Madam, - I wish to respond to various reports and letters regarding opinions attributed to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) about the Irish asylum procedure.
Several letters have commented on UNHCR's description of the Irish asylum system as a "good system". I would like to make some clarifications regarding our position.
The UNHC is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote and oversee the application of the 1951 Convention regarding the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol. Directly in line with this mandate, we prepare policy positions and guidelines on different aspects of international refugee protection, including the establishment of and access to a fair and efficient asylum procedure.
As Ireland is party to both the 1951 Convention and its protocol, it must apply these instruments and the international legally binding norms they contain.
The UNHCR has commended the Irish asylum process, as laid down in the amended 1996 Refugee Act, because it meets these binding norms. In particular, we welcome the fact that asylum-seekers who present themselves at the border are largely given access to the asylum procedure without the systematic use of detention, as is seen elsewhere.
Equally, the UNHCR is satisfied that the current Refugee Act has adopted the refugee definition of the 1951 Convention, including the wording of other important clauses.
The UNHCR has also praised the fact that Ireland widened its definition of membership of a particular social group to include "membership of a trade union, group of persons whose defining characteristic is their belonging to the female or the male sex or having a particular sexual orientation".
The UNHCR has commended Ireland for the procedural safeguards it makes available at the first and second instance of the refugee status determination procedure, including: access to a first full interview on the merits of the application; interpretation in a language the applicant understands; the right for female applicants to be interviewed by a female interviewers and interpreters; the right to legal representation provided by the Refugee Legal Service; the assignment of a social worker to separated children; information to applicants on the reasoning of decisions as well as the right to appeal; and the suspensive effect of appeal applications.
These examples and the continued commitment from the authorities to train staff involved in the process are just some of the reasons why the UNHCR has cited the Irish procedure as being among the fairest in Europe.
The fact that the UNHCR acknowledges the achievements of the Irish system is not to say that we do not remain concerned from time to time about matters arising from the implementation of these rules and regulations. We will continue to support all parties involved in the system to ensure that standards are met and continually improved. - Yours, etc,
MANUEL JORDÃO, UNHCR Representation in Ireland, Suite 4, 1-3 Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2.