Frankfurter Allgemeine
on Sunday
August 8th, 1998

Kosovo conflict: Reception of refugees
is an obligation for whole Europe

Issuing deportation ban and providing protection

by Heiko Kauffmann

Violence escalates in the Kosovo: More than 35.000 people fled since the last weekend after the beginning of the new Serbian offensive. The number of the refugees increases alone in this year on 180.000 to 200.000. Already until 1997 over 350.000 Kosovo-Albanians fled abroad in front of human rights violations, violence and continuous reprisals, approx. 140.000 to Germany.

The explosive situation was well known for a long time. Nevertheless was the Kosovo conflict excluded in the Dayton agreement. Efforts lasting for years of the majority of the Albanians for a peaceful solution of the conflict didn’t find any sufficient and effective support neither internationally nor by German politics. As consequence we experience today a new dangerous phase of military escalation, bloody „pacification actions“ and the expulsion.

The disastrous development in the region is also the result of a lack of political pressure. It was short-sighted crisis diplomacy and the own interests of the western states which blocked each other.

What German politics – notwithstanding the escalation of the fights in the Kosovo – in this context understand as “ solution of the problem „, make clear the remarks of leading politicians of the coalition within the last days and weeks. The tenor of the suggestions was „defence“ ,“reception camps“ ,“no deportation ban“ „regionalising“ etc. In the case of a war the Germans would be the sufferers, so Foreign Secretary Kinkel in May. Many more refugees would arrive then.

In order to prevent this, for German politics nightmarelike scenario after the abolition of an effective asylum basic law a row of defensive measures and instruments is at the disposal of politics, administrations and authorities.

Example: Status of civil war refugees:

According to German law war and civil war are not regarded as asylum relevant. A special status for civil war refugees agreed in the asylum compromise 5 years ago isn’t still implemented effectively.

Example safe third country-regulation:

Most refugees from the Kosovo arrive on the land route. If they are seized at the border, they are immediately returned again. Definitely every one hundredth of the refugees who pass the asylum procedure will be formally accepted as refugees however. durchlaufen

Example readmission agreement:

The Federal government holds on to the readmission agreement with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, although human rights organisations have reported again and again since the beginning of the repatriations on harassments, maltreatments and detentions. The Federal government has neglected to fix in the agreement safeguards and controls for the persons affected.

Example deportation ban:

A general deportation ban would be the most effective protection for persons, who are threatened in case of their deportation with political persecution, grave human rights violations or concrete dangers for body and life. But the corresponding § 54 of the Aliens Law will be only applied unanimously – i.e. practically never – regarding to an accord of the Ministers of the Interior in March 1996. Even in June when NATO staffs already designed plans of action due to the dangerous increase of the situation in Kosovo, the Federal Minister of the Interior Kanther nevertheless saw “ no reason at all “ to issue a deportation ban.

Example country reports of the Foreign Office:

That the assumption explained by many human rights organisations of a deliberate playing down of the human rights situation in the country reports of the Foreign Office would apply also in the case of the Kosovo proves the one-sided branding of members of the UCK as terrorists in the country report of the Foreign Office as well as the fact, that officers of the Federal Office were delegated to the German Embassy in Yugoslavia recently. They should assist in drafting the reports, which are taken as the basis of decisions on asylum applications and on issuing deportation bans by the Ministers of the Interior.

These few examples indicate the character of politics, whose topmost maxim in the handling of conflicts is the sealing off against refugees. This is the narrowed view and a short-sighted political perspective of a country, which wants after years of historically induced abstinence to intervene actively in world politics and seems by that to suppress and forget from own history its special responsibility and obligation in relation to human rights and refugee protection.

Against that the demand has to be made for a civil policy, which overcomes the national narrow-mindedness and grant to refugees from the Kosovo protection and help.

The demands and appeals of human rights and refugee organisation in Germany and Europe and those of the European Refugee Council ECRE to the authorities in the respective countries must be implemented. Being part of this:

• The protection needs of asylum seekers from the Kosovo should be recognised in Europe. The obligation upon States signatory to the Refugee Convention to refrain from turning back at their borders those who flee in search of asylum is abolute (ECRE, June 1998).
• It is clear that no ‚internal flight alternative‘ reasonably meriting rejection of an asylum claim exists either Kosovo, Montenegro or elsewhere in Serbia (ECRE).
• The EU Foreign Secretaries and the Ministers of the Interior are demanded to call immediately a special meeting. It should work out a humanitarian concept and immediate programme on the reception of Kosovo refugees, coordinate it with the UNHCR and provide financial resources for this.
• „Burden sharing “ means that all EU states take their responsibility and receive refugees according to their total population, the economic capacity and infrastructure.
• The concept of „Regionalising“ means the accommodation of refugees as far as it is possible closely to their home country. This must be seen in combination with earlier relationships and reference points, with relations to migration work, language, culture and family. It is understood that many threatened refugees join their relatives in Germany. 2/3 of the 400.000 Kosovo-Albanians in Germany are living there for many years as migrant workers.
• A stay of deportation to the FR-Yugoslavia has to be issued immediately.
  The readmission agreement has to be revoked.

In view of the dramatically increased situation and the growing misery of refugees Germany as well as other EU states are urged, to apply fully all legal international instruments in order to protect refugees.