With deep concern, we witness the current developments in Germany\u2019s asylum policy. The proposed
\nchanges are triggered by tremendous shifts in political and medial discourses, and we fear that the
\npolitical measures being discussed will lead to a serious curtailment of the right to asylum. They are
\nultimately directed against an open society and global solidarity.<\/p>\n
We oppose the current direction for asylum policy!<\/p>\n
Instead, we argue that \u2026
\n\u2026 all refugees have a fundamental right to an assessment of their individual case in
\nconformity with the law<\/p>\n
People who are forced to flee from their country of origin rely on finding refuge in another country,
\nand on having their individual case assessed in a fair asylum process, based on the rule of law.2 The
\nindividual right to asylum is laid down in the German constitution, as well as in the EU Charter of
\nFundamental Rights, and the Geneva Convention on Refugees.<\/p>\n
We criticise the proposal to introduce a procedure at the German border to assess whether a person
\nfulfills certain conditions for claiming asylum under the German or European asylum system. This
\nwould mean that asylum seekers would be refused entry at the border if they arrive from a third
\ncountry, where they are supposed to be \u201csafe from persecution\u201d. Another issue of the current debate
\nis the claim that those people who have been registered in another EU-member state before, or those
\nwho travel without identity documents (sans papier) are rejected automatically at the border. Further
\nproposals include the possibility to install extraterritorial facilities for assessment proceedings outside
\nGermany, or even outside the European Union territory.3 For Germany it is intended that arriving
\nrefugees have to stay in special reception camps to await their application to be assessed or rejected.<\/p>\n