Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-20-Speech-4-036"
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"en.20010920.6.4-036"2
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"Madam President, we have heard a great deal over the last few days about some of the values which we hold dear, especially those of democracy and freedom. I would like to add: humanity, respect for human rights and equality before the law. So, within that context, I welcome much of the report now presented by Mr Watson: That perspective however, also explains why my group will not be supporting amendments proposed by the PPE-DE Group which we rejected in committee and which we believe seek to restrict the rights of asylum seekers.
I particularly welcome some of the amendments proposed by the committee, which state that the right to refugee status should be recognised rather than granted: refugee status is a legal right, not the gift of a benevolent regime. I also welcome the recognition that there are forms of persecution which are not included in the Geneva Convention. We debated such an issue in this House only last night, that of female genital mutilation. My group believes that we should be building on the Geneva Convention and that hopefully a common asylum policy will eventually do that. We also welcome the fact that the gender dimension is now recognised in this report.
We also welcome the recognition of the need for the interviewing and assessment process for asylum applications to take place in the applicant's own language. This is crucial as the outcome of such procedures can literally be a matter of life or death for the applicant. How can we expect an individual who has suffered torture, humiliation or sexual degradation to express that in a language in which they can just get by.
My group, however, rejects the concept of a safe third country. When we look at the huge variation between Members States of what they view as safe we can see the problems raised by this concept, especially taking new forms of persecution into account. As Baroness Ludford has said, every application must be dealt with on its own merits. We need the highest standards possible, and in that respect, this report has made substantial improvements."@en1
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