IDENTIFICATION OF (VULNERABLE?) ASYLUM SEEKERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE RECEPTION CONDITIONS DIRECTIVE 2003/9: Concepts, Procedures and Purposes

Tid: 19 november 2009
Plats:THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION CENTRE
Room "Magistrat"
40 Washington Street
B- 1050 Brussels

Arrangör: Odysseus Network

OBJECTIVE OF THE CONFERENCE

This conference is part of a project aimed at analysing the problem of the identification of “asylum seekers with special needs” like disabled or elderly people, victims of torture, violence or rape, persons with mental health problems, pregnant women, … The Odysseus Academic Network underlined in a study done in 2007 for the European Commission on the transposition of the directive 2003/9 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers (see http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/doc_centre/asylum/studies/doc_asylum_studies_en.htm) that two thirds of the Member States have no procedure to identify asylum seekers with special needs despite article 17 of the previous directive. This will obviously deprive those persons of the special reception conditions that they should normally benefit from and leave their special needs unsatisfied.
The Odysseus Academic Network decided therefore to launch a comparative study in order to analyse the more or less formalised rare procedures of identification in place at national level. The legal rules of the few concerned Member States have been analysed together with their practices of identification in a comparative way. The identification procedure of special needs used by UNHCR in the framework of resettlement has been taken into consideration. The new text proposed by the Commission together with the amendments envisaged by the Council and Parliament that are currently part of the negotiations about the recast of the concerned directive, will also be analysed. Apart of the procedural aspect, a conceptual dimension related to the precise meaning and links between the notions used (special needs but also vulnerability) became part of the study. Moreover, one may wonder if the identification of special needs in the framework of the reception conditions directive should be used in asylum procedures and refugee status determination.
This conference is the result of a close cooperation between lawyers specialised in refugee law member of the Odysseus Academic Network and social workers dealing with asylum seekers. It will also benefit from the experience of several NGOs running projects on the ground. Apart of all those partners, the Odysseus Network wants to thank warmly the European Commission for its financial support given through the European Refugee Fund and the European Network of Asylum Reception Organisations (ENARO), as well as the UNHCR acting as a referee to ensure the quality of the project. "

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