Joint Colloquium on the Right to Work for Refugees in Europe

The Council of Europe hold a Joint Colloquium on the Right to Work for Refugees in Europe (the 27th September 2012) in Strasbourg. The programme is available, as well as the opening remarks speech by Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe. We reproduce the following excerpts of the opening speech: 

The topic of today's Colloquium, the right to work for refugees, is of paramount importance. The UNHCR estimates that there are about one and a half million recognised refugees in Council of Europe member states. There are no accurate estimates as to how many refugees are in formal employment in member states, but as we will hear today, the reality is that many refugees face many barriers in exercising this right which is guaranteed by the European Social Charter.

Reworking the Relationship between Asylum-Seekers and Employment

We would like to add to our thematic bibliography on the right to work of refugees the following book: Reworking the Relationship between Asylum and Employment, By Penelope Mathew, Published 3rd May 2012 by Routledge:

Refugee Livelihood and the Humanitarian Innovation project

 The Forced Migration Current Awareness blog has brought to our attention the Humanitarian Innovation Project (HIP) website where we found the following excerpts: 

“It is unacceptable that many refugees are left indefinitely dependent on international assistance, deprived of the right to work or freedom of movement. By developing a bottom-up approach to humanitarian innovation, the Humanitarian Innovation Projects aims to support sustainable, market-based solutions that build upon refugees’ own skills, aspirations and entrepreneurship” declared Alexander Betts, director of the Humanitarian Innovation Project. 

State of play, Common European Asylum System

At its meeting on 25-26 October 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council confirmed the agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament on the recast of the Reception Conditions Directive (containing disposals allowing asylum seekers to access the labour market- see our previous posts- on that topic for more information on the content of article 15 of the Reception Conditions Directive). The adoption of the revised ("second phase") version of the Reception Conditions Directive is expected at the end of the year 2012 according to the deadlines set by the Stockholm Programme, but has not been adopted yet, despite political agreement between the European Parliament and the Member States (in the Justice and Home Affairs Council).

Steeve Peers in its latest State- of play update of the Common European System Statewatch Analysis interestingly mentions:

Political Agreement reached on the Reception Conditions directive at the Justice and Home Affairs Council

According to the Cyprus presidency of the European Union press release (dated 25/10/2012):

 "The Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) achieved progress in several legislative proposals for the establishment of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), as it adopted today, October 25, a Political Agreement on the Reception Conditions Directive. Common European Asylum System moves a step closer.

UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner highlights the importance of the right to work

 Stewart Pollock, on the Refugee Work Rights blog (by Asylum Access) reported that at the last Plenary Session of the UNHCR Annual Consultations with NGOs, UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner Alex Aleinikoff spoke on the importance of innovation and self-reliance; highlighting the importance of the right to work.

To read the full post: http://rtwasylumaccess.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/updates-from-geneva-unhcr-deputy-high-commissioner-touts-the-right-to-work/ 

Right to work granted for asylum seekers in Ecuador

 In a post on the "Refugee Work Rights " blog, Adina Appelbaum reports that on May 2012 the Ecuadorian government adopted a decree (Decreto 1182) that contains restrictive measure for asylum seekers. The decree nevertheless allows for asylum seekers who asked for refugee status to have the right to work.  Previously, only refugees who had gained refugee status were given the right to work in Ecuador.  Despite the fact that the Ecuadorian constitution states that anyone within the limits of Ecuador has the right to get paid if they are working, in reality employers have notoriously discriminated against asylum seekers, refusing to hire them if they did not have documents.  

To read Asylum Access full post: http://rtwasylumaccess.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/the-right-to-work-in-ecuador-a-positive-development-within-a-restrictive-new-law/ 

The Reception Conditions directive, toward a limited legislative progress on access to the labour market of asylum seekers

Context

The current EU rules on claimants for international protection's access to the labour market are set out in Directive 2003/9 (the ‘2003 Reception Conditions Directive’, hereafter RCD), which applies to all Member States except Denmark and Ireland. The UK has opted out of the 2008 proposal (as revised in 2011, and now agreed) to amend these rules, but the 2003 RCD will continue to apply to the UK regardless.

Currently  article 11 of the 2003 EU Reception Conditions directive explicitly recognizes the right to work to asylum seekers, and contingently to claimants for subsidiary protection. 

ECRE Comments on recast of the Reception Conditions directive

We reproduce hereafter ECRE (the European Council on Refugees and Exiles) Comments  on the Amended Commission Proposal to recast the Reception Conditions Directive (COM(2011) 320 final) that were released in September 2011. ECRE Comments were released before June 2012 and September 2012, when the Amended Commission Proposal to recast the Reception Conditions Directive was harshly discussed between the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament (see our next post on that topic for more informations on the agreement reached after the "trialogue process"). We nevertheless reproduce ECRE Comments as it highlights interesting points:

ECRE Comments: 

Cash in hand Urban refugees, the right to work and UNHCR's advocacy activities

The UNHCR Policy Development and Evaluation Service (PDES) has released in May 2011 a report called ' Cash in hand Urban Refugees, the Right to work and UNHCR's Advocacy Activities'. As a dispersed population that often lacks secure legal status and access to social services, urban refugees face particular challenges. Urban economies are cash-based, and work is the key livelihoods strategy for refugees in urban settings.  By becoming self-reliant and productive, refugees with the legal right to work can benefit their local communities and host countries in addition to improving their own situations. Urban livelihoods and refugees right to work are therefore priorities for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and advocacy is an essential tool to help its staff to reduce barriers to this right.

Refugees, Recent Migrants and Employment: Challenging Barriers and Exploring Pathways

In Refugees, Recent Migrants and Employment: Challenging Barriers and Exploring Pathways  (ed., Routledge, Abingdon, 2009) Sonia McKay seeks to provide an in-depth and empirically-based analysis of the barriers experienced by refugees and recently arrived migrants in accessing employment commensurate with their qualifications, skills and experience, and how such barriers might be overcome. 

Up against the Asylum Clock, Fixing the Broken Employment Authorization Asylum Clock

The Center for Immigrants' Rights and the American Immigration Council's Legal Action Center released (in February 2010) a report on the difficulties experienced by asylum seekers in obtaining Employment Authorization Document in the United States of America. 
The report: (1)  identify problems with the government’s management of the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) asylum clock;  (2) suggest a new policy for operation of the EAD asylum clock. The report incorporates information obtained by the Center and the LAC and analyzes information from attorneys, organizations, and individuals about their experiences with the “asylum clock.”

While asylum applicants are waiting for their cases to be adjudicated, they must also wait to be eligible for employment authorization. The EAD asylum clock potentially affects more than 50,000 asylum applicants every year. 

Summary conclusions Workshop on Labour Mobility for Refugees

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Labour Office (ILO), with the support of the 2012 Chair-in-Office of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), co-organized a workshop on Labour Mobility for Refugees in Geneva on 11 and 12 September 2012.

The  workshop  explored whether and how enhanced  labour  mobility for refugees could increase opportunities for self-reliance and facilitate access to durable solutions without undermining  international  refugee  law  principles. The meeting focused on refugees,  i.e. persons found to qualify for refugee protection, even if some of the deliberations may also apply to asylum-seekers. The term “labour mobility” was used in the workshop both for the onward movement of refugees from countries of asylum to third countries to pursue employment as well as  employment opportunities for refugees in asylum countries on the basis of migration schemes.  It included labour migration on the basis of bilateral or multilateral as well as national programmes. 

The workshop summary conclusions can be downloaded at the following link: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/508e4fa72.html 

Exploring experiences of forced labour among asylum seekers and refugees in England, the Precarious lives project

The Precarious lives (exploring experiences of forced labour among asylum seekers and refugees in England) project is co-organizing a  conference at the University of Leeds, UK, on 14 December 2012 on the subject of Vulnerable Workers, Forced Labour, Migration and Ethical Trading.

The conference will bring together academics, campaigners, and policy makers to explore both the drivers and the broad experiences of vulnerable, forced and exploitative labour, to place the UK experience within a global context, and put questions of globalisation, migration and ethical trading centre-stage. Organizers are particularly interested to support campaigning groups, including trades unions, those supporting refugees/ asylum seekers, and organisations concerned with the wider implications of forced labour, including ethical trading and the regulation of supply chains; and to consider how research evidence can strengthen the work of those active in these areas.

More information can be found on the Precarious lives project blog. 

Understanding the informal economic activity of refugees in London (a Community Links and the Refugee Council Report)

A report on the cause of informal activity within refugees community by Community Links and the Refugee Council

Community Links and the Refugee Council released, in 2011 a report on the cause of the participation of refugees in informal activities. The report identify ways for refugees to enter mainstream employment and formalise their informal activities.  

Background of the study

In December 2009, the Mayor of London launched a three year strategy for refugee integration and committed to support an inquiry into London’s informal economy to identify ways for refugees to enter mainstream employment and formalise their informal activity.

A selected bibliography (with hyperlinks) on the right to work of asylum seekers by Julien BLANC

We would like to provide you with the following (non extensive) bibliography on the right to work of asylum seekers and refugees. The following themes are covered: 

- National campaigns/ situation in Cyprus, Germany, France & Ireland.

- Obstacles and discrimination experienced by asylum seekers to access the labour market, 

- ECRE Recommendations and papers on the right to work 

- Researches to "deconstruct the pull factor theory" and research findings on the right to work  as a factor influencing secondary movement

- Researches on the human and financial cost of denying the right to work, on exploitation

- Research and position papers of trade unions and local administration on the topic

- Research, case law and norms relevant (Universal, regional,in the EU, the UK or South Africa)

This bibliography will usefully be completed by consulting the SRLAN webpage on the economic, cultural and social rights of refugees.

Asylum seekers and the right to work in the United Kingdom

We reproduce the following article (04/11/2011) by Melanie Gower, from the UK parliament website detailing the conditions to beneficiate for the right to work in the UK, its current limitations, and the impact of the Reception Condition Directive on UK domestic law.

Threats concerning the right to work of asylum seekers in South Africa

We reproduce below a press release by CoRMSA (the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants  in South Africa) detailing the worrying attempt of the South African Government to 'review' the right to work of asylum seekers. 

CoRMSA defends the right to work as Cabinet questions the minimum rights of immigrants (26/11/2011)

UNHCR Discussion Paper: Reception Standards: Employment

This Discussion Paper on Reception Standards published in 2006 by the UNHCR, focuses on the right to employment os asylum seekers and refugees contains invaluable contributions on the topic.

UNHCR Discussion Paper: Reception Standards: Employment

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Regional Office for Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific

N°. 1, 2006, pp. 5-20.

Introduction

Granting the right to work to refugees is a relatively standard practice among industrialised countries, but the same rights are not always extended to asylum-seekers and efforts to do so have faced resistance by many governments. Economic factors and deterrence measures are cited by governments as reasons not to treat asylum-seekers in the same way as recognised refugees. 

The issue of reception standards for asylum-seekers which ensure that human dignity and basic rights are protected was discussed at the 2006 October’s Executive Committee meeting of States. A particular focus was the right to gainful employment for both refugees and asylum-seekers as perhaps paramount among the articles of the Convention. Arguably, without the right to work, many other provisions could be considered meaningless.

Ahead of this discussion, UNHCR's Regional Office in Canberra invited contributing perspectives on this issue and its application in the region from the Australian Government, the Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project and academic Alice Edwards, who provides internationally comparative data. UNHCR's position drawn from Standing Committee papers, is also provided.

Providing Refugee Women the Right to Work

We reproduce below some extract from an article by Samuel Witten on the livelihood programmes targeting women refugees and asylum seekers in the countries receiving them. Samuel Witten has been serving for 22 years at the U.S. Department of State, including three years as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM). 

Source: The Huffington Post, 08/10/2011, Samuel Witten, Skills to Survive: Providing Refugee Women the Right to Work:

Refugees are victims of circumstances they did not create and cannot control. And women, often unaccompanied by men, caring for young children, and lacking in job skills and opportunities, generally have the most difficult time. I have seen firsthand the lack of hope and economic opportunity for women displaced from their homes by political turmoil and living in refugee camps or squalid urban areas.  Most refugees cannot work legally or get work permits that might be available to other foreigners. This often forces them into the informal economy, which can have a devastating impact on their safety and well-being. All of us who have been involved in humanitarian relief have heard countless stories of refugee women who work 15 to 16 hours a day for little or no pay, often abused as domestic workers or trapped in other oppressive labor situations. Many are routinely denied wages and suffer sexual abuse in the workplace. But they often do not report abuse for fear of being punished or deported, or treated even worse by their employers. We have also heard of numerous heartbreaking cases of women who could not find work and were forced into prostitution in order to provide for themselves and their families. What will it take to stop this exploitation and empower refugee women? A key step is systematically developing and expanding economic opportunities for refugee women that are safe and will allow them to ultimately become self-reliant.