56
In addition, receiving states are prohibited from:
1) Discriminating against refugees in general (art. 3), and specifically in:
a. Rationing (art. 20);
b. Education (art. 22);
c. Public relief and assistance (art. 23);
d. Labor (arts. 15, 17, 18, 19, 24); and
e. Taxes (art. 29).
2) Taking exceptional measures based on a refugee’s nationality (art. 8);
3) Punishing refugees for illegal entry if they present themselves “without delay”
(art. 31); and
4) Expelling refugees or forcibly returning them to from whence they fled (arts. 32,
33) (nonrefoulement). (See Advisory Opinion 2007).
Receiving states may only limit refugee rights in the interests of national security
(art. 9).
4 The European Architecture of Refuge
European leaders set about after World War II to create an institutional structure to
ensure that Europe would not cause a third world war. What began as a small group
of states cooperating on a narrow set of problems—the European Coal and Steel
Community (1952) has now grown into a broad union that includes most nations on
the continent and covers a wide range of responsibilities, the European Union. In
the process, they created a zone of peace, prosperity, and stability adjacent to regions
of instability, poverty, and strife. No wonder ever larger numbers of people from
peripheral regions seek entry into the EU, or that one of the areas of responsibility
for the EU as a whole is refugee policy.
Within the EU, national refugee policies pre-existed the EU and still persist within
the limits set by EU policy. The trend of these national policies changed over time.
Initially there was a (sometimes reluctant) willingness to resettle displace people left
over from the war. While they might speak different languages and perhaps eat strange
foods, they weren’t so culturally different. Assimilation was relatively easy and the
process went relatively smoothly (Murphy 1952). In the immediate aftermath of
World War II, moreover, there was a shortage of adults, particularly of men, that refugees could help fill. Some countries, particularly Germany, welcomed foreign “guest
workers” on the understanding that that they would only be temporarily in the country
(Chin 2007). Guest workers were discouraged from bringing families and few, if any,
efforts were made to assimilate them. But they did bring families. They and their families were different in culture, language, and religion. The end result was a distinct,
imperfectly assimilated permanent minority population measuring in the millions.
The accession of eastern European countries to the EU facilitated a further
migration of millions of workers into western Europe, creating additional tensions.
J. W. Dellapenna
In addition, receiving states are prohibited from:
1) Discriminating against refugees in general (art. 3), and specifically in:
a. Rationing (art. 20);
b. Education (art. 22);
c. Public relief and assistance (art. 23);
d. Labor (arts. 15, 17, 18, 19, 24); and
e. Taxes (art. 29).
2) Taking exceptional measures based on a refugee’s nationality (art. 8);
3) Punishing refugees for illegal entry if they present themselves “without delay”
(art. 31); and
4) Expelling refugees or forcibly returning them to from whence they fled (arts. 32,
33) (nonrefoulement). (See Advisory Opinion 2007).
Receiving states may only limit refugee rights in the interests of national security
(art. 9).
4 The European Architecture of Refuge
European leaders set about after World War II to create an institutional structure to
ensure that Europe would not cause a third world war. What began as a small group
of states cooperating on a narrow set of problems—the European Coal and Steel
Community (1952) has now grown into a broad union that includes most nations on
the continent and covers a wide range of responsibilities, the European Union. In
the process, they created a zone of peace, prosperity, and stability adjacent to regions
of instability, poverty, and strife. No wonder ever larger numbers of people from
peripheral regions seek entry into the EU, or that one of the areas of responsibility
for the EU as a whole is refugee policy.
Within the EU, national refugee policies pre-existed the EU and still persist within
the limits set by EU policy. The trend of these national policies changed over time.
Initially there was a (sometimes reluctant) willingness to resettle displace people left
over from the war. While they might speak different languages and perhaps eat strange
foods, they weren’t so culturally different. Assimilation was relatively easy and the
process went relatively smoothly (Murphy 1952). In the immediate aftermath of
World War II, moreover, there was a shortage of adults, particularly of men, that refugees could help fill. Some countries, particularly Germany, welcomed foreign “guest
workers” on the understanding that that they would only be temporarily in the country
(Chin 2007). Guest workers were discouraged from bringing families and few, if any,
efforts were made to assimilate them. But they did bring families. They and their families were different in culture, language, and religion. The end result was a distinct,
imperfectly assimilated permanent minority population measuring in the millions.
The accession of eastern European countries to the EU facilitated a further
migration of millions of workers into western Europe, creating additional tensions.
J. W. Dellapenna