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Petition to the European Union and the Schengen States

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

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Signatures

   Objectifs :  

  • Personnalités : 10 signatures  
  • Organisations : 20 signatures   
  • Citoyen.nes : 250 signatures

Europe is showing a great deal of solidarity with Ukrainians fleeing the war. Unfortunately, this solidarity does not extend to all victims of the same conflict. Hundreds of students from Africa and Asia who have fled Ukraine are desperately asking European countries to allow them to continue their studies, as returning to their home countries without completing their education would further shatter their lives. They need your support.

Read the full petition

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.

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:

Global citizens who support us:

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Switzerland
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France
0
Belgium
0
Spain
0
Italy
0
Portugal
0
Germany
0
Canada
0
Afrique

The personalities who support our petition:​

Nationalrat Christophe Clivaz, GP-VS, portraitiert am Montag, 9. Dezember 2019 in Bern. (Parlamentsdienste/Alessandro della Valle)

Christophe Clivaz

Christophe Clivaz ist ein Schweizer Politiker. Er sitzt als Mitglied des Nationalrats im Parlament.

Lizza Mazonne DR site web

Lisa Mazzone

Swiss politician, member of the Green Party . She is a member of parliament for the canton of Geneva in the National Council from 2015 to 2019, then in the Council of States.

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Boubacar Boris Diop

Senegalese writer and intellectual. In 2000, he received the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire for the whole of his work

Par Photograph by Rama, Wikimedia Commons,

Cc-by-sa-2.0-fr, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr,

photo_2022-07-11_18-29-25

Estelle Borel

Professional artist graduated from FLIC, scuola di circo di Torino (IT).
Estelle co-founded the Cie Cirqu'en Choc in 2009 and has been its artistic director ever since. She is a very committed and creative artist who likes to be close to the public.

Photo : Jeelle Anzevui

photo_2022-07-18_08-46-06

Pierre-André THIEBAUD

Author, director and producer in Switzerland. Since 1990 he has directed the production company PCT cinéma.

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Isabelle Chevalley

Dr Sciences, specialist in circular economy, member of the Swiss National Assembly from 2011 to 2021, has been visiting Africa for 30 years with numerous projects.

PierreBuehler_5

Pierre Bühler

Pierre Bühler, professor emeritus at the Universities of Neuchâtel and Zurich. Theologian and ethicist in the field of migration and asylum.

noemimichel_m

Noemi Michel

Researcher-teacher, cultural worker and activist in the field of black critical thought.

Photo Etonam 24h- @Patrick Martin

Etonam Ahianyo

Etonam Ahianyo is a journalist and change agent. He coordinates Save African-Ukraine, a project of the Swiss association "Causes Oubliées", which helps Africans and other non-Ukrainian nationals fleeing war and defends their interests throughout Europe.

The following organisations support us

Europe

1- Causes Oubliées, Switzerland

2- Droit de Rester Neuchâtel, Switzerland

3- Solidarité sans frontières, Switzerland

4- Society Moko, Switzerland

5- Centre Suisses-Immigrés Valais (CSI VS), Switzerland

6- Apprentissages sans frontières, Switzerland

7- CRAN-Observatoire du racisme anti-Noir en Suisse

8- Collectif Afro-Swiss, Switzerland

9- Solidaires étudiant-e-s, France

10- Association Projet Nauyaca, Switzerland

11- REPER, Switzerland

12- Société Suisse d’ Espéranto, Switzerland

13- Collectif Afroféminist Amani, Switzerland

14- ARRiVATi, Germany

15- Africans From Ukraine, Germany

16- africanlivesmatter, Irlande du Nord

17- Choosehumanity, Switzerland

18- CEDETIM Centre d’études et d’initiatives de solidarité internationale, France

19- Réseau syndical international de solidarité et de luttes, France

Afrique

1- DIARISSO, Sénégal

2- Patronat de la Presse Togolaise, Togo

3-  Institut des Médias pour la Démocratie et les Droits de l’Homme (IM2DH), Togo

4- African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation(ITUC-Africa), Togo

America and the rest of the world

Save Africans-Ukraine is a project of the Swiss association “Causes Oubliées”, which helps Africans and other non-Ukrainians fleeing war and defends their interests throughout Europe.

CONTACT

«Causes Oubliées/Forgotten Causes»

C/o Espace Création,

Rue de la Dixence 10

1950 Sion

Tél :+41 78 243 09 10

saveafricans.ukraine@gmail.com

SUPPORT OUR CAUSE

CH94 8080 8001 6528 02461

Causes Oubliées/Forgotten Causes

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