Letter of the Day

Both the UK and Irish governments are failing asylum seekers

Ireland’s obligations under international human rights law and under the Belfast Agreement cannot be sacrificed or undermined

Letter of the Day
Letter of the Day
Fri May 03 2024 - 05:00

Sir, – We write as organisations concerned with the protection of human rights across the island of Ireland, and especially with the rights of migrants and people seeking asylum. We have profound concerns at the draconian approach taken by the UK government to people seeking international protection, including with its Rwanda scheme, directly defying its own courts and international law.

In response, the Irish Minister for Justice has made questionable and unsubstantiated claims relating to international protection applications emanating from across the land border, and consequently redeployed 100 gardaí to unclear “frontline roles”.

Whatever the accuracy of such assertions, Ireland’s obligations under international human rights law and under the Belfast Agreement cannot be sacrificed or undermined.

Subsequent assurances that gardaí will not be assigned to police the Border ring hollow in the context that such selective Garda passport checks on the Border already take place, at times on the basis of quite blatant racial discrimination. A recent Garda report to the Policing Authority confirmed these checks are ongoing.

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A 2023 ESRI report on migrant experience of crossing the border, commissioned by the Government’s own Shared Island Unit, found that “border checks and racial profiling were a consistent theme” in which “participants reported many incidents of racial profiling with particular groups of people are asked to produce their passports” on the basis of “skin colour” and other ethnic indicators.

Far from being ramped up, these ethnic profiling practices need to stop once and for all.

We call on authorities in both jurisdictions to ensure effective access to the asylum procedure, as per their legal obligations.

We also call for greater transparency as this week’s diplomatic row has shone a light on how collaboration between the UK and Ireland within the Common Travel Area (CTA) has long been shrouded in secrecy, with unpublished agreements and closed-door meetings.

We all have a stake in protecting the hard-won freedoms on the island of Ireland and must stay true to our values, and adhere to international obligations. – Yours, etc,

LIAM HERRICK,

Irish Council for

Civil Liberties;

DANIEL HOLDER,

Committee on the

Administration of Justice;

EDEL McGINLEY,

Migrant Rights Centre

Ireland;

STEPHEN BOWEN,

Amnesty International

Ireland;

PATRICK CORRIGAN,

Amnesty International

Northern Ireland;

CLAIRE MULLALY,

End Deportations Belfast;

EILIS BARRY,

Free Legal Advice Centres;

BRIAN KILLORAN,

Immigrant Council

of Ireland;

OWEN REIDY,

Irish Congress

of Trade Unions;

SHANE O’CURRY,

Irish Network

Against Racism;

NICK HENDERSON,

Irish Refugee Council;

BULELANI MFACO,

Movement of Asylum

Seekers in Ireland;

LILIAN SEENOI-BARR,

Northwest Migrants Forum;

PATRICIA McKEOWN,

Unison Northern Ireland.