and still a comparably very good housing provision even for the lowest income groups. This positive situation is amongst others especially established by a strong social housing sector (Limited Profit Housing Associations) plus additional public housing especially in Vienna, cost rent scheme in social housing, rent control regime in parts of the private rental market, strong infrastructure of assisted housing, targeted housing allowances, a strong position of housing in civil society. However, the allocation of public housing in Austria resembles a delicate balancing act between the concern for socially and ethnically mixed neighbourhoods on the one hand, and anti-discrimination legislation on the other. The question of allocation to migrants, minorities and people of different religious affiliation is politically sensitive and legally unclear for many of the involved stakeholders. Again and again the national ombudsman for equal treatment, local anti-discrimination bodies and NGOs report cases where the allocation of public housing is linked to diffuse criteria that are not in line with anti-discrimination legislation. For instance, communes have connected the allocation of pubic housing with sufficient German language skills or have introduced maximum quotas for migrants. Reservations held against socially or ethnically unpopular house-hunters are apparently objective, but in reality this is often the result of discrimination against people with different ethnic or religious backgrounds. To make this even more complicated in Austria we have a strong federal system which features 9 different regions with 9 different social systems and consequently ways of accessing homeless services, 9 different housing allowance systems and 2000 different ways of accessing social housing. To tackle the problem, Volkshilfe Austria has designed targeted measures and launched a special project together with the Austrian umbrella organization BAWO and the Klagsverband, an NGO specialized in representing victims of discrimination. The national contact point for anti-discrimination in the Ministry of Social Affairs has chosen the project for a collaborative PROGRESS application. The Austrian Ministry for Trade, the National Ombudsman against Discrimination, the Tyrolean and Viennese governments and different local anti-discrimination bodies support the project financially and/or as strategic partners. The proposed project consists of three interlocking implementation modules: a legal and socio-scientific study; network training; and policy advice and public relations. The study comprises both a legal and a social dimension. For the legal aspect, an overview of the relevant European and Austrian legislation related to the allocation of public housing and anti-discrimination will be compiled. The relevant legislation will be stud-

- 12 ied and it will subsequently be analysed how the anti-discrimination legislation is implemented in Austrian law. The procedures of social housing allocation, the possibilities of appeal and responsibilities will be documented and analysed. Based on this analysis, recommendations will be given to various legislative bodies on how to improve anti-discrimination law. Furthermore, regional and local integration plans will be analysed comparatively in terms of their relevance to reaching equality in the housing market. In a second step, the study will shed light on whether and if so, how, in practice, persons are discriminated against on the basis of ethnic origin, appearance, religion or other grounds of discrimination. In particular we also want to look at the connection between discrimination and poverty. In this socio-scientific part of the study, quantitative and qualitative surveys will be carried out through questionnaires, telephone interviews and case studies on allocation practices in selected regions and cities. Good practice examples of social housing allocation in Europe and Austria will be researched and documented. The socio-scientific part will be conducted in the regions of Tyrol and Lower Austria and in different-sized cities: Vienna, Linz and Bregenz. The second aspect, network training/good practice workshops, are aimed at employees of housing companies, regional and local allocation bodies, representatives of political parties and employees of NGOs that are engaged in the field of housing. In a first step, the knowledge of anti-discrimination legislation will be improved. Using concrete examples and practical reports of the participants in an inventory of ones own housing allocation practices, can allow room for reflection on these practices. Austrian and European good practice strategies in the allocation of public housing and specific mainstreaming tools will be presented or worked out together. New ways of allocation can thus be developed together (internal guidelines, quotas, criteria for urgent claims, allocation practices, support services for housing and living environments). Practical implementation projects involving the participants can be led by the project team. The examples of good practice and mainstreaming instruments should motivate public authorities to examine their social housing allocation practices. This will result in better implementation of the anti-discrimination legislation. The examples of good practice and mainstreaming tools will be documented in a report by the project partners and distributed through partner networks. Decision makers will thus have new, innovative guidelines to hand, with which they can improve the planning of their allocation practices. The results of the project shall be presented in at least two Austrian states in the form of a local parliamentary survey, allowing it to reach political decision makers. In these parliamentary surveys, the outcomes can be discussed in a structured and in depth manner. According to the first finding of the survey, one third of the respondents think that Non Austrian households are discriminated in the allocation of social housing. Vast majority also considers that there should not be Ghettos where to many burdened households

- 13 live together and that too many Non-Austrians in one neighbourhood lead to Parallel societies. Always according this survey, to reduce discrimination on the housing market the following measures are needed: setting of priorities in city- and neighbourhood planning; accompanying measures at neighbourhood level; more public relation measures to enhance the acceptance of allocation of public housing to non Austrian citizens. Mauro Striano - We have seen what the major challenges are and how examples of good practice and mainstreaming instruments might influence in a positive way policymaking. Also, we have seen some sustainable ways to reduce discrimination in the housing market. We are now going to see a project which was run by Mr Jochimsen and Ms Kastanje who are both outreach workers for Project Udenfor. Project Udenfor is a private foundation that combines social street work with training and research on homelessness and social marginalisation. They have recently conducted a qualitative study on homeless West African immigrants in Copenhagen and they will be presenting some of the findings, providing some insights of the challenges as well as of the Danish context. Bo Heide-Jochimsen and Maj Kastanje We have recently conducted a qualitative study of homeless West African migrants in Copenhagen. This group of homeless people is relatively new. They appeared on the streets and in low threshold private homelessness services only a few years ago. The research is based on observations and life-story interviews with six West African migrants, who live homeless on the streets of Copenhagen. Like many others in their situation, the interviewed migrants have resided several years in southern Europe, where they have obtained temporary or permanent residence permit. This allows them to travel in the EU for a limited period of time. Forced by unemployment caused mainly by the economic crisis, they have travelled to Denmark to look for work. Unlike those who hold EU passports, they have the right to stay only three months in Denmark. To get legal employment, they must obtain work permit from the Danish authorities. However, the Danish Immigration Service would only, under very rare circumstances, give work permits that is if the candidate is qualified for a very unique professions such as an eye specialist or a professional football player. It is therefore in reality not possible for these migrants to get legal work, as work permits for ordinary skilled or unskilled jobs is never granted (for non EU- citizens). The interviewees are not aware of this, and are not informed about this at job centres. During their stay in Denmark, they have no access to any public homeless service. They are not allowed at publicly funded shelters, night cafes, day centres and those outreach workers employed by the city are not allowed to assist them. They therefore reside to the few private low threshold homelessness service in Copenhagen, in which resources are extremely scarce.

- 14 In the interviews, the migrants gave a rare insight into their lives; they shared stories about their past, telling of how the present affects them, ponder the future and what it may hold for them. Central to their stories is the fact that they came here alone without contacts and or knowledge of labour and welfare opportunities. They want basically to fend for themselves and be independent, and they are under pressure to send money home their families in West-Africa. They find it hard to accept life on the streets and often reject the most common principle of homelessness survival. Collecting empty bottles for money is experienced as extremely demeaning. They cope with the unwanted identity as homeless by distancing themselves from the some aspects of homeless lifestyle (e.g. drug and alcohol abuse) and from those who take on this lifestyle. This leads to common conflicts among the different groups of homeless, sparked on by the scarcity of resources in the private homelessness sector. They spend their days at places where they can stay inside for free and use toilet facilities, such as libraries etc. They walk around to the few places where they can get free food. Some use the internet to look for work or keep in contact with families and friends. Real friendships among them are rare, and more of a functional character: they exist only as long as they can both gain from them. Some have a deep desire to travel back to their home country, but fear returning home empty-handed. Not to lose face and to be able to re-establish their lives at home, requires a sizeable sum of money. A minimum of 3000 EUR has been mentioned in this context. Since it is unlikely that such funds can be raised many decide to return to an uncertain future in Southern Europe. There are migrants from Southern-Europe who have been observed to be displaying symptoms of "Ulysses syndrome" - a disorder which has similarities to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There is no reason to believe that a migrants' situation in Denmark is different, and therefore migrants are at risk of developing this disorder here also. Mauro Striano - We learned how the economic crisis caused unemployment and destitution among immigrants and the fact that immigrants, according to the Danish legal framework, are not allowed to access public homeless service. They find themselves stuck in a limbo where they cannot access the Danish labour market, neither are they able to return to their countries of origin. We are now going to see another project which has been recently set up in Stockholm. Ms Bonnier and Mr Moksunen both work for Stockholm City Mission, a nonprofit organisation which runs activities for socially excluded people, among which homeless people. As its happening in other European countries, labour migrants, not only from third

- 15 countries but also EU citizens enjoying freedom of movement, are the fastest growing group of homeless people in Stockholm. Ms Bonnier and Mr Moksunen will be presenting a new project - whose name is Crossroads aiming at giving advice and support for foreign EU migrants. Malena Bonnier and Arto Moksunen Stockholms Stadsmission and other non-profit organisations that run daycentres for adults that live in homelessness in the inner city of Stockholm have seen an ever-increasing number of people from other EU countries during the last couple of years. In 2004, social daycentres had hardly any non-Swedish guests. Today, the largest daycentre in Stockholm gets approx. 70-100 guests from other EU countries every day (approx. 80% of all guests). Swedish citizens who live in homelessness often have psychiatric disabilities and/or issues with addiction. Foreign EU citizens, however, most often live in homelessness due to poverty and lack of employment. Foreign EU citizens also do not have any right to benefits from the Swedish state or cities, as do Swedish citizens. However, they usually have a greater need for information about Swedish society and the special regulations that surround foreign EU citizens in Sweden. Both non-profit organizations and the Social Services of Stockholm have therefore seen a need of a separate centre for foreign EU citizens that could provide the advice and support that this group requires. The project we have recently started, named Crossroads, addresses the needs of foreign EU citizens and third-country nationals with permanent residence permits from another EU country that live in poverty, homelessness and/or unemployment in Stockholm for the purpose of counteracting economic and social exclusion. The project will run an advice and support centre in Stockholm from 1 March 2011 until 28 February 2013. It will also work aim at creating networks, co-ordinating resources and building public opinion while working for the inclusion of EU citizens. The project is run by Stockholms Stadsmission, the Salvation Army, the City of Stockholm and the Public Employment Agency of Sweden [Arbetsfrmedlingen]. Doctors in the world, the Red Cross, S.ta Clara kyrka, Citykyrkan and Ny Gemenskap are also collabourating with the project. The project is financed through the European Social Fund (ESF). In particular, the project aims at: providing general advice and individual guidance; facilitating contacts with Swedish organisations, public authorities and private businesses; providing basic needs support, such as food, shower, laundry services; facilitating contacts with foreign organisations, public authorities and private businesses in order to facilitate a possible return; training people concerned. Mauro Striano We learned that challenges in access to housing concern not only third country nationals but also European citizens who enjoy freedom of movement

- 16 within EU. We have also seen the way in which advice services might be helpful in supporting destitute migrants. We are now going to see another national context switching to the Mediterranean area. Ms Olea Ferreras works for Caritas Spain and shes specialised in migration law. Spain has been strongly hit by economic crisis and immigrants are among the groups of people who paid the most. Ms Olea will be presenting the Caritas position with regard to Spanish migration law and, in particular, some data immigrants living condition and access to housing. Sonia Olea Ferreras - Caritas disposes of General Services that are in contact with regional Caritas. General Services offer support, advice, information to regional caritas about the different areas of work (homeless people, migrants, social rights). We have 15 regional caritas which are in contact with diocesan caritas with the same purpose. There are 68 diocesan caritas. The Caritas division in which I work does not exactly coincide with the administrative region in Spain. Over the last two years the number of claims doubled - in 2008 and 2009 there was a cumulative increase of 103%. The Reception and Support services have gone from 400,000 to 800,000 people supported. The main causes are: lack of liquidity over indebtedness; long-term unemployment and end of unemployment benefits; inadequate social services. Of our total social action, which includes services addressing reception and assistance, employment, youth, women, homeless, prisoners, health and housing, 40% of our target is made-up of immigrants. In Spain we have 8,5 million people in a situation of poverty, 30.000 homeless people and 1.447.880 people living with inadequate housing conditions. Foreigners in Spain are 11,3% - 5.598.691 registered - of the total population and of the total number of foreigners 49,8% are European citizens - 2.266.808 registered - and 50,2% thirdcountry nationals 3.331.883. Moreover, there is a high rate of irregular migrants, due to a restrictive migration policy and a wide undeclared work market. Caritas provides several services to immigrants, amongst which: assistance with the integration process through housing, education and health services and intercultural training courses; employment and social services; co-development projects; legal and psychological assistance; support of migrants associations. In 2009, 400.000 migrants were assisted by Caritas. According to the Social Reality Observatory, immigrants suffer from: increased rate of severe overcrowding due to lack of jobs over the last few years and major difficulties in paying mortgages or rent; high rate of sublease; high rate of change of residence because of difficulties in paying mortgages or rents; living in suburbs with poor infrastructure and housing quality.

- 17 One of the conclusions is that housing is the social right most difficult to access for immigrants in Spain. Therefore, Caritas provides support for the search and the access to housing and decent housing conditions, mediation and tutorship for renting, management and maintenance of shelters and other accommodations, complementary housing services for seasonal workers and emergency reception. What we need is to ensure access to Municipal Registers, enable solutions for irregular immigrants, curb irregular situations, limit access of enforcement agencies in Caritas centres, increase the budget for integration services, agree on an immigration legal framework and stop racist and xenophobic attitudes. Among other, we propose to achieve a Social Pact on housing, to amend the rules seeking solution to foreclosures and that Spain ratify the revised European Social Charter and its additional Protocol. Debate with participants - A debate followed the presentations and brought to the following recommendations: Raising the debate about access to housing for immigrants building on the fact that access to housing is a fundamental right which should not be challenged; States shall simplify administrative rules governing migration in order to provide more opportunities for immigrants to be regular; States must provide undocumented migrants with unconditional access to emergency accommodation; States shall monitor the implementation of anti-discrimination measures paying attention to the use of criteria which are indirectly discriminatory; Access to housing for immigrants has to be tackled through an horizontal approach which would take into account, among other issues, the fact that there are EU citizens enjoying freedom of movement who are in a situation of destitution and are not allowed to access basic social service such as emergency accommodation; Providers of emergency shelters should not be criminalized for providing accommodation; It is important that NGOs develop projects in collabouration with local authorities; It is important to develop counseling agencies for immigrants. These agencies should also provide support for access to housing. Workshop on access to social services (Chair: Ms Adriana Opromolla, Caritas Europa)

6.3

The exchanges of the workshop helped identifying four major problems and recommendations to address them: Disengagement

- 18 What we could call disengagement is the attitude adopted by the State to either limit to a minimum the social assistance available for migrants in situation of destitution, or to make the process very burdensome, or finally to privatise social services by confiding them to the responsibility of other providers. In the first case, social services would only be available to limited categories of vulnerable people (e.g. families with children, or people with care needs) and be understood in a very narrow sense (so that, for example, the availability of a refrigerator to preserve medicines would not be considered as a strict care service). In the second case, public social services get resistant and become available only after a long and difficult process. For example, in the UK a demand for social assistance by irregular migrants is usually turned down, obliging the migrants to take legal action. Only after a decision is rendered on the appeal will social workers finally intervene. The same happens elsewhere, with administrative procedures becoming extremely cumbersome and requiring from the applicants a strong spirit of initiative. In order to win the battle, applicants should know well their rights and possibly be assisted by a lawyer. Even when laws are good, they are not well implemented at local level. It is a real culture of resistance which may integrate systemic violations of human rights. Lastly, even in those situations where the law does not prevent irregular migrants from accessing social services, there is a phenomenon whereby State providers refer applicants to other providers (e.g. Caritas, Diaconia etc). This shows a lack of commitment from the State and places a big burden on non-State providers, who since the crisis began are also confronted to a shortage of money. In other cases where official policies only offer minimal assistance in order to dissuade destitute migrants and encourage them to return to their countries, some public authorities (who are still humane) try to go around these limitations by outsourcing services (e.g. open centres providing night accommodation send people to Churches to receive day care). In general, we see that this is a sector which is affected by political conditions unlike any other. Under unstable conditions, non-welcoming systems will tend to shift responsibility to other actors. Mistrust

In many cases, social services are misused as immigration enforcement officials, for example when social workers are mandated to convince irregular migrants to voluntarily return to their countries (Belgium). It is difficult to achieve a balance between collabourating with the police authorities and providing social assistance. Very often, it is only thanks to personal contacts with police officials that service providers manage to

- 19 protect the people they assist. In Spain, mixed commissions made up of State and non-State providers have given good results and represent good practices of mediation between the State and destitute migrants without depending on personal contacts. In other cases, it is the State who creates confusion by making vulnerable people believe the providers they are being referred to (e.g. the Red Cross) are part of the process, rather than independent organisations. This creates mistrust in social services as a whole and shifts responsibilities to non-State providers. The other aspect of mistrust is the fear of migrants to be controlled by the police or to be labelled as a criminal (e.g. Nigerian people labelled as drug-dealers), which dissuades them from asking for help, making them dependent on their own social networks. Information

First of all, it is migrants themselves who do not know their rights. It is thus essential to provide them with accurate information. Secondly, it is also very important to raise awareness in the public and especially among the youngsters. Using the media though very carefully would be helpful (e.g. the movie Illgal was well received by the critics and also by political audiences). Students should learn about destitution, especially those of University faculties related to migration who will one day be dealing with this problem. Educational systems and curricula should develop a critical capacity of school children, including on migration. In this context, direct contacts with people who have experienced destitution and can give life testimonies would be the best method to learn. Coordination

Better coordination in the provision of services among the various providers would ensure the most appropriate assistance for people in need. On the other hand, working together in partnership to lobby on governments on common claims would enable to achieve better results more efficiently. Concluding recommendations: To re-build trust in social assistance agencies, also by breaking the links between them and immigration authorities; Disseminate good practices like mixed commissions; We non-State actors and providers have to use wisdom in lobbying public authorities (deciding what action to undertake at which moment), also depending on each government; We have to develop and present more explicitly to the public the economic argument demonstrating that offering social assistance to destitute people is benefi-

- 20 cial to all. The costs of exclusion are much higher then the cost of including migrants now. Long-term migrants who have acquired the right to vote could also be a valid channel for political advocacy, since they could express their choices via electing appropriate representatives. Legalising circular/seasonal migration would be a good way forward, allowing migrants to return to their home countries while keeping the possibility to work in the host country. This is a win-win solution for all; To inform migrants about their rights; To raise awareness and foster migration-sensitive education; To make cautious use of the media; We non-State actors and providers should lobby governments in partnership with one another, without distinctions, to achieve better results. Workshop on access to work and payment for work (Chair: Mr Benoit Noel, CGSB Syndicat liberal)

6.4

In his introduction to the workshop, Mr Noel pointed out that trade unions are committed to solidarity especially with the weakest and have for years been fighting for the rights of all workers irrespective of their status. There are, for instance, several resolutions passed by the European Trade Union Confederation that call for the respect of human rights of migrants workers, especially of those without migration status. On the other hand, trade unions are highly involved in law-making and see the need of regulating processes on the labour market. The problem is the cross-border social fraud that is linked with migration: Migrant workers are working under bad conditions and are exploited while their employers evade tax and social security payments. In Belgium, for instance, social inspectors have, against this background, even called for new rules to reduce migration. It was noted that this labour exploitation is linked to human trafficking. The victims are often domestic workers, exploited by middle or upper class citizens, including diplomats or in some cases even royals. Among the victims are many who either have been in need of protection from the beginning or have become vulnerable and in need of protection because of their exploitation. The public awareness of the human rights vio-

- 21 lations committed in the context of (domestic) workers exploitation has still to be raised. The same goes for the link of working conditions and wages on one hand to the prices of goods on the other. Customers who only look for the cheapest price of certain products may hazard the consequences of small wages and bad working conditions. How much do we want to share? It was noted that the rise of unemployment in most European states intensifies the competition on the labour markets. On the other hand, exclusion of migrants from the official labour markets only boosts the black labour markets. Instead of recognising the fact that migrants are already contributing to the development of national economies, nonetheless by paying into social security, most industrialised countries still refuse to sign and ratify the UN Migrant Workers Convention and by this to acknowledge the human rights of migrant workers. Part of a solution to these problems could be the empowerment of the migrant workers so that they themselves can advocate their own cause. In some countries, even irregular migrants can become members of the trade unions. NGOs and unions should also develop ways of supporting the creation and maintenance of migrants selforganisations. With regard to some details, it was noted, inter alia, that in some countries labour judges are not obliged to report the irregular status of a migrant worker to the immigration authorities. Whether such a reporting obligation exists very much depends on whether irregular stay is criminalized or not. Regarding asylum seekers, it was argued that during their waiting periods they should be allowed to work.

7 Panel discussion on the results from the workshops With Prof Dr Edward Warrington (University of Malta) as facilitator, the Chairs of the workshops discussed the results of the afternoons deliberations with Ms Jana Gajdosova (researcher, EU Fundamental Rights Agency - FRA), Ms Felicita Medved (President of the Board of the Slovenian Institute NOVUM and Member of the Board of the European Liberal Forum - ELF), Mr Goitom Yosief Asmelash (Speaker of the Eritrean community in Malta), and Stefan Keler (JRS Europe). Panellists highlighted, inter alia, the close link between the several aspects of destitution and human rights: Access to education, for instance, is a human right, especially for children, irrespective of their nationality or immigration status. In some cases, however, there is a gap between the legal entitlement and the real possibilities of access: In some countries national laws provide for equal access to health care for everybody

- 22 but this is not always implemented in practice. Access to accommodation for undocumented migrants is often limited or even non-existing if the shelters are financed by the state. Sometimes access is limited because of lack of information and counselling. And the criminalisation of those providing services to (undocumented) migrants also creates many obstacles. The discussion also raised the issue of overcoming destitution by facilitating access to citizenship. While this is a possible avenue for some cases it was argued that access of migrants to their human rights should not depend on citizenship. In order to overcome destitution, NGOs should reach From left: Ms Jana Gajdosova (FRA), Ms Felicita Medved (ELF), Mr Goitom Yosiefout to other civil society actors Asmelash (Eritrean community in Malta), Prof. Dr. Edward Warrington (University of Malta), Mr Benoit Blondel (MdM), Mr Mauro Striano (FEANTSA), Ms Anna Ranki (EYF), Mr such as trade unions and invite Benoit Noel (Syndicat libral). Not on the picture: Ms Adriana Opromolla (Caritas Euthem to partnerships. It is of ropa), Mr Stefan Keler (JRS Europe) utmost importance that they develop projects and solutions not only in the name, but together with migrants. Empowerment of these migrants should be a priority.

8 Concluding remarks by the Conference Chair, Ms Gabriele Erpenbeck In her concluding remarks, Ms Erpenbeck thanked everybody involved in planning and conducting this conference for their tremendous efforts. She also expressed gratitude to the speakers and panellists for their contributions and to all participants who had been engaged in the debates, be it in the plenary or in the workshops. The presentations and debates of today have given enough evidence to conclude that destitution of migrants is a pan-European phenomenon. In almost all EU member states policies force certain groups of migrants into destitution. Therefore, destitution is not a fate but result of policies that exclude migrants from society. The affected migrants find themselves in a trap: They often cannot be returned to their respective countries of origin due to circumstances that are out of their control, such as ongoing violence in their home countries. So they are allowed to remain or at least tolerated, but with virtually no economic and social support. For the migrants, destitution is a downward spiral of human indignity. Once they become stuck, they can almost never get out.

- 23 The estrangement of certain migrants from society is dangerous for our communities as well: The migrants are vulnerable to racism and xenophobia, the values of solidarity, of compassion diminish. But it just does not have to be this way. There are possibilities to end destitution, if there is a political will. It is up to the decision-makers to change the policies and relevant laws so that the fundamental rights of all persons living in Europe are respected. Decision-makers on national level must act, but also those on European level. The Lisbon treaty gives the EU enough competence to enact and enforce legislation that empowers member states to better support all migrants. It is, however, necessary that organisations, that citizens speak up. All relevant Civil Society Actors should combine their efforts and put pressure on policy-makers. This conference was a major step forward on this way. It will certainly be not the last step.

(Author of this report: Stefan Keler, JRS Europe)

- 24 Appendix I: Profiles of the Speakers Dr Nicolas BEGER is the director of the Amnesty International European Institutions Office in Brussels. Ms Gabriele ERPENBECK is Commissioner for Migration in the Government of Niedersachsen (Germany), Spokesperson for Migration of the Central Committee of the German Catholics, and Advisor to the Migration Commission of the German Bishops Conference. Ms Jana GAJDOSOVA is a researcher with the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna. Ms Jean LAMBERT is a Green Party Member of the European Parliament for London. She is one of eight MEPs representing London and one of two UK Green representatives in the European Parliament. In the Parliament, she is, inter alia, a full member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee and a substitute member of the Civil Liberties and Human Rights Committes. Ms Felicita MEDVED is Member of the European Liberal Forum Board of Directors and President of the Board of Institute NOVUM (Slovenia) Dr. Edward WARRINGTON is Professor and Head of Department of Public Policy at the University of Malta. Mr Gojtom YOSIEF ASMELASH is an Eritrean refugee who lives in Malta. There he is the spokesperson for the Eritrean community and working with the Jesuit Refugee Service.

- 25 Appendix II: JRS Europes policy position on destitution of migrants

Immigration control must not deny access to basic rights

Introduction In this paper, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Europe describes the general positions on destitution of migrants who live in the European Union, and makes some recommendations to improve their situation. We focus on the situation of those migrants who are not citizens of the European Union (third country nationals). Where applicable the paper refers to special regulation that governs the treatment of certain groups of forcibly displaced persons, most notably refugees and asylum seekers. The general message Across Europe there are persons who have left their countries of origin and are made destitute. Among these destitute migrants are those who already have a right to stay, be it because of family reunification, as asylum seekers during their determination procedure or even as recognised refugees. Despite their legal status they become destitute. To all affected migrants, destitution causes much harm. Destitution therefore offends our belief in the inviolable dignity of a person created in the image of God. It similarly offends the better development of societies, along the lines of the common good, of global solidarity and of welcoming strangers. Destitution is a human rights violation. Most notably, it infringes the economic and social rights of migrants. The European Union cannot allow Member States to make migrants destitute because it contravenes core values of the Union, most notably the respect for human rights of all people living in Europe. Human rights must be granted to all human beings. The situation Throughout Europe there are migrants who have little or no access to employment and to basic services such as education, social welfare, housing, and healthcare. They are left destitute as a consequence of states' laws and policies. These policies violate states obligations under international and regional human rights and migration law for the respect and fulfilment of economic and social rights of refugees and other migrants. 5 The exclusion of destitute migrants from society leads to new invisible borders that divide local communities, regions and countries. Illustrative is the example of asylum seekers in many EU member states who are excluded from access to labour markets and to many forms of public relief and are often accommodated under dire circumstances. Their living conditions separate and often
5

For details see our Policy Note on Human Rights and Destitution of Migrants.

- 26 estrange them from the rest of the society and by that make them vulnerable to racism and xenophobia. The definition of destitution In this paper JRS Europe uses the following definition of destitution: Destitution describes a lack of means to meet basic needs such as shelter, food, health or education as a consequence of a States policy which excludes groups from enjoying basic rights and receiving official assistance or severely limits their access to such official assistance and, simultaneously, deprives them of any opportunity to improve that situation in the near future, resulting in a continuing denial of the dignity of the person. The principles The core value of the European Union as an area of freedom and justice must be reflected by day-to-day policies. The states are aware of the destitute migrants presence on their territories and therefore bear responsibility towards them. Destitution endangers the cohesion and solidarity within our societies and communities. The creation of a group or of groups of third-class denizens should be avoided. Seeking to coerce migrants to return to their countries of origin by denying them all forms of support and prohibiting the right to access the formal labour market violates their dignity. The positions In the first instance JRS is not calling for residence permits or regularisation, but for respect of human rights. We bring the attention to the fact that international law guarantees access to basic human rights to all human beings no matter if their stay is regular or not. Recognised refugees must be able to enjoy all their rights under the 1951 Convention6 and the 1967 Protocol7 The treatment of asylum seekers in all stages of a determination process must be guided by the principle that is laid down in the UNHCR handbook8: A person does not become a refugee because of recognition, but is recognized because s/he is a refugee. Hence these persons must be given access to a fair and effective determination procedure. The environment must allow for a proper preparation and implementation of the process.

United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted 28 July 1951, 189 UNTS 137. Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted 31 January 1967, 606 UNTS 267 8 UNHCR: Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/IP/4/Eng/REV.1 Reedited, Geneva, January 1992, 38.
7

- 27 The state has a duty of care for destitute migrants until the moment of their return in safety and dignity. This responsibility is based upon the states obligation to respect, protect and uphold economic and social rights of all regardless of nationality or status. This principal responsibility must not be shifted to civil society actors that then provide essential care to destitute migrants.9 Education serves the common good, not the least by providing individuals with a strong measure of stability and dignity. It is, therefore, a right that should be enjoyed by everyone, irrespective of ones migration or other status. Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right. Providing it is the most basic way to respect the dignity of the person. The well-being of a society and of the individuals go hand-in-hand. Only a healthy person will be able to fully participate in the life of the community. Poor health, on the other hand, inhibits a persons ability to find and maintain work, or to participate in educational courses. Social and housing policies should focus on self-sufficiency and independence. All migrants, irrespective of residence status, have a right to private and family life. Especially children have a right to be nurtured in a suitable home. A pressing need of destitute migrants is access to information on rights and possibilities to improve the own situation. The dignity of a person calls for her or him being made aware of all relevant facts so that s/he is able to take an informed decision about what to do next. Society is missing out on the skills of destitute migrants by not offering them the right to enter the formal labour market. Not only do states not profit from their expertise and governments miss out on taxes and social security contributions: but destitute migrants who for long periods of time are not allowed to work become de-skilled, making integration into society more difficult. Therefore such policies are detrimental to the interest of EU member states. The recommendations EU Policies The European Union must develop a coherent policy and strategy together with clear responsibilities for overcoming destitution among migrants. Where a Member State does not respect its obligations under the international law instruments with regard to the respect and fulfillment of economic and social rights of recognized refugees, it violates the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights. The Commission as the Guardian of the Treaties should then start an infringement procedure.

This does of course not exclude the possibility for a state contracting services out to other actors.

- 28 Commission, Parliament and Council must recast the Reception Conditions Directive10 in order to ensure effective protection of the human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, of asylum seekers. Commission, Parliament and Council are encouraged to evaluate and recast the Return Directive11 in order to lay down more precise minimum standards for the respect of economic and social rights of undocumented migrants. The Commission must refrain from interpretations of the said directive that restrict opportunities for Member States to adopt and maintain policies that ensure the access of undocumented migrants to basic social services. Social inclusion policies Social inclusion and integration policies at the European and national level should ensure that migrants do not face destitution. Education States should fulfil the right to education by providing access to basic education, as a minimum, to destitute migrant children. Authorities should explore ways to allow destitute migrants to take advantage of education opportunities. Local non-state actors, such as universities and charities, should make available lowcost or free education programs and opportunities for destitute migrants. Civil society organisations should raise migrants awareness of existing educational opportunities. Health care Where required, states should introduce new or amend existing policies and laws in order to ensure that every migrant irrespective of status is entitled to primary and secondary health care. Migrants must be provided with information on how to access health care. Health care clinics and other community health providers should combine resources to provide health care to migrants who otherwise do not have the means, at least as long as the State has not developed a scheme for financing it. Hard data on the costs of providing as well as on the consequential costs of denial of health care is needed; the Commission should fund studies on this subject.

10 Directive 2003/9/EC of the Council of 27 January 2003 laying down minimum standards for the reception of

asylum seekers in Member States, OJ L 31, 6 Febr 2003, p. 18.

11 Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common stan-

dards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, OJ L 348, 24 Dec 2008, p. 98.

- 29 Housing States must provide undocumented migrants with unconditional access to emergency accommodation. EU member states should improve their transposition of EU law, such as the Reception Conditions Directive, to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers have access to proper accommodation that respects their rights to private and family life. Providers of emergency shelter should not be criminalized for providing accommodation. Public relief policies Public relief services must at least cover the basic needs of migrants so that they can have a life in dignity.12 A violation of this right constitutes a violation of the EU Fundamental Rights Charter and should result in an infringement procedure of the Commission against the respective state. Social services must cover the special needs of migrants who are vulnerable persons, such as special food for the elderly or the ill, or aid for persons with disabilities. In order to ensure that migrants know their rights and possibilities, information providers should work closely together:13 All information providers and counsellors, be they individual professionals, NGOs or State officials, must be exempt from an obligation to report the residence status of a migrant to police or migration control agencies. Work Migrants should be given access to the national labour market. Migrants should be given the opportunity to regularize their status through labour opportunities, and not simply via immigration procedures, i.e. if migrants have access to a job, then their residence permit should remain valid. Every migrant, including those without residence status, should be able to use the mechanisms provided in national law to effectively claim outstanding payment for work. This includes access to counselling services and Labour Courts.

Please note: Recognised refugees enjoy the right of access to public welfare to the same extent as nationals of the host country do. With regard to asylum seekers, the absolute minimum of services they are entitled to is defined in the Reception Conditions Directive.
13

12

An example of best practice in this regard is the office of the Portuguese High Commissioner for Immigration and Minorities (ACIDI) in Lisbon where a migrant can show up with questions and will be referred to offices of the relevant Government agencies being located in the same building.