Protection challenges examined during EMN national event in Dublin
At the occasion of the IE EMN NCP conference in Dublin, a wide audience, including national policy makers and experts as well as representatives from the Commission and other NCPs, discussed protection challenges.
National conference
The Irish National Contact Point of the European Migration Network, EMN Ireland, held a half-day conference on the topic of Challenges in Protection on 17 December 2012. The Conference included expert European and Irish perspectives on the Common European Asylum System, protection and human trafficking, and protection and reception systems.
Some findings
The following elements were inter alia discussed:
With a view to achieving a common european asylum system, it appears necessary to "consolidate" the acquis and provide assistance to States implementing 2nd generation instruments to achieve further harmonization. Other challenges include the need to reinforce positive developments regarding protection on the basis of gender/sexual orientation and to address emerging needs (e.g. "environmental refugees”).
In the field of human trafficking, it is important to effectively determine and detect what constitutes human trafficking and to assess the scale of the phenomenon. Addressing the asylum - and migration nexus and prosecuting traffickers are also considered challenging.
Dealing with the length of the asylum procedure, the changes in influx of asylum seekers as well as special reception needs are key challenges in the field of reception. The financial cost as well as the human cost of reception systems are to be further considered.
More information and presentations are available on the website of the Irish EMN NCP.