Youth given leave to seek asylum ruling

A 17-YEAR-old youth who fled to Ireland from Congo after seeing his parents shot dead and his sister raped has been given leave by the High Court to seek an order directing the Minister for Justice to immediately consider his application for asylum.

The court was told the Minister has failed to adhere to procedures stipulated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the processing of asylum applications made by minors.

In an affidavit, the youth's solicitor, Mr Pol O Murchu, said the Minister had failed to have regard to the vulnerability of the boy as a minor and had not accorded him his constitutional rights in failing to appoint a guardian to look after his needs during the asylum determination process.

The youth was born and grew up in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire. He arrived in Ireland in May 1997 and, without legal advice, completed his application for political asylum on May 9th. He was interviewed at the Department of Justice on July 31st and has not yet had a decision on his application. He is living on welfare in bedsit accommodation subsidised by the Eastern Health Board.

In an affidavit, the youth said his parents were teachers in the DRC and he had a sister and brother. His father was an active member of the MPR (Mouvement Populaire de la Revolution) and a teacher, whose role was to teach the ideology of the ousted President Mobutu.

The youth was a member of a youth group and distributed invitations to meetings with other Mobutu supporters.

He said he and his family were constantly threatened and told they would be dealt with when Mobutu lost power. In March 1997, he was at home with his family when soldiers loyal to the rebel leader Laurent Kabila, now president of Congo, broke down the door of their home.

His father went to see what was happening and he and his brother hid under a bed. His sister was raped by the soldiers and when his father tried to intervene, he was shot dead. His mother was also shot dead when she tried to go after the man who shot his father.

The youth said he fled through a rear window and ran to a church where he hid for two days. A priest had helped him flee the country and had accompanied him to Dublin. He had not seen the priest since and believed the priest was afraid that, having harboured the youth, he would have "problems" with Kabila's soldiers.

Ms Teresa Baker, for the minor, said the Department of Justice, in dealing with the minor, had not adhered to UNHCR procedures regarding applications for asylum made by minors. Her client would turn 18 at the end of this month and she was anxious his rights as a minor to date should be observed.

Mr Justice Geoghegan granted leave to seek orders, by way of judicial review, directing the Minister for Justice to consider the minor's application forthwith in accordance with the UN provisions on the status of refugees having regard to UNHCR Guidelines on Policies and Procedures in dealing with Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum.

Leave was also given to seek a declaration that the Minister, his servants or agents failed to protect the natural and constitutional rights of the minor and, in particular, failed to have regard to his rights as a minor.

The judge further granted an application to have a named woman appointed guardian of the youth for the purpose of legal proceedings.