Resettlement in Europe

1. Resettlement in Europe
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

2. ICMC Europe
ICMC created in 1951 to ‘serve and protect migrants, refugees and IDPs regardless of faith,
ethnicity, race and nationality’
Core Activities:
• Advocacy & policy
• Humanitarian assistance programmes
• Refugee resettlement:
ICMC Europe:
• Follows the European policy-making & legislative process in asylum and migration
• With partners, advocates with the European Commission & European Parliament
• Key publications:
- ‘Welcome to Europe: A Comparative Review of Resettlement in Europe’ (revised
2009)
- ‘Paving the Way: A Handbook on the Reception & Integration
of Resettled Refugees’ (2011)
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

3. Resettlement in Europe
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

4. Resettlement in Europe
• QUOTA RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMMES:
-National government commits to receiving a specified number of refugees for
resettlement at annual or multi annual basis.
• AD-HOC RESETTLEMENT:
- No regular quota commitment
- Resettlement places often made available in response to specific emergency
situations – eg: Iraqi refugees in Jordan & Syria, refugees ex Libya.
- Ad-hoc resettlement can be used by emerging resettlement countries as a ‘trial run’
ahead of establishing a quota programme - eg: Germany – 2500 (ad hoc), now
moves to quota programme (300)
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

5. Resettlement in Europe
European Resettlement Programmes – Resettlement Quotas 2012
Resettle D DK FI FR GB IRL NL P CZ SE Total IS N Total
-ment RO EU* Europe
country
Annual 45
300 500 750 300 750 80 500 30 1900 5195 30 1120 6345
quota 40
Year prog.
2008 1978 1979 2008 2003 1998 1977 2007 2010 1950 - 1996 1992 -
began
* FRANCE – 100 cases is around 300 persons
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

6. Selecting refugees
• Refugees submitted for resettlement by UNHCR
• Planning with governments on priorities
• In-country selection:
- government selection missions interview all
refugee candidates in the country of asylum.
- ‘in-person’ selection - face to face interviews &
Pre-Departure Cultural Orientation (CO) to
inform on resettlement country and to
‘manage’ expectations
• Dossier selection:
- paper files submission - no interview process
- important protection mechanism for
emergency cases
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

7. Ad-hoc resettlement
Country Year Groups resettled
BE 2009 - Iraqis & Palestinians
2011 - Eritreans & Congolese (ex-Libya)
DE 2008-10 - Iraqis
- Iranians
FR 2008-9 - Iraqis
IT 2009 - Palestinians (from Iraq)
LU 2009 - Iraqis
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

8. Selection Criteria
• 1951 refugee definition & no prospects for local integration/return
• UNHCR criteria – NEED FOR PROTECTION
• Government sometimes introduce their own criteria (integration potential)
including:
- age
- education
- foreign language experience
- work experience
- networks in resettlement country
• DK - incorporated into legislation (new government intend to remove)
• NL – balanced caseload
• Cannot ‘predict’ integration
• Main focus of MS - ‘reception capacity’
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

9. Linking Selection to Reception &
Integration
• United States, Austraila, Canada and UK ‘special’ programme for resettled
refugees
- UK : 12 months additionally funded integration support by contracted NGO -
home visits, drop-in advice, housing support, assisted access to benefits
system
- Placement direct to municipality
- Structured move-on from initial support period
- Specific support for community development
• Resettled = other Refugees approach (DK, FI, SE):
- Placement direct to municipality
- Same integration services, can depend according to vulnerability
- Municipalities & local services lead on reception & integration
• Centralised Reception before placement in municipality (F, DK, RO)
- Limited provision – services not in place for nationals &/or other
migrants
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

10. Reception & Integration
Placement Policies
• Wide variation in placement policies for settled refugees in Europe
• Refugees generally allocated to specific locations - cannot choose (often to rural areas)
• Normally, municipalities agree to take resettled refugees on a voluntary basis
• Exception: DK and Germany (distribution key)
• Governments planning placement consider some or all of:
- capacity & expertise of local services
- availability of suitable housing
- availability of interpreters
- existing family/national/ethnic support networks
- employment opportunities
• Placement dilemmas – differing needs of resettled refugees; low-cost housing vs.
employment opportunities; potential for secondary migration
• Rural areas/ regions in undustrial decline sometimes promoted. Case-to-case
evaluation.
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

11. EU funding for resettlement
2012-13
EUROPEAN REFUGEE FUND (ERF)
• €630m during 2008-13 (total all actions)
• Exists to ‘support EU States’ efforts in receiving refugees and displaced persons
and in guaranteeing access to consistent, fair and effective asylum procedures’
• Co-finances actions including:
• improvements in reception accommodation & services
• structures & training to ensure access to asylum procedures
• legal & social assistance
• measures to support the acquisition of skills by refugees, including language training
• assessments of potential resettlement cases by national governments
• €4000 per refugee resettled + additional funds (up to €10,000) for
governments that resettle refugees according to : common Union resettlement
priorities, vulnerable criteria, new resettlement countries .
• Priority resettlement groups for 2014-20 identifed as:
• RPP Horn of Africa
• RPP North Africa
• Refugees in Great Lakes/Horn of Africa
• Iraqi refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan
• Iraqi refugees in Turkey The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

12. ENGAGING CITIES!!!
• HOUSING+ FUNDING PARALYSES THE DEBATE
• Exceptions: Paris, Lyon, Manchester region, Sheffield
• Engagement of German cities to offer resettlement capacity (Save
Me Campaign- Eine Stadt sagt JA!!)
• Cities to engage with governments to offer places – and develop
partnerships under ERF
• Exchange experiences with other cities
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.

13. The SHARE city network
‘Cities that Care, Cities that SHARE’
• City of Sheffield – lead city partner
• City ‘look & learn’ & peer exchange visits
• Representing local experiences & perspectives at the national &
European levels
• Training & capacity-building
• Local campaigning, lobbying & advocacy – lessons from ‘Save
Me’(DE)
• Publications & resources
• City rights networks & humanitarian cities
• Strategies for a future SHARE network
The International Catholic Migration Commission serves and protects uprooted people:
refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race ethnicity or nationality.