Attachments
UNHCR welcomed the adoption of the Asylum
Procedures Directive (APD) in 2005 as an important step in the first phase
of the asylum harmonization process under Article 63 of the Amsterdam Treaty.
The APD is a key element of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), to
which European Union (EU) Member States remain committed under the terms
of Article 68 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. However,
UNHCR expressed concern at the time of the APD's adoption that some of
its provisions may lead to breaches of international refugee law if implemented
at the level permitted by the Directive's minimum standards. The wide
margin for discretion, as well as the extensive exceptions and qualifications
to the APD's basic safeguards, led to questions among observers about
the level of harmonization that the instrument would achieve in practice.
Concerns were also expressed about the scope for divergence in national
approaches to the application of the APD's provisions, and in some cases,
about the lack of clarity with respect to their interpretation.
In the exercise of its supervisory role
under Article 35 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
(1951 Convention), and with generous support from the European Refugee
Fund, and with a financial contribution from the Diana, Princess of Wales
Memorial Fund, UNHCR has undertaken a wide-ranging comparative analysis
of the transposition of key provisions of the APD into national law by
selected EU Member States, and the practical application of those provisions.
Based on that analysis, UNHCR has produced
recommendations set out in this document, which aim to assist Member State
authorities in the interpretation and application of the Directive, as
well as to inform discussions and work towards strengthening and improving
asylum procedures across the European Union.