Resolution number: 01
Title: The Rights of Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Adopted by the 60th Congress of Liberal International
The Congress of Liberal International, convened in Mexico City, DF, Mexico, on 31 October 2015
Noting that:
- Humanitarian crises in Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and elsewhere in the world are forcing people to seek refuge internally as well as in other countries. The international community has failed to act on the right to protect, and as a consequence of this the number of refugees today is the largest since the World War II.
- In their efforts to escape conflict people are turning to traffickers and risking their lives and safety, in part due to a lack of safe routes and safe zones;
- The International Organization for Migration and the UNHCR recognizes that migrant deaths are soaring in the Mediterranean. The situation remains critical in Southeast Asia, the Americas and other parts of the world as well.
- The right to apply for asylum is guaranteed by the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Convention as well as other international declarations. This right is universal and inviolable.
Stresses:
- The right and ability to seek refuge in legal ways as critical to prevent deaths among asylum seekers.
Calls for:
- Creating channels for safe migration and access to protection where needed, as safe alternatives to smugglers. The allocation of humanitarian visas to refugees in diplomatic missions close to affected countries could help in this regard.
Calls on:
- All countries to respect the right to apply for asylum and to participate in the UNHCR refugee quota system.
- All governments to promote an increased provision of information to migrants about legal ways of entering a country and the risks associated to irregular migration;
- Political leaders and stakeholders to put human lives and human rights first in the response to the humanitarian crisis in the world.
- Political leaders and stakeholders to undertake efforts to promote establishing of humanitarian areas, with the support of developed countries, near conflict zones, so that refugees can be accommodated humanely.
- All member parties to continue to oppose authoritarian regimes and to strive to increase the personal freedoms of citizens so that they can make real choices about their lives and do not feel compelled to flee their country in order to live the life that they dream of.
