Activities of Mary HONEYBALL related to 2015/2325(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
The situation of women refugees and asylum seekers in the EU (debate)
The situation of women refugees and asylum seekers in the EU (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the situation of women refugees and asylum seekers in the EU PDF (348 KB) DOC (141 KB)
Amendments (35)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
- having regard to Article 8 and Article 78 of the Treaty on Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5
Citation 5
– having regard to the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and to General Recommendation No. 32 (2014) of the CEDAW Committee on the gender related dimensions of the refugee status, asylum, nationality and the statelessness of women,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission communication of 27 May 2015 entitled 'EU Action Plan against migrant smuggling (2015 – 2020)',
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)
Citation 13 a (new)
- having regard to Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third country nationals,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 b (new)
Citation 13 b (new)
- having regard to Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
- having regard to Regulation (EC) 862/2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 b (new)
Citation 14 b (new)
- having regard to Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third country national or a stateless person,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
- having regard to United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1325 and 1820 on women, peace and security,
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas women and girls seeking asylum have specific protection needs which require that the implementation of all asylum policies be gender sensitive;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas many refugees who have arrived in Europe live in makeshift conditions in camps or on the streets, and women and girls are especially vulnerable;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
Subheading 1
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for a new, comprehensive set of EU-wide gender guidelines to be adopted as part of wider reforms to migration and asylum policy, which take full account of the social, cultural and political dimensions of persecution and relate to both substantive and procedural issues;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on all Member States to adopt asylum procedures and develop training programmes which are sensitive to the needs of women with multiple marginalised identities including LGBTI women; urges all Member States to combat harmful stereotypes about the behaviour or characteristics of LGBTI women and to fully apply the Charter of Fundamental Rights in respect of their asylum claims;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Highlights that gendered forms of violence, including but not limited to FGM, forced marriage, domestic violence, rape and sexual violence and so-called honour crimes, constitute persecution and this should be reflected in new gender guidelines;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes the Commission’s proposal to establish a common EU list of safe countries of origin; demands that all appropriate steps be taken to ensure that this approach is consistent with the principle of non-refoulement and that the rights of women, children and other vulnerable groups are not undermined; calls for gender differentiation to be applied; believes that claims based on fear of gender-based violence or discrimination should never be subject to accelerated asylum proceduresany list of safe countries of origin should never result in less favourable procedural treatment for women whose claims for asylum are based on fear or experience of gender based violence;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Urges all Member States to provide specialised trauma counselling for women who have experienced gender-based harm which is available at all stages of the asylum process;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Urges all Member States to provide up to date and accessible information about the asylum process, rights and entitlements specific to women seeking asylum;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Stresses the crucial importance of providing childcare during screening and asylum interviews, in order to ensure a fair opportunity to make an asylum claim;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Underlines the right of women to lodge a claim for asylum independent of their spouse as key to women's empowerment and the principle of non-- refoulement; urges Member States to inform all women of their right to make an independent claim for asylum;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Welcomes the development of a new training module on Gender, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO); calls for the full incorporation of gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting into the work of the EASO through gender focal points and formal liaison with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE); calls for Country of Origin information which includes the situation of women, both legally and de facto, including information about the persecution, or threat thereof, by non-state actors;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Encourages all Member States to make full use of the Dublin Regulation to ensure that families are able to be together and have their asylum claims processed by the same authorities;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take immediate measures to ensure that reception conditions are safe, humane, and adequate, with separate accommodation and sanitation facilities for women and families;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Stresses the need to develop alternatives to detention including engagement focused approaches which meet the needs of vulnerable groups;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Highlights that many women asylum seekers and refugees have experienced extreme violence and that detention may exacerbate their trauma; calls for an immediate end, in all Member States, to the detention of pregnant women seeking asylum and the detention ofchildren, pregnant and nursing women and survivors of rape and, sexual violence and trafficking;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the urgent need for independent investigations into all allegations of abuse at places of immigration detention and for access to be granted to journalists and civil society organisations;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Urges all Member States to reintroduce maximum limits to the duration of detention prior to removal towhich are below the limit stipulated in the Return Directive; considers that prolonged detention disproportionately harms vulnerable groups;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission, Member States, and local authorities to work together with civil society and human rights organisations to alleviate the plight of refugees surviving in makeshift conditions, particularly in respect of vulnerable women and girls;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Member States to develop and implement specific measures to facilitate labour market participation of women refugees and asylum seekers, including language classes, lifelong learning and training; calls on the Commission, Member States and local authorities to guarantee the right of refugee girls to access statutory education; highlights the importance of informal, non-formal education and cultural exchange in including and empowering young women and girls; stresses the importance of widening access to higher education for women refugees; calls for robust and transparent procedures for recognising qualifications obtained abroad;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to make funding and other resources available for civil society and human rights organisations that provide assistance, promote inclusion, and monitor the situation of refugees and asylum seekers in the EU, particularly in respect of addressing the barriers and vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Encourages Member States to make use of the Structural and Investment Funds in addition to the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund to promote refugees' integration into the labour market, with a particular focus on childcare;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls for comprehensive and adequately resourced programmes to address the unmet short and long term health needs of women refugees, including psychosocial and trauma counselling;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Emphasises the important positive role that social enterprises and alternative business models such as mutuals and cooperatives can play in economically empowering women refugees and integrating them into labour markets, as well as the social and cultural spheres;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Encourages the sharing of best practice amongst Member States on the involvement of grassroots community- based organisations in representing the views of refugee and asylum-seeking women to policymakers, as well as direct participation by women and girls themselves;