Anti-deportations campaign announced

A new anti-deportations campaign backed by refugee support groups and Amnesty International was announced in Dublin last night…

A new anti-deportations campaign backed by refugee support groups and Amnesty International was announced in Dublin last night.

The organisers of the Stop Deportations Campaign say it will be a lobby group and support network for failed asylum-seekers facing deportation.

Ms Ebi Ojoh, who is facing deportation to Nigeria after her claim to remain in Ireland as a refugee was rejected, travelled from her home in Tramore, Co Waterford, for the announcement of the campaign.

The campaign is a coalition of groups and organisations with a range of anti-deportation positions. It includes opponents of all deportations, as well as those whose opposition is based on concerns about the fairness of the asylum determination process and delays in processing claims.

READ MORE

Some campaign supporters protested outside Mountjoy prison in Dublin prior to the meeting. They were showing support for a 24-year-old African man being held in the Training Unit pending deportation.

Mr Anthony Benson (24), was working and living in Dundalk with his partner, who has secured refugee status, and is six months pregnant.

Ms Ursula Fraser, refugee officer with Amnesty International's Irish Section, told the meeting her organisation was opposed to deportations if there was any risk that a person would be sent back to danger.

The Government has promised a six-month period to process asylum applications, but this has not yet happened, she said.

"If applications aren't processed within a reasonable amount of time, then there will be instances where deportation is unjust," she added.