Asylum seekers still face detention and disbelief

Patrick Corrigan, director of Amnesty International NI, is a member of the Refugee Action Group which has recently published Forced to Flee (see news, page 5). He explains what is wrong with the way asylum seekers are treated here.

Asylum seekers are often fleeing desperate human rights situations in countries like Iraq and Zimbabwe. It is of great concern that, when they reach Northern Ireland and assert their legal right to refuge, they may be met with racism, disbelief from immigration officials, and sometimes transported to detention centres away from their families.

Dungavel

Asylum seekers are no longer held in prison in Northern Ireland, unless they are suspected of committing a crime. However, since 2006 immigration detainees (including some asylum applicants) have been sent to removal centres in Britain, mostly to Dungavel Immigration Centre in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Some are taken to Dungavel because they entered Northern Ireland unlawfully, although this is an inherent hazard of fleeing persecution without documentation, others because they have failed in their asylum claim.

In May this year, Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers criticised the fact that asylum seekers are often held overnight in poorly equipped police cells in Belfast prior to the journey to Dungavel, are handcuffed while being transported and, perhaps most worryingly, are not always given access to proper legal advice.

Dungavel’s location makes visiting virtually impossible for detainees with family members remaining in Northern Ireland.

The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) is planning to open an enforcement unit in Northern Ireland in the near future and number of officers have already joined the unit. It is understood that its main role will be to find and remove people deemed to be in Northern Ireland unlawfully; including refused or ‘failed’ asylum seekers.

RAG has concerns that the unit will attempt to remove some applicants who have not yet had their asylum claim finally determined, especially as BIA records are often out of date. Such persons are more vulnerable in Northern Ireland because of the new detention arrangements.

The detention of people seeking asylum in Northern Ireland is often not being carried out in line with international standards.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees guidelines say that detention of asylum seekers may only be resorted to, if necessary, in very narrow circumstances and that it should only take place where it is reasonable to do so and without discrimination.

Detention applied as part of a policy to deter future asylum seekers is contrary to the principles of international protection and under no circumstances should it be used as a punitive or disciplinary measure.

An unfair system

The current system is far from fair. The practice of transporting people to Great Britain is very unsatisfactory. RAG would prefer to see claimants housed in hostel-style accommodation where they can maintain contact with family and legal representation in Northern Ireland.

The Home Office interpretation of the UN Convention on asylum is often very narrow. The complexity of the initial claim form (which can only be completed in English) means that many asylum seekers have their claim rejected for ‘non-compliance’ (the incorrect completion of the form). Decisions are often based on inaccurate and out of date information about the countries people are fleeing from, unreasoned decisions about people’s credibility and a failure to properly consider complex torture cases.

In March 2007, the Home Office began implementing its New Asylum Model for a faster, more tightly managed asylum process. Claims are now processed quicker but this has led to fears that they are not being dealt with as thoroughly. In Northern Ireland, we are particularly affected by the lack of a Public Enquiry Office, which was closed in 2001. The Immigration Service’s only presence is at the International Airport with a limited responsibility.

This means asylum seekers have to claim asylum through a third party and it is not always clear which section of the Immigration Service should deal with each case.

Finally, there are problems with the constant flow of legislation which can be viewed as knee jerk reactions to an ongoing, complex issue. There is a need for a concise, single piece of legislation that clearly lays out the procedure of seeking asylum whilst protecting the rights of all individuals concerned.