CEC GOVERNING BOARD
26-29 November 2013
Geneva, Switzerland

PUBLIC ISSUES

STATEMENT ON SYRIA

SYRIA REFUGEE CRISIS: CEC calls for access to safety in Europe<

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13, 2)

CEC’s Governing Board appeals to European governments and people to act now and to provide protection for refugees fleeing Syria.

Refugees from Syria in neighbouring countries

More than two years into the conflict, an overwhelming regional humanitarian crisis is unfolding as refugees struggle on a daily basis to access the most basic services including shelter, health, water, sanitation and primary education.

As of October 2013, around 6 million persons have been displaced internally or have fled to neighbouring countries in search of protection. More than 2,2 million people from Syria areregistered or awaiting registration in nearby countries, including North Africa.

Syria’s neighbours such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Armenia continue to receive and host large numbers of people and their resources are at breaking point. As pressure on limited resources intensifies, the potential for unrest and instability in these countries also increases.

It is in this dire and complex situation that European countries need to urgently, decisively and effectively respond to help protect refugees fleeing Syria. Failing to do so could lead to alreadystrained neighbouring host countries turning away refugees and imposing unacceptable conditions and restrictions on those already present in these countries.

Syrian refugees in Europe

From the start of the conflict in 2011 to August 2013, approximately 53,000 Syrian nationals have applied for asylum in the EU; most of these applications have been lodged in Germany and Sweden. While many European countries have granted some kind of protection to Syrian refugees, treatment and levels of protection vary significantly between them.

Recommendations to European States

While European States have acknowledged the scale and urgency of the refugee crisis and have increased aid to countries in the region to meet the growing humanitarian needs, they should significantly step up their commitment and efforts in the following ways:

• European States, and in particular EU members, should adopt a common approach to those fleeing Syria. All Syrian nationals should be allowed entry; treated as presumptively in need of international protection; and given full, immediate access to fair and effective asylum procedures. According to UNHCR, Syrian citizens, as well as others residing in Syria, including Palestinians, are likely to fulfil the requirements of the refugee definition in the 1951 Refugee Convention. This means that most of those fleeing Syria should be recognised as Convention refugees and granted corresponding rights, including the right to family reunification.
• European States should follow UNHCR´s appeal for a global moratorium on any return of Syrians to neighbouring countries.
• Given the drastically deteriorating human rights situation in Syria since the onset of the current conflict, Syrian nationals who have been present in Europe either as failed  asylumseekers, or on another basis, should be given the opportunity to lodge asylum applications.
• Immigration detention should not be used, except in the most exceptional circumstances and only as a last resort.
• European States should consider the possibility of the practical expression of solidarity between European States in refugee protection; for example by offering relocation ofrefugees from countries facing difficulties to cope with the influx of persons seeking protection.

In addition to ensuring that those arriving in Europe from Syria are afforded effective protection, European countries, in particular the EU and its member states, must urgently consider other concrete measures to share responsibility and show solidarity with Syria’s neighbouring countries that are hosting the majority of refugees. Measures should include:

• Donating generously to the UN Syria Regional Response Plan.
• Offering a meaningful number of emergency resettlement places to the most vulnerable refugees fleeing Syria, currently hosted in neighbouring countries. Priority should be given, but not limited, to individuals requiring medical treatment, women at risk, unaccompanied minors, elderly or disabled refugees, people at risk for their involvement in peaceful humanitarian or other activities as well as survivors of torture and violence.
• Establishing and/or expanding resettlement programmes to accommodate Iraqi and other third-country national refugees, for example from Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan, who were living in Syria when the conflict broke out and who are currently trapped inside Syria by the ongoing violence.
• Preparing for a prolonged humanitarian emergency to be able to provide continuous support and assistance to neighbouring countries receiving sudden massive numbers of refugees.

We call on European States to make concrete commitments towards assisting and protecting those who have managed to escape the devastating conflict in Syria:

Commitment of churches in Europe

Together with the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe, CEC will participate in the campaign calling for Access to Europe for Syrian Refugees and requests the member churches to support these activities. The campaign aims to:

• Help refugees get out:

- through humanitarian admission and resettlement,

- by relaxing current visa restrictions and family reunification rules,

- by granting humanitarian visas.

• Allow refugees into Europe:

- no pushbacks at the borders,

- continued stay, no returns.

CEC reiterates the commitment articulated in the Charta Oecumenica, to “do our part towards giving migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers a humane reception in Europe”. We therefore commit ourselves and our churches to providing a welcome to the refugees arriving from Syria.

Many churches across Europe, from Armenia to France, Finland to Italy, assist refugees and welcome them in their parishes. European church agencies are assisting in meeting basic needs in the camps in neighbouring countries, while parishes and churches are searching for accommodation and initiating programmes to assist resettled refugees.

CEC applauds these initiatives, which are indeed a sign of our common and sincere commitment to welcome the stranger and to assist and protect those in need.

CEC Public Issues Statement Syria FINAL.pdf (27.47 KB)