Resolution 2525 (2024)1Provisional version

The theme of migration and asylum in election campaigns and the consequences on the welcoming and rights of migrants

Parliamentary Assembly

1. The Reykjavík Declaration adopted at the Fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe reiterated the Organisation’s principles in the face of the numerous challenges to human rights, the rule of law and peace in Europe, including democratic backsliding, violations of freedom of expression and the proliferation of hate speech. The Parliamentary Assembly considers that the treatment of the theme of migration and asylum lies at the intersection of those many challenges.

2. Considering that elections are milestone events that shape democracy, the Assembly is concerned at the intensification of a partial and biased treatment of the issue of migration and asylum in election campaigns which legitimise political proposals aimed at blocking access to rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, in contravention of the Council of Europe’s standards.

3. The Assembly acknowledges the importance of ensuring that pluralist and even diverging opinions on the theme of migration and asylum may be expressed during election campaigns. It firmly underlines however that hate speech and discriminatory measures cannot be part of a political programme which meets the Council of Europe’s principles and standards and calls on governments of member States as well as key actors in the shaping and dissemination of electoral propaganda to implement Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16 of the Committee of Ministers on combating hate speech. The Assembly stresses that strong leadership is urgently needed to put an end to the instrumentalisation of the theme of migration and asylum for electoral gains, and to allow for this topic to be addressed in a balanced fashion, taking into account all the challenges at stake.

4. The Assembly recalls that the theme of migration and asylum cannot be limited to security matters and urgently calls politicians and the media to weigh up the consequences that such restricted views may bring to social cohesion and public order. It expresses its profound concern at the escalation of verbal and physical attacks on people of foreign origin or perceived as such, in particular on racialised persons and members of religious minorities, which is resulting from that process. In particular, the Assembly reiterates the concerns expressed in its Resolution 2457(2022) “Raising awareness of and countering Islamophobia, or anti-Muslim racism, in Europe”.

5. The Assembly emphasises that the normalisation of such viewpoints is accompanied by a rise in intolerance towards individuals (rights defenders, elected representatives, journalists) and institutions (universities, media outlets) favourable to the reception and the inclusion of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. It calls for manifestations of such intolerance to be sanctioned, in particular when taking the form of restrictions to fundamental freedoms, including freedom of assembly and association, of expression, and of the press, or of attacks against the physical or moral integrity of individuals.

1. Assembly debate on 23 January 2024 (3rd sitting) (see Doc. 15832, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, rapporteur: Mr Pierre-Alain Fridez; and Doc. 15888, opinion of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, rapporteur: Mr Tural Ganjaliyev). Text adopted by the Assembly on 23 January 2024 (3rd sitting).

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