THE UNITED Nations Committee Against Torture has expressed serious concerns about the State’s asylum policy, particularly the rapidly declining recognition rates for refugees.
At the end of a two-day hearing on Ireland’s human rights record, the committee suggested the recession was provoking a tougher immigration policy.
“As your economy declines you are becoming more drastic against migrants – maybe you are becoming more drastic against refugees,” said committee member Luis Gallegos Chiriboga.
Mr Chiriboga said Ireland currently rejected about 98.5 per cent of applications for refugee status. He said this was “a little extreme”, and urged the Government to reform its asylum system.
The number of asylum seekers granted refugee status by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner has declined considerably in recent years, falling to below 1.5 per cent in 2010 from almost 10 per cent in 2007. This is the lowest rate in the EU and significantly below the average recognition rate of 27 per cent.
In submissions to the committee, several NGOs warned that the exceptionally low refugee recognition rates in Ireland could mean some victims of torture were not given the protection they need.
Committee members raised concerns about the four- to five-year delays asylum seekers can face before getting a decision. They recommended that the Government publish all decisions issued by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal – the State body that adjudicates on asylum seekers’ appeals against decisions refusing refugee status. “These are worrying aspects of the current legislation that could be addressed,” committee member Fernando Marino Menendez said.
Department of Justice secretary general Seán Aylward, head of the Irish delegation present, rejected the committee’s criticism: “It would keep me from my sleep at night if I thought even one person was denied shelter in our country who was fleeing persecution. But I do not believe that is the case.”
The Irish system was being undermined by misinformation, propaganda and what amounted to a “legal racket” among immigration lawyers, he said. Delays in the decision-making process were caused by “ambush-type applications” to the courts by applicants, often at the very last minute.
The Government would pass new immigration legislation to address an inherent flaw in the asylum system that forces people seeking other forms of international protection – separate from refugee status – to have their claims heard more quickly, he added. “I believe when we do this we will smash almost what has become a legal racket in Ireland, stringing out the process of checking the validity of people illegally in the State,” he said.
Kevin O’Sullivan, principal officer dealing with immigration at the Department of Justice, said Ireland’s asylum process “is and always has been a fair one”, uninfluenced by economic factors.
He said the low recognition rates for refugee status were due to the different profile of asylum seeker attracted to the country when compared to other EU states. He said Ireland was a small, peripheral country, difficult to get to for those fleeing persecution.
He said there had been a drop in asylum claims from “high grant” countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. He said a large number of the asylum seekers in Ireland (20 per cent) were Nigerians, who were typically not granted asylum in other EU countries.
The committee will now prepare a formal report on the hearing containing recommendations for the Government to implement. It has no power to force the Government to comply.