‘Culture of disbelief’ mars asylum seeker system
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
THE need for radical change to the asylum seeker system as well as a "culture of disbelief" were highlighted by the Irish Refugee Council (IRC) yesterday.
Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness launched the council’s "roadmap for asylum reform", which argues Ireland’s system should be overhauled and follow the example of New Zealand and Britain, where decisions are made in public. Ms Justice McGuinness said she had seen situations in which "justice has not always been done" in the asylum process, particularly regarding appeals.
She also referred to the "endless stream" of judicial reviews in the courts, while asylum applicants remained within the direct provision system for years.
The IRC highlighted inadequate legal advice at the start of the process, a "culture of disbelief", in which those charged with deciding the merits of someone’s case began with the view that the applicant was lying, and a lack of transparency regarding documents relied upon by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, but not disclosed to the applicant.
The IRC also noted that decisions by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal are not published, that tribunal members were not independently appointed, and an over-reliance on the judicial review mechanism.
The council said: "The absence of a single procedure for the consideration of asylum and subsidiary protection or leave to remain creates unnecessary delays" while "there is no efficient appeals mechanism to consider asylum and immigration claims".
Read more: http://examiner.ie/ireland/politics/culture-of-disbelief-mars-asylum-seeker-system-167384.html#.TncN425f-VF.facebook#ixzz1YOmBJoEW
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