The European Union’s Plan to Amend the ‘First Country of Asylum’ and ‘Safe Third Country’ Concepts

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 580-596
Author(s):  
Reinhard Marx
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seeker ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
State Responsibility ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
The Common ◽  
Destination State

Abstract This article examines the European Commission’s 2016 proposals relating to asylum procedures and the Dublin mechanism. In particular, it analyses what State responsibility for protection means in the context of the ‘first country of asylum’ and ‘safe third country’ concepts, which are addressed in the Commission’s Asylum Procedures Proposal. What effect does the common responsibility of all parties to the Refugee Convention have on a particular State’s individual obligations when it examines a refugee’s application for protection? Can a State simply transfer asylum seekers to another State without seeking assurances from that ‘safe third country’ that they will be granted access to refugee status determination procedures? Does a State’s responsibility end after it removes an asylum seeker or is it obliged to cooperate with the destination State? Does merely transiting through a country mean that it is a ‘safe third country’ to which an asylum seeker can be returned? Can an asylum seeker be sent to a State that is safe in one or two regions, but is otherwise unstable? The article considers these and other questions, taking a sceptical approach to the European Commission’s proposal relating to the ‘safe third country’ concept.

Alternative paths to refugee and asylum seeker protection in Malaysia and Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atin Prabandari ◽  
Yunizar Adiputera
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
International Law ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Asylum Seeker ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
The One

This article explores how refugees in non-signatory countries in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia, have some protection through alternative paths under international refugee law. These two countries provide forms of protection even if they are not States Parties to the Refugee Convention. These two case studies show that the governance of protection for refugee and asylum seekers is provided through alternative paths, even in the absence of international law and statist processes. These alternative paths offer a degree of meaningful protection, even if this is not tantamount to resettlement. Alternative paths of protection are initiated mainly by non-state actors. The states try to manage alternative protective governance to secure their interests by maintaining their sovereignty, on the one hand, and performing humanitarian duties on the other. In this regard, Indonesia and Malaysia have resorted to meta-governance to balance these two concerns.

“The Problem of Witchcraft”: Violence and the Supernatural in Global African Refugee Mobilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 660-682
Author(s):  
Katherine Luongo
Keyword(s):  
Social Group ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
African Refugee ◽  
Push Factor

Abstract:Over the last two decades, witchcraft violence has emerged steadily as a “push factor” for African asylum seekers who argue that being accused of witchcraft or targeted with witchcraft renders them members of a “particular social group” (PSG), subject to persecution and eligible for refugee protection under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. This article examines the refugee status determination (RSD) processes through which immigration regimes in Canada and Australia have adjudicated allegations about witchcraft violence made by asylum seekers from across Anglophone Africa. It critiques the utility of expanding PSG along cultural lines without a commensurate expansion in adjudicators’ knowledge.

scholarly journals Anonymity and representation

2019 ◽  
pp. 175-182
Author(s):  
Isobel Blomfield ◽  
Caroline Lenette
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seeker ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Collaborative Editing ◽  
Precarious Situation ◽  
Positive Light

The five-minute film Mouth of a Shark (Isobel Blomfield, 2018) conveys a young woman’s experiences and precarious situation while she awaits an outcome on her refugee status determination in Australia. Aasiya (pseudonym) lives in community detention. Her interest in creating the film stemmed from her own acknowledgement that she had a platform as a young, literate asylum seeker woman with a “strong” story, and was therefore in a position to portray asylum seekers in a positive light. However, she cannot be identified in the film, even though it depicts her story, due to concerns over safety and her claim for asylum. We use this example to illustrate issues of anonymity and representation, and suggest strategies in line with our commitment to avoid depersonalising tropes in filmmaking. While we are committed to ensuring that people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds exercise agency in filmmaking, protecting Aasiya’s identity had to prevail. We wanted to avoid depersonalising tropes, and instead devised filming strategies that were more respectful of the protagonist and, within the constraint of anonymity, ensured that Aasiya could still represent her story in meaningful ways. We argue for an ethical model that reconciles the need for both anonymity and representation in filmmaking, especially through collaborative editing.

PROTECTING ASYLUM-SEEKERS PRIOR TO DETERMINATION OF REFUGEE STATUS: REINTERPRETING THE REFUGEE CONVENTION AND ASSESSING CONTEMPORARY STATE PRACTICE ON NON-REFOULEMENT

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Ghafur Hamid ◽  
Shaban Abdul Majeed Phiri
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
State Practice ◽  
Present Decade ◽  
Core Issue ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
Constituent Elements

The present decade is confronted with unprecedented refugee crises, dwarfing all similar refugee crises ever witnessed by mankind before. The plight of asylum-seekers, particularly prior to the determination of their refugee status by the host country, is of great concern to the UNHCR and the international community, as this is the time when they are most vulnerable. The sad situation of these asylum-seekers, their sufferings on small boats being packed like sardines on angry seas, and their pain in the hands of cruel human traffickers, beg the crucial question of whether they are protected in any way by international refugee law or left unprotected. With a view to answering this question, the present study applies the legal doctrinal method and attempts a holistic interpretation of articles 1A(2), 31(1) and 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The study finds that the term ‘refugee’ in these articles is in effect referring to ‘asylum-seekers’ who fulfil the constituent elements of a refugee under the Convention and that these asylum-seekers cum refugees are protected by the Convention even before the regularisation of their refugee status. The key protection stems from the principle of non-refoulement. State practice nevertheless is not encouraging and potential States of refuge are very weak in honouring this principle, which is a corner stone of international refugee law. The study concludes with suggestions for resolving this core issue.

Asylum-seekers falsely implicating themselves in international crimes: Should they be informed of the existence of Article 1F of the Refugee Convention?

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-101
Author(s):  
Brian Moore ◽  
Joris van Wijk
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Refugee Claim ◽  
The Uk ◽  
National Governments

Case studies in the Netherlands and the UK of asylum applicants excluded or under consideration of exclusion pursuant to Article 1Fa of the Refugee Convention reveal that some applicants falsely implicated themselves in serious crimes or behaviours in order to enhance their refugee claim. This may have serious consequences for the excluded persons themselves, as well as for national governments dealing with them. For this reason we suggest immigration authorities could consider forewarning asylum applicants i.e. before their interview, about the existence, purpose and possible consequences of exclusion on the basis of Article 1F.

scholarly journals “Do you understand (me)?” negotiating mutual understanding by using gaze and environmentally coupled gestures between two deaf signing participants

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Sivunen ◽  
Elina Tapio
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seeker ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The State ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Multimodal Analysis ◽  
Semiotic Resources ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Language Competencies ◽  
Unrealistic Expectations ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractIn this paper we explore the use of multimodal and multilingual semiotic resources in interactions between two deaf signing participants, a researcher and an asylum seeker. The focus is on the use of gaze and environmentally coupled gestures. Drawing on multimodal analysis and linguistic ethnography, we demonstrate how gaze and environmentally coupled gestures are effective semiotic resources for reaching mutual understanding. The study provides insight into the challenges and opportunities (deaf) asylum seekers, researchers, and employees of reception centres or the state may encounter because of the asymmetrical language competencies. Our concern is that such asymmetrical situations may be created and maintained by ignoring visual and embodied resources in interaction and, in the case of deaf asylum seekers, by unrealistic expectations towards conventionalized forms of international sign.

scholarly journals The 1969 African Refugee Convention: Innovations, Misconceptions, and Omissions

2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Sharpe
Keyword(s):  
Economic Rights ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
Common Misconception ◽  
The Common ◽  
African Refugee ◽  
Critical Overview

This paper provides a critical overview of the 1969 African refugee convention, beginning with a survey of its legal innovations. It then addresses the most misunderstood of them—the unique refugee definition—in depth, with an emphasis on dispelling the common misconception that it is particularly expansive. Finally, it investigates the 1969 Convention’s silence regarding refugees’ civil and political, and socio-economic rights, and how it works as the “regional complement” to the 1951 global refugee convention in that regard.

scholarly journals Exploring the Use of Hip Hop-Based Music Therapy to Address Trauma in Asylum Seeker and Unaccompanied Minor Migrant Youth

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salih Gulbay
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
Asylum Seeker ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Intervention Models ◽  
Migrant Youth ◽  
Trauma Informed

There are numerous young asylum seekers and unaccompanied migrant minors around the globe. A comprehensive literature review revealed that post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common disorder that affects the asylum seeker youth and migrant minor populations. Many of these individuals struggle with PTSD and show resilience in their daily lives while also learning, discovering, and surviving. Accordingly, therapeutic interventions directed to them must be trauma-informed, phased, engaging, empowering, and impactful to support the needs of these young people. A seven-month-long music therapy intervention experience that was applied to young asylum seekers in Spain, and found that the most effective intervention tools were Hip Hop Therapy-related interventions. This study resulted in a new intervention model, The Integral Hip Hop Methodology. This paper highlights the importance that intervention models be engaging and considerate to the necessities and preferences of the addressed population and presents The Integral Hip Hop Methodology as an example.

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