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GENEVA / ASYLUM SEEKERS
STORY: GENEVA / ASYLUM SEEKERS
TRT: 2.52
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 28 MARCH 2011, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
RECENT 2011, PALAIS DES NATIONS, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior Palais des nations
2. Med shot, flags
28 MARCH 2011, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Edwards, spokesperson, UNHCR:
“We’re seeing a change in dynamic in terms of global applications for Asylum. Clearly what’s happening is that more people seeking asylum in countries that are in the developing world. What we had in 2010 was 358 thousand asylum applications in all industrialized countries world wide that’s down from about 620 thousand ten years ago so it’s a fold of nearly half. The majority of Asylum seekers world wide are applying for asylum where they are in the developing world.”
FILE / UNHCR / 18-19 FEBRUARY 2011, LAMPEDUSA, ITALY
4. Wide shot, Mediterranean Sea with sailing boats
5. Various shots, refugees waiting in line at Lampedusa reception centre, Italian police
6. Med shot, police watching Tunisians board a bus from Reception Centre
28 MARCH 2011, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Edwards, spokesperson, UNHCR:
“We saw similar pattern of declines pretty much wherever we looked in North America, in Europe, in North Asia there were declines of a similar magnitude. In Southern Europe where we’ve had a lot of people coming into the European continent declines were in the region of 33 percent although you did have increases in other parts of Europe. It was only in Australasia really looking in Australia and New Zealand that we something of an increase.
FILE / OCHA / 12 MARCH 2011, SALLOUM LAND PORT, EGYPT
8. Wide shot, entrance to Salloum Land Port
9. Tracking shot, outside the Immigration Centre at Salloum Land Port
FILE / UNHCR / 8 MARCH 2011, RAS JEDIR CAMP, TUNISIA
10. Wide shot of mass of refugees
28 MARCH 2011, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Edwards, spokesperson, UNHCR:
“It’s clearly hard to predict where trends might go. What we’ve seen over a decade it is pretty much consistent picture of declining numbers we don’t at this stage see a likelihood of big changes in that. At the moment if you look at North Africa with the 350,000 people who have left Libya over the last weeks most of those haven’t in fact been asylum seekers, they’ve been migrant workers leaving the country seeking safe haven somewhere else. So North Africa at the moment doesn’t look like its going to have a major impact on these figures in 2011. Nonetheless we’re still early on in this year, we’ll have to wait and see how thing go.”
FILE / UNHCR / JANUARY 2010, CALAIS, FRANCE
12. Various shots, ships arriving at port
13. Various shots, Afghan refugees in makeshift tent
28 MARCH 2011, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Edwards, spokesperson, UNHCR:
“Its fully clear at this stage what’s causing this change in asylum trends part of it maybe the push factors in some countries; part of it maybe tightening of border controls in Europe or the US. This takes more analysis really to determine exactly what the causes are. However you clearly see this year a change in the situation.”
FILE / UNHCR DECEMBER 2009, AFGOYE, SOMALIA
15. Various shots, displaced families living in makeshift camps
The number of asylum-seekers seeking to live in the industrialized world continues to fall and is now almost half the level it was a decade ago, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) reported today (28 March 2011) as it released its annual snapshot of asylum trends.
Talking about the newly released report UNHCR’s spokesperson Adrian Edwards said that in 2010 there were 358,000 asylum applications in all industrialized countries world wide, that’s down from about 620,000 ten years ago..
The report says that the majority of Asylum seekers world wide were applying for asylum where they are in the developing world.
Edwards noted that the pattern of declines were in North America, in Europe, in North Asia there were declines of a similar magnitude. He added that in Southern Europe where a lot of people were coming in too, but the European continent declines were in the region of 33 percent although there were increases in other parts of Europe.
Edwards pointed out that it was only in Australia and New Zealand that there was something of an increase.
Responding to whether the numbers could rise given the situation with civilians leaving their countries due to violence in North Africa and the Middle East, Edwards said that it was “clearly hard to predict where trends might go”. He said that at the moment looking at North Africa with the 350,000 people who had left Libya over the last weeks most of those haven’t in fact been asylum seekers they’ve been mostly migrant workers leaving the country seeking safe haven somewhere else.
So, he added that North Africa at the moment didn’t look like it was going to have a major impact on these figures in 2011. “Nonetheless we’re still early on in this year, we’ll have to wait and see how thing go.” Edwards said.
Still within the developed world, the United States was the biggest recipient of asylum claims, with 55,500 lodged last year, due in part to an increase in applications from Chinese and Mexicans, and France was second, with 47,800 claims, drawn largely from Serbian, Russian and Congolese asylum-seekers.
Asked if the decline in asylum requests could be due to the tightening of immigration laws in Europe and the US Edwards said that it was fully clear that what was causing the change in asylum trends could be the tightening of border controls in Europe or the US. But he added that “this takes more analysis really to determine exactly what the causes are. However you clearly see this year a change in the situation”.
The reports stated that Serbia – including Kosovo – provided the biggest number of asylum-seekers in 2010, with 28,900 claims lodged, compared to only 18,800 the previous year.
It also said that the sharp rise was probably due to the European Union’s December 2009 decision to grant visa-free entry to holders of Serbian passports.
The other leading countries of origin of asylum-seekers were, in order: Afghanistan, China, Iraq, Russia, Somalia, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
The 44 recipient countries used for the report were the 27 members of the European Union, as well as Albania, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Liechtenstein, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
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