Asylum : minimum guarantees for asylum procedures

OBJECTIVE: the Council's draft resolution aims to ensure that all Member States take decisions on requests for asylum on the basis of equivalent procedures and therefore adopts common procedural guarantees for asylum seekers which take account of the conclusions of the executive committee of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and Council of Europe recommendation no. R81. CONTENT: the draft resolution on minimum guarantees for asylum procedures lists some of the main principles of the right to asylum and makes express provision for the application of the Geneva Convention, especially the definition of "refugee", the principle of "non-refoulement" and cooperation with the UNHCR. It deals mainly with the following points: - guarantees concerning the examination of requests for asylum; - the rights of asylum seekers during the examination, appeal and revision procedures; - manifestly unfounded requests for asylum; - requests for asylum presented at the border; - additional guarantees for unaccompanied minors and women; - the residential status of those who qualify as refugees.�