e-pub - Time for Europe to get migrant integration right (2016)

The arrival of over one million people seeking protection in our continent in recent months has profoundly shaken Europe and  found European governments unprepared to face up to the challenge of providing adequate reception.

Preoccupied with short-term imperatives, European governments have lost sight of more long-term challenges posed by these arrivals. Little, if any, significant debate about how to promote the successful integration of these migrants into their new host societies has taken place.

With this paper, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights fills this gap and provides guidance to governments and parliaments on the design and implementation of successful integration policies. In particular, he presents the international legal standards which govern this field and sets forth a number of recommendations to facilitate the integration of migrants, with a focus on family reunification, residence rights, language and integration courses, access to the labour market and quality education, as well as protection from discrimination.

Download the document here