DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS

FECL 39 (November 1995)

Justice and Home Affairs Council

  • Decision on an alert and emergency procedure for burden-sharing with regard to the admission and residence of displaced persons on a temporary basis.

Doc OJ No C 262, 7.10.1995, 4 p.

  • Acte du Conseil adoptant une action commune sur le régime du transit aéroportuaire, Brussels, 23.11.95, 11794/95. On transit visa obligation for nationals of 10 countries.

United Nations, General Assembly, 50th session: Situation of human rights in the former Yugoslavia. Periodic report by Elisabeth Rehn, Special rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation in the former Yugoslavia, 3.11.95, 19 p.

UNHCR: Background information on the situation in Poland in the context of the "Safe Third Country" concept, Geneva, November 1995, 3 p. The report notes, inter alia, that the admission of refugees at Polish land borders remains problematic. "UNHCR has no guarantees that persons requesting refugee status at the border are admitted to the procedure in Poland. This applies particularly to persons who are not in possession of valid travel documents or visas. Polish law does not contain provisions safeguarding the access of insufficiently documented asylum seekers at the border as would be required by Article 33 of the 1951 Convention".

According to government statistics quoted by the report, less than 1000 asylum applications were lodged in 1994 and the first 8 months of 1995. In the same period, less than 400 persons were granted asylum.

Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia: Proposals for a new citizenship act - an analysis of basic legal solutions. Authors: Prof. Stevan Lilic, Biljana Kovacevic-Vuco, 14 p. Among other things, this comprehensive analysis addresses the problems facing war refugees and deserters in the event of return to Serbia.

Human Rights Project, Bulgaria: Quarterly Progress Reports, April-July and July-October 1995. Reports of numerous cases of state and police violence against the Roma minority.

Available at: Human Rights Project, 13, Uzundjovska Str., 2nd floor, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria; Tel/Fax: +359/2 875577.