The Parliamentary Assembly has expressed deep concern over the populist discourse “inducing fear and resentment towards people arriving from other countries”.
In the adopted resolution, addressing the issue, based on a report by Domagoj Hajduković (Croatia, SOC), the Assembly emphasised the importance of improving integration efforts to promote inclusivity and social cohesion.
The resolution sets out sixteen approaches that Council of Europe member states can take to integrate migrants and refugees and encourage “a sense of togetherness”. The parliamentarians have, particularly, underlined that integration was a “dynamic process of mutual adaptation where both migrants and host societies bear some responsibility” for success.
The Assembly suggested that European governments should invite migrants and refugees to accept a “new social contract” which sets out their rights and responsibilities, offer them mentor programs and integration guides when they first arrive in a host country, create spaces where migrants and refugees can be brought together with local communities; and aim for a “fair and balanced” distribution of the migrant population across a national territory to avoid ghettoes.
Furthermore, the parliamentarians have proposed to give access to interpretation and mentoring for migrants and refugees, as well as language training and programs that promote democratic citizenship and human rights education, and provide them with targeted assistance like housing, access to health care and schooling.
On the World Refugee Day (20 June 2023), Theodoros Rousopoulos (Greece, EPP/CD), Chair of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, stated:
"Speaking at the Council of Europe’s fourth Summit, PACE President Tiny Kox underlined the importance of implementing its decisions. This implies the need to continue protecting victims and to respect the rights of migrants and refugees, as stated in the Reykjavik Declaration.
To give hope to refugees who are far from home, member States must promote and facilitate their effective integration into their host community, be it for a temporary or for a longer period, and tackle the discrimination they still face. The significant milestone of the Reykjavik Summit must translate into concrete action for the benefit of all - including migrants, refugees and displaced persons - as well as host countries.
PACE has hailed the “resilience, courage and determination” of Belarusians who have been forced into exile by the repression of the Lukashenka regime – and urged states hosting them to take legal and practical steps to welcome them.
In a resolution, based on a report by Paul Galles (Luxembourg, EPP/CD), the Assembly said “the Belarusian people are not the same as the Lukashenka regime”, and should not be treated in a discriminatory fashion because of the regime’s participation in the war against Ukraine.
It said it was “impressed by the work and initiatives of the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the United Transition Cabinet of Belarus, which aim at providing their compatriots with the services the regime deliberately withholds.”
The Assembly made a series of practical recommendations to make legal entry and stay outside Belarus, and travel in the EU, easier for exiles and their families, as well as steps to keep them safe from reprisals, able to access their bank accounts and run businesses.
The Assembly also called on member States to adopt legislation prohibiting discrimination in sports and provide equal opportunities for “most vulnerable people, including migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons, to have proper access to sporting facilities and activities” considering factors like finances, age, gender, and ability.
In a resolution, based on a report by Nigar Arpadarai (Azerbaijan, EC/DA), the parliamentarians highlighted the benefits of using sport to “build mutual respect and encourage team spirit” for both host societies and refugees, migrants and IDPs.