ATD 4th World Peoples University 2016 ‘Towards a Europe that leaves no-one behind’
On 20th December ATD Fourth World organised their annual ‘People’s University’. The focus of the event was on the right to legal existence on the territory and the rights to the means required to live a decent life, which includes a decent minimum income. ATD called for:
- The EU to guarantee the right to legal existence to all persons living on its territory
- The right to exist without papers
- The EU to establish a Directive on the means required to live a decent life for each individual, which includes and decent minimum income in all member countries and which takes housing costs into account.
- A similar but different concept: Universal Income
Participants highlighted the problem that Member states are able to interpret and implement human rights in their own way, leading a lack of conformity or cohesiveness. For example an undocumented child can get an education but not accommodation in Belgium. It was acknowledged that EU Member State migration policies lead to a huge waste of human potential, years of lost or damaged lives, people living in fear, living in limbo, waiting, people living uncertain, unstable lives, leading to mental health issues caused by stress.
The Salvation Army pointed out that regardless of what improved procedures/systems are implemented, there will always be people who are rejected or who will never have the proper documentation – therefore human rights must apply and be effective in the provision of rights.
Conclusions for the Salvation Army to consider:
- How many of our own corps members have difficulty in accessing their rights, integration challenges, difficulty to access to the labour market?
- Are we aware of mental health issues amongst our residents of refugee and migrant centres? How do we deal with it?