KEHYS reminds the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs on policy coherence

11.9.2006 Helsinki

Dear Minister,

We are approaching you prior to the informal ministerial meeting of EU Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs that will be held in Tampere on 20. - 22. 9.2006.

The European NGOs working in development cooperation feel that there is a clear need for stronger integration of the development policy objectives into the external and internal policies of the EU so that these policies support and do not undermine poverty eradication and sustainable development.

Please find attached an EU Presidency Manifesto published by the Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU, KEHYS. The publication features the European NGO’s main challenge to the Finnish Government and the European Union for increased policy coherence in order to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. The Manifesto is published as a part of the EU presidency campaign “Call for Coherence” coordinated by the Finnish NGDO Platform.

Under the theme of migration and development, we would like you to bring to your attention the following demands:

► The European Union must contribute to the economic and social development of the countries of origin. Development provides the opportunity of staying in the home country and decreases the illegal migration and crime related to it.

► The EU must implement coherent and comprehensive development and immigration policies by sharing the responsibility of solving problems related to forced immigration, including refugeeism, as well as human trafficking and smuggling. At the same time, the EU must offer legal means for migration into the European Union.

► The EU immigration policy must respect international human rights norms and ensure appropriate treatment of people who need protection. The European Union should find a balance between boarder control and the fact that nobody should be returned to an area where he or she can become a victim of human rights violations.

► The EU must intensify their work in informing people about legal migration channels in the area of the European Union and the risks related to clandestine migration in the countries of origin. Those who put themselves into the hands of smugglers will not know what will happen during the journey, what the possibilities of getting to Europe will be or what life will really be like in the new country.

The decisions on policy coherence are very important for EU’s credibility and efficiency. The NGOs are pleased with the fact that EU’s commitment to policy coherence has recently grown stronger. The NGOs hope that as a next step the objectives will be transformed into reality.

The goal of the joint NGO campaign during the Finnish EU presidency is to provoke discussion and create tools for the follow-up and evaluation of policy coherence. The role and the expertise of the civil society should also be recognised.

In our campaign, the focus will be on the following five themes and their connection to development policy. The themes are: HIV/Aids, trade, migration, environment and security policy.

Policy coherence for development will also be discussed during the international Call for Coherence conference, organized by KEHYS on 2-3 October in Helsinki. The aim is to offer a discussion forum for experts on development policy from EU member states, EU institutions, research institutes and the civil society. The conference is organized in cooperation with the Department of Development Policy of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the Development Policy Committee and the European Commission. In addition to this, the conference is the main event 2006 of CONCORD, the European NGO’s Confederation for Relief and Development, and it will bring a large amount of European NGOs to Helsinki.

Best regards,

Rilli Lappalainen Secretary General The Finnish NDGO Platform to the EU KEHYS ry