UNHCR Europe Director Endres to EuroFora:Refugees Free to Move+Work(but Turkey puts Syrians in Camps

 

*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- As a matter of moral, social and even Legal Principle, Refugees must be Free to Move and even have a Right to Work, in order to try to re-integrate Society in a way respecting elementary Human Dignity of such Vulnerable persons and their Families, replied in substance the experienced UNHCR's Director for Europe, Daniel Endres to "EuroFora"s questions, in reaction to Press Reports on Turkish Authorities' attempts to oblige Syrian Refugees to abandon independent Housing and pushing them to Camps from which they have fled, complaining of Harsh Conditions, on the occasion of an International CoE Conference on Refugees' Right to Work without being exposed f.ex. to dangers of Over-Exploitation and/or social Exclusion, Discrimination, etc., (particularly as long as the Global Economic Crisis has not yet been fully overcome), which was organized in cooperation with CoE"s Social Rights' Charter and the European Court of Human Rights today in Strasbourg.

- "No, they shouldn't do that". As a matter of Legal Principle, "Refugees have a Right to Freedom of Movement", according f.ex. to Article 26 of the Geneva International Convention, and, moreover, "we (UNHCR) use Camps only as a Last Resort", UNCHR's Director clearly told "Eurofora".

- F.ex. "in Lebanon, there are practically No Camps", and the numerous Syrian Refugees are mainly Housed independently and/or hosted by Local Populations, Endres confirmed, agreeing with Lebanese mainstream Politician Hariri's relevant statements to "EuroFora", a few Days earlier at EU Parliament in Strasbourg, when he had asked just for Humanitarian, Logistical Help, "f.ex. for Refugees ' Children to have adequate Shooling etc. before the Winter comes", as Hariri had told us then.

 But, mainstream Press Agencies have denounced, earlier this Month, the fact that Turkish Authorities reportedly ordered many Syrian Refugees' Families, who have found some Shelters in various Villages near the borders of their Homeland, to abandon even their New Homes, pushing them to enter inside overcrouded Camps, with obvious promiscuity, over-parked in Tents or Containers, often exposed to excessive Heat, and surprisingly deprived of any Tree's shade, under heavy Police/Military guard and surrounded by Metalic Fences, Barbed Wire, etc., where Collective Protests and even Clashes have been recently reported between several Syrian Refugees and some Turkish Authorities, (including on the occasion of reported attempts to park there also some other Groups, despite sometimes insufficient Food/Sanitary conditions, etc).

In addition, AP and other Press Agencies reported also Syrian Refugees' protests for Turkish Authorities' decision to "Close a School" where more than 850 Syrian Children were receiving independent Education in the surounding villages of Hakay, (etc).

Such incidents probably explain the recent Fact that, despite the on-going Bloody and Destructive Conflicts inside Syria, Thousands of Syrian Refugees have reportedly left the Turkish Camps in order to Return to their Country, or flee to Lebanon, even to the Kurdish Regions of Iraq, etc.. (See also "EuroFora"s previous, relevant NewsReport : http://www.eurofora.net/brief/brief/paceresolutiononturkishcapsforsyrians.html )

On the contrary, in Strasbourg, a Syrian Refugee met by "EuroFora" earlier today, was free to travel in the City's Tramway, and was discussing with a Friend the choice of the Mosque to visit. Some Months ago, during a Press Coverage  in Geneva (Switzerland), we had arrived on time at UNOG's premisses thanks to Member of a Family of Syrian Refugees working as Taxi Driver, (etc).

According to CoE's Statistics, Turkey has "only" some 14.000 officialy Registered Refugees from Syria and other Countries inside its territory,  while, on the contary, the .. Refugees coming to Europe .. by FLEEING FROM Turkey have grown up to a Record Number of .. about 140.000 (i.e. 10 times more !), which is the Biggest Number of Refugees from any among CoE's 48 Member Countries, (excluding Serbia, with 160.000, which faced recent bloody and destructive Military Conflicts and even War, followed by Russia with "only" some 100.000, Croatia and Bosnia with around 60.000, etc).

 

Topically, the UNHCR/ECHR event took place at the CoE while its Committe of Ministers had just concluded a week of work in dealing with efforts to implement ECHR's Judgements in several Countries, including, naturally, Turkey's notorious refusal to allow 190.000 Greek Cypriot Refugees/Displaced Persons since the 1974 Military Invasion and persisting Occupation of the Northern part of the island (whose Government currently chairs the EU, from July to December 2012) to Return to their Family Homes and Fatherland, not even to have access or at least possession of their Homes and/or other Private Propeties, despite many ECHR's Judgements condemning Ankara for continuously violating the victims' Human Rights.  - "Unfortunately, it's mainly because Turkey has'nt even ratified ECHR's protocol on the Freedom of Movement, and because our rights too return to our Family Homes as such have not ben yet fully recognized, that I was obliged to invoke my .. private property Rights to our Hpuse and Land in order to have at least a Legally enforceable Right", had chartacteristically said to "EuroFora"s co-Founder the famous 1st Greek Cypriot Refugee lady who had initially succeeded to find some Justice in Strasbourg's PanEuropean Court, Tina Loizidou, at a previous meeting.

ECHR's new Judge Angelica  Nussberger (from Germany), explained, during CoE's Conference on Refugees, that even Articles 3 (against Inhuman/Degrading Treatments), as wel as 8 (protecting Private and Family Life), etc., can be among various possible Legal protections for vulnerable Refugees when they face exceptionaly Hard problems f.ex. in their attempts to Work, Move, find a Home, etc., and this was naturally supported also by the parallel, specific potential contribution of CoE's Charter on Social Rights, presented by its PanEuropean Independent Experts Committee's President, prof. Luis Quessada, and the experienced CoE's Social Rights' Director Regis Brillat, (who also briefed "EuroFora" on various other, relevant and/or forthcoming , interesting developments in this fast-moving recently area).

+ In fact, as far as it concerns at least Refugees' Right to Work, (in addition to the obvious Risk that might have any eventual attempt to abandon any Group into Social Exclusion, Discrimination, etc), this can reduce Costs f.ex. of Social Allowances, and even prove Practicaly Useful to the Economy of European Societies, considering also the fact that some Jobs, despite the current Global Crisis, don't even find anyone willing to assume them, f.exc. in CHR, Crafts, Agriculture, etc., while real Refugees, i.e. Persons obliged to flee Persecution from other Countries, etc., some of them being however Professionaly Qualified, f.ex. Medical Doctors who could eventually fill currently empty positions in some remore Rural Areas deprived of local Health professsionals, etc, observed to "EuroFora" UNHCR's experienced Permanent Representative to the COE (and former Refugee himself), Olivier Beer.

 

The interesting, practical experience of a Village area in Finland, where Refugees from various other Countries were, progressively, established in order to Work f.ex. in Agriculture, Metal Industry, and other jobs useful for the Local Economy, succesfully integrating, 1 or 2 decades afterwards, about 10% of the permanent inhabitants of the Village, as described by a Finnish Expert, attracted a wide interest among the participants of CoE's  International Conference, which reached as far as to include also qualified Legal Experts from Australia, and other Regions of the World usually receiving many waves of Refugees.
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    Marking the importance that CoE wants to give to such issues on Refugees, the UNHCR Conference was opened by the new CoE deputy Secretary General, the experienced Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, who has just been elected by CoE's Assembly for a 5 years period 2012-2017, and, in addition to an extensive experience particularly on Culture, Education, Environment and Youth policies, as well as, recently, as former CoE Director General in charge of the overall Strategy and planfification of all activities of the PanEuropean Organization of Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law, has had already various earlier opportunities to approach Refugees' issues from comprehensive, multifacet points of view, including Multi-Culturalism and Socal Cohesion (f.ex. CoE's Development Bank's help to fund Aid/Rehabilitation programs for Refugees, etc), the need to Protect the most Vulnerable People, etc.. The Strasbourg/UNCHR move on Refugees comes just after Battaini-Dragoni opened also CoE's Ministers of Justice Conference in Vienna, Austria, as well as another landmark PanEuropean Conference on CoE's Youth policies at Saint Petersburg, Russia, shortlt before CoE's Youth Assembly meets, at the beginning of October, in Strasbourg, at the eve of the 1st World Democracy Forum, (comp. "EuroFora"s recent NewsReports on CoE's Youth policies, the WDF, etc).

 

    CoE's new deputy Secretary General was together with the current President of CoE's Ministerial Comittee, the Albanian Ambassador Margarita Gega (May - November 2012), who stressed also he Country's past experience in welcoming many Refugees, f.ex. among Jewish immigrants earlier, followed by Kosovo populations, etc., and promissed CoE's highest Political body's support to UNHCR's activities in the field of Refugees' protection, as she stressed while also chairing the Concluding session of Strasbourg's International Conference on Refugees' Right to Work, later this Afternoon.

    As for the "Cultural" point of view, Ambassador Gega, replying afterwards to an "EuroFora"'s question, explained that a particularly beautiful Exhibition of superbe Albanian Natural and Historic Landscapes, in front of CoE's Assembly's Hemicycle, where many huge Photos picture Ancient Greco-Roman Monuments in splendid White Marble, Ancient former Christian Churches already built many Centuries ago in eye-catching Natural landscapes of the "Country of the Eagles" etc., serve to remind the fact that "our Country and People have a real European Identity, stemming already since very Ancient Times", as she rightfully said for that unquestionably geo-politicaly European part of the Western Balkans; whose Progressive Integration into the EU is a widely shared and uncontested principle, which should normally have been already put into real practice, if Past Conflicts in the Ex-Yugoslavian region (which had also provoked the Biggest recent Waves of Refugees in Europe's Modern History) hadn't, in the meantime, Delayed the Historic process of Europe's ReUnification, which has, forrtunately, been Positively re-launched during the recent years for the benefit of all Countries in this Historically European Area, of great Strategic Interest for the entire EU.