OPINION:The right to family reunification for all migrants should be enshrined in statute in a clear, fair and inclusive manner, writes Catherine Kenny
THE ANNOUNCEMENT by Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Dermot Ahern that he has ordered a review of immigration procedures in light of his department's failure for three years to notify a Somali refugee that her family could join her in Ireland is to be welcomed.
Refugees have a legal right to be reunited with their immediate family members in Ireland in accordance with the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended).
For many refugees, however, the application process is characterised by lengthy delays and a lack of transparency, clarity and accessible information.
The Somalian family case before the High Court clearly illustrates the department's failure to respond expeditiously to correspondence from applicants inquiring about situations of essential importance in their lives. The Refugee Information Service had a small role in this unfortunate story, as at one point we assisted the applicant in one of her communications with the department. Most of these communications were unsuccessful, not even meriting a reply, which forced the woman and her lawyer to lodge a freedom of information request.
It should be remembered, as pointed out in last Saturday's editorial in this newspaper, that Somalia is one of the most dangerous places on earth.
Under both the Constitution and international human rights law, the family is recognised as the fundamental unit of society.
The right of everyone to enjoy their private life and family life is similarly guaranteed under international and regional human rights instruments, including the European Convention on Human Rights, which has been incorporated into Irish law.
Refugees are people who have fled their country of origin due to a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis or religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group. They therefore cannot return to their home country and may only enjoy family life in the state where they have been granted protection.
The majority of people who have fled persecution in their country of origin and have been declared refugees in Ireland will have left family members behind. The reasons for this are manifold. Sometimes it is too dangerous to travel with small children, or the family cannot obtain the necessary documents to travel together. Some families may become separated in their home country and family members may arrive in Ireland unaware of whether their loved ones have survived.
Seeking reunification with family members, who are in most cases living in difficult and dangerous conditions, is a priority for refugees in Ireland.
Applications for family reunification are taking 30 months on average to process to completion. That is 2½ years without the comfort and company of close relatives. In the case of the Somali woman, she has been deprived of three years of her young son and daughter's lives.
This sort of delay, added to the length of time applicants spend in the asylum determination process, means that many families can be separated for at least four years and often longer. Many of those affected are children, and Ireland has clear obligations under article 10 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This states that applications by a child or by his/her parents to enter or leave a state for the purposes of family reunification shall be dealt with in a positive, humane and expeditious manner.
Enforced separations cause untold hardship for refugees and their families and increase their isolation and marginalisation in Irish society. It has been widely recognised in contemporary social research that family reunification has a positive impact on settlement and integration into a host country.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, reunited families have a better chance of successfully integrating into the host country than individual refugees. Reunification is therefore in the interests of the refugees, but also of the host country.
It is acknowledged that all applications for family reunification must be thoroughly investigated. However, most applications should be processed to completion within six months.
Procedural failures are not the only difficulties faced by applicants for family reunification in Ireland. The definition of what constitutes the family for the purposes of family reunification is very narrow, limited to spouse and children under 18 in the case of an adult refugee and to parents in the case of minor refugees.
Refugees may be granted permission to be joined by other dependent family members at the discretion of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. This provision is particularly onerous and, it could be argued, unreasonable for refugees who are separated children - a particularly vulnerable group of young people who are in Ireland without their parents or customary caregiver. If they wish to apply for family reunification for their parents and siblings, they must demonstrate that they are supporting their siblings financially, a requirement that is generally impossible to satisfy for such applicants, who for the most part are still at school.
Under the Refugee Act, individuals who flee persecution on the basis of their sexual orientation may be declared a refugee in Ireland. However, gay and lesbian refugees are not permitted to apply for family reunification for their partner, as only spouses may be granted family reunification under the Act.
The Refugee Information Service urges the Minister to make the necessary amendments to the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008 to ensure that the rights of these refugees to family reunification are guaranteed. The final Act should also set out clearly the rights of all migrants to family reunification and the right of appeal for those whose applications are unsuccessful.
A review of procedures is a welcome start, but the Minister must also take the opportunity to ensure that the right to family reunification for all migrants is enshrined in statute in a clear, fair and inclusive manner.
Refugees and asylum seekers are human beings with the same needs, loving relationships and sorrows as Irish people. It is time the Department of Justice recognised this in its everyday work.
Catherine Kenny is head of policy and research at the Refugee Information Service