June 1921

The League of Nations, forerunner of the United Nations, establishes the High Commission for Refugees which is mandated principally to help 800,000 Russian refugees.

February 1946

In the wake of World War II, the U.N. General Assembly establishes the International Refugee Organization. Between 1947-1951 it helps 1,620,000 people, mainly in Germany and Austria.

January 1951

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees replaces the IRO and begins work. In July the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is adopted and provides the most comprehensive codification of refugee rights in history. The Convention is limited to persons who become refugees before January 1, 1951. States are free to limit refugee claims to victims of events in Europe.

January 1967

A Protocol to the Refugee Convention is adopted, extending protection to all refugees, whatever the date they were forced to leave their countries and removing the geographical limitation to Europe.

June 1990

Five nations – Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Germany – sign the Schengen Implementation Agreement which, when fully implemented five years later, envisages the end of border controls and free travel between member states. All EU member states except Ireland and the UK join by the end of the 1990s. June 1990 The Dublin Convention (which enters into force in 1997) is the first major step by Europe to coordinate national asylum policies, establishing the responsibility of individual countries to examine asylum requests.

February 1992

The Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) empowers Justice and Home Affairs Ministers to establish a framework for a Europe-wide asylum policy.

June 1992

Ministers adopt a Resolution on Minimum Guarantees for Asylum Procedures containing a number of safeguards for applicants, but crucially allowing states to set some of these aside in certain circumstances.

November 1994

A model 'readmission agreement' is adopted in Brussels which EU member states can conclude with non-member countries making it possible to send asylum seekers back to countries they had transitted en route to Union territory. Many such bilateral agreements are subsequently signed.

March 1996

A Joint Position on the Harmonized Application of the Definition of the Term 'Refugee' in the Geneva Convention tackles the interpretation of the definition of a refugee. It allows states to follow a restrictive approach favored by several countries which would bar victims of 'non state' persecution by groups such as armed militias from being granted asylum.

June 1997

The Treaty of Amsterdam, (which enters into force in May 1999), provides a detailed legal basis for the harmonization of common asylum and migration policies.

October 1999

The Tampere Conclusions establish the political objectives of a common asylum policy based on "the absolute respect for the right to claim asylum" and the "full and inclusive application" of the 1951 Convention.

1999-2001

The European Commission submits to member states four draft directives and one draft regulation that form the heart of the first phase of asylum harmonization.

December 2000

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union enshrines asylum as a basic right within the Union.

July 2001

The first major instrument towards European-wide asylum harmonization is adopted. The Council Directive establishes burden sharing and minimum protection standards in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons.

June 2002

The Seville Conclusions focus on measures to combat illegal immigration, border management and readmission and return.

January 2003

The second of four Council Directives establishes minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers including accommodation, health care, education, employment and legal security. States, however, are given the opportunity to opt out of some and reduce or withdraw benefits under certain circumstances.

February 2003

A Council Regulation (Dublin II), essentially a revision of the ineffectual 1990 Dublin Convention, redefines the responsibilities of member states in examining asylum applications.

March 2004

Justice and Home Affairs Ministers agree the text of a Qualification Directive which defines who qualifies as a refugee and who qualifies for a more limited or 'subsidiary' degree of legal protection.

30 April 2004

Two days before 10 new members join the Union, the EU Council agrees the text of the Asylum Procedures Directive covering such issues as rights of appeal and the designation of so-called 'safe' countries. It is the last of the five pieces of legislation designed to harmonize asylum policies among member states.

Source: Refugees Magazine Issue 135: "New Europe and Asylum – What Next?" (June 2004). Download the complete issue in pdf format: low-resolution (520Kb) here or high-resolution (1.5Mb) here