Petition to the European Union and the Schengen States

In solidarity, let's end the suffering of non-Ukrainians fleeing war

The war forced more than eight million Ukrainians into exile. Third country nationals, mostly students, who were living in Ukraine were also forced to flee the bombing.

Europe is showing a great deal of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. But unfortunately, this solidarity does not extend to all victims of the same conflict. Hundreds of people from Africa and Asia are excluded from "temporary protection" status in the European Union (EU) and the Schengen area.

The legal basis for this differential treatment is the EU decision of 4 March 2022 granting "temporary protection" to Ukrainian refugees. Several countries bound by the Schengen Agreement have used this as a basis for their reception policies for people fleeing the conflict.

In order to be granted protection, third country nationals must have a valid residence permit in Ukraine and demonstrate that they cannot return to their country in a safe and sustainable manner. It is proposed that those who do not meet these conditions apply for asylum, which would most likely result in their removal, as they are students and do not have grounds for asylum.

More than four months after the outbreak of the conflict, the European decision offers protection to Ukrainians but exacerbates the suffering of thousands of third-country nationals. These non-Ukrainians are traumatized by the war and the rejection of their request for protection, which jeopardizes in particular the continuation of the training of students fleeing the war.

According to Unesco, in 2020, Ukraine will have about 61,000 foreign students. Invisible in the figures on the war, these students are for example estimated by associations that defend them to a thousand in France and less than a hundred in Switzerland. In Ukraine, they studied cybercrime, computer science, medicine or chemistry.

In an appeal for help launched on June 17, 2022 in Switzerland, as part of World Refugee Day, students from third countries explain that a return to their country without completing their education would further shatter their lives. Feeling abandoned by world leaders and international organizations, these people fleeing Ukraine say they are unlearning day by day and that the uncertainty surrounding their ability to access education is eating away at them. They ask Europe to give them a chance to complete the education they started in Ukraine.

Our solidarity and help to the people fleeing the war in Ukraine must not depend on the nationality of the victims. We, the peoples of Europe, Africa, Asia, America and the world, call on the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Council and the governments of each state in the Schengen area, including the Swiss Federal Council, to:

• extend temporary protection to all refugees fleeing Ukraine regardless of their nationality
• to urgently set up an ad hoc system on a European scale allowing students from third countries to continue their education in European universities and colleges
• to issue, failing that, facilitated student permits before the start of the academic year 2022-2023 to third-country nationals to enable them to continue their education in European universities and colleges for the duration of the war

By granting these requests, Europe will make history by putting an end to the distress of third country nationals affected by war on its territory. It would also contribute to write a more glorious page of North-South relations.