Refugees are 'escaping persecution, not poverty'

Most asylum-seekers arriving in Britain are fleeing nations gripped by civil war, persecution of minorities and brutal dictatorships, according to a report to be published next month.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a Blairite think-tank contradicts arguments made by ministers that most refugees are driven by economic factors, rather than the need to escape persecution at home.

The IPPR also accuses European governments, including Tony Blair's administration, of failing to tackle the root causes of mass migration, preferring to concentrate on measures to deter would-be asylum seekers.

In a detailed analysis of refugee trends, it concludes the ten most common countries of origin of asylum-seekers in western Europe are linked by their chronic instability, rather than their poverty.

The countries are Yugoslavia, Romania, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Iran, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo and some 2.5 million people from these nations claimed asylum in the European Union between 1990 and 2000 – about 59 per cent of the total number of claims over that period.

One of the report's authors, Heaven Crawley, said it was clear that the majority of asylum seekers were driven by, "conflict and repression rather than economic factors... This is in direct contradiction to the public perception of asylum seekers as economic migrants.

"The current situation in the Gulf is a very clear example of this. We know that the Iraqi people have suffered from massive violations of their human rights and the government has highlighted the experiences of Iraqi exiles in its decision to go to war.

"Yet over the last three years the vast majority of Iraqi asylum seekers have been refused refugee status and have therefore been viewed by the public as making unfounded claims for protection."

The report says: "There are many countries in the world with low per capita income, which are not source countries for asylum seekers," while acknowledging that some economic migrants have claimed asylum as a mechanism to remain in the European Union.

But it adds: "Whilst this is undoubtedly true of some migrants, the perception of both government officials and the public is that it is the case for the majority of asylum-seekers. If so, it would be anticipated that asylum-seekers would come primarily from poor countries with large unemployed populations."

It accuses EU governments, among whom Britain has been a leading force on the issue of asylum, to have become bogged down on a "conceptual and political impasse" on the subject.

The IPPR says EU governments have concentrated on restrictive measures to deter applicants, rather than tackling the factors that drive people to leave their homes and seek asylum. "Unfortunately governments tend to have a rather short-term policy horizon and are not willing to pursue the desirable long-term aid, investment and trade policies."

As an example, it points to the increase in British arms sales to Israel, Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia in 2001, despite "the high levels of conflict and human rights violations in these regions".

'States of Conflict: Causes and patterns of forced migration to the EU and policy responses' is published by the IPPR on May 13.