Encyklopedia Administracji Publicznej MW Pivot Skin

ASYLUM POLICY – organized activity of state bodies (central and local government), as well as non-governmental organizations, including arrivals and stays of persons seeking international protection outside their country of origin. A.p. is implemented on the basis of the Geneva Convention of 1951 regarding refugee status and the New York Protocol of 1967 (Poland has been a party to them since 1991), as well as on the basis of national provisions determining the rules of arrival and stay of foreigners seeking protection on the territory of a given country. A.p. is part of the → immigration policy. It is the result of territorial changes (e.g. change of borders), and other causes, such as: political and religious (evacuation before persecution), ecological (devastation of the natural environment as a result of exploitation or ecological disaster), health (seeking treatment opportunities abroad), educational (limited educational opportunities) or economic (no sources of income, discrimination at work). The goals of a.p. arise from a consistent understanding of the human right to protect one's identity, regardless of origin and citizenship. They focus on: 1. enabling the protection of one’s identity; 2. obtaining the desired population structure in a given administrative unit. Today in the European Union a.p. is implemented by particular countries while maintaining EU-level coordination (Justice and Home Affairs Council). A.p. implemented by local governments includes activities within the competences of the authorities of individual local government units (mainly municipalities) aimed at encouraging asylum seekers to settle and stay in their area. It includes active support in seeking employment, enabling education at various levels, ensuring security, housing policy, satisfying material needs and health protection. A.p. implemented by non-governmental organizations mainly consists of activities directed at the host society and asylum seekers. Information campaigns on asylum seekers are addressed to the host society, while actions are being carried out towards asylum seekers to support adaptation and integration processes in the host country. In Poland and other EU Member States a.p. is the subject of axiological dispute. There is a clear difference in a.p. implemented in the western and eastern parts of the EU. The effect of the a.p. in the western part of the EU (e.g. Germany, France, Great Britain) has been a mass influx of non-European populations. In the eastern part of the EU a.p. is the result of international obligations of individual countries, worse economic situation and caution with respect to changes in the ethnic structure. [P. Hut]