The Right to Work of Claimants for International Protection, a Legal Toolbox

A research paper, by Julien BLANC*

Abstract

The capacity of refugees and asylum seekers to integrate in the host country or to find a durable solution abroad is enhanced when the receiving State hosting the asylum seekers recognize their right to engage legally in self- employment, wage- earning employment or in liberal profession at an early stage of the refugee status determination process. Many States have nevertheless de-coupled granting automatically permission to work from the introduction of individual application claims for international protection on the basis of migration deterrent concerns and the right of States to regulate employment of foreigners. Restrictive domestic interpretations of human rights law and standards have lead this vulnerable category of migrants to suffer from unduly prolonged period of deprivation and denial of their right to work by the State, amounting to forced destitution, in breach of human dignity.

This paper may interest persons who examines the right to work of international claimants for protection from a legal perspective. It aims to increase awareness and facilitate applicability of the right to work of claimants for international protection at domestic or regional levels by detailing the relevance of international and regional norms and standards for claimants in need of international protection.

SRLAN Library on the Social, Economic and Cultural Rights of Refugees

By registering to the SRLAN Online Library one will gain access to a permanently actualized list of public documents focusing on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of asylum seekers and refugees. A valuable tool to keep informed of new or already existing publication, including those on the right to work of asylum seekers and refugees.

’'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth', K. Boele

We reproduce an interesting article by K. Boele, from the Utrecht University, Science Shop of Law analysing a case law emanating from the Dutch Supreme Court in the Netherlands, where a refugee has been denied the right to work due to the interpretation of the Court.

The author of this publication deplores the interpretation of the Court and analyses the content of this case law, in line with the international human rights norms, including the disposals of the Reception Conditions Directive contained in EU law. We have not been able to date this valuable article, which seems to date already, nor to find the X versus the Netherlands case from the Dutch Supreme Court.

The article is named ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’, by K. Boele from the Science Shop of Law, Economics and Governance of the Utrecht University (ISBN: 978-90-5213-192-4 prof. mr. I. Giesen and dr. A.C. Buyse) 

Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Maastricht, January 22-26, 1997.

These guidelines are designed to be of use to all who are concerned with understanding and determining violations of economic, social and cultural rights and in providing remedies thereto, in particular monitoring and adjudicating bodies at the national, regional and international levels.

NGOs' statement on reception standards for asylum seekers

NGO Statement: reception Standards for asylum seekers

This NGOs' statement, dating from 2001 analyses the relevant reception standards for asylum seekers, including the right to work of asylum seekers. The positions on the right to work of asylum seekers have been extracted from this Statement (see below). 

Refugees' experience of the right to work in Ecuador

To have work is to have life, refugees' experience with the right to work in Ecuador, a June 2011 Asylum Access report 

This report was researched and drafted by Karolien van Teijlingen at Asylum Access Ecuador, a local office of Asylum Access. Asylum Access is a US- based international nonprofit organization dedicated to making refugee rights a reality in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Asylum Access achieve this mission by providing legal information, advice and representation directly to refugees in their first countries of refuge, and by advocating for the rights of refugees worldwide.

Key Findings