scholarly journals The Map and the Territory: The Use of Country Information in Asylum Assessments

2021 ◽  
pp. 019791832110288
Author(s):  
Tone Maia Liodden
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Uncertain Information ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Objective Representation

When determining who should be accepted as a refugee, decision-makers use information about asylum-seekers’ home countries to assess the credibility of the claim and the risk of future persecution. As such, country information plays a decisive role in the outcome of asylum claims. Based on asylum case files and interviews with decision-makers in Norway, I investigate the use of country information in the refugee status determination process and compare the specific pieces of country information that decision-makers used in their assessments to landmarks on maps. Landmarks here are understood as decision-makers’ interpretations about places, customs, and political and social conditions in asylum-seekers’ home countries. To come across as credible, applicants had to demonstrate knowledge of landmarks familiar to decision-makers, but they also needed to present a story that testified to their personal experience with the landscape in their home countries. Minor deviations from the landmarks could undermine a claim’s credibility. The metaphor of the map as a seemingly objective representation of reality illustrates the authority of country information in the refugee status determination process. As I demonstrate, however, decision-makers based their knowledge of such landmarks not only on formal sources of information, but also on the narratives of other applicants, assumptions about rational behavior, and their own everyday experience with places. In line with the legal mandate to produce a binary decision, decision-makers had to consolidate uncertain information into solid landmarks that enabled them to clearly distinguish between refugees and non-refugees. Because of their important role in enabling such distinctions, landmarks are key in refugee protection on the one hand and migration control on the other.

scholarly journals Canada - A Long Way To Go: The Designated Country of Origin Policy and Refugee Protection

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-16
Author(s):  
Rejean Ghanem
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
International Protection ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Political Response ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

The Designated Country of Origin (DCO) policy was a political response to unwanted migration in Canada. Adapted from Europe, Harper took a liking to the EU’s SCO policy after Canada received a large influx of Middle Eastern and Balkan refugees seeking asylum. He adapted it in Canada, renaming it Designated Country of Origin (DCO). Under the DCO, the government of Canada would decide if a refugee's country of origin was dangerous enough to be considered for asylum. If the asylum seekers country is determined as safe, that person would be disregarded and sent back to their country of origin. Many refugees who had already settled in Canada had their files reopened and were told to return to their country of origin. The DCO policy became an integral part of the refugee status determination process in Canada to which some regarded as faulty, inefficient, and unjust. In 2019, the SCO was deemed unconstitutional and violated The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, wanted to create an asylum system that was considered fair and efficient. While it is important for an asylum seeker to prove they are truthful about the facts of their case, the DCO policy represents a climate of hostility towards migrants in Canada. In this piece, it will be argued that the DCO policy is a discriminatory migration tool used to “weed out” what the government deems as fake migrants. This policy could deny international protection to those who are genuinely in need. The DCO proves that the nation has a misleading reputation of being welcoming to all who come. The DCO threatened the human rights of asylum seekers who sought refuge in Canada. 

Canadian Exclusion Jurisprudence post-Febles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Joeck
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Status ◽  
International Refugee Law

Abstract This article examines the state of Canadian refugee law since the decision of the Supreme Court in Febles v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) [2014] 3 SCR 431. Drawing upon an analysis of a set of decisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board, the administrative tribunal tasked with refugee status determination in Canada, the article seeks to determine whether administrative decision makers are heeding the guidance of Febles when excluding asylum seekers from refugee protection on the basis of serious criminality pursuant to article 1F(b) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. In doing so, it examines the controversy around article 1F(b) since its inception across various jurisdictions and amongst academic commentators, situating Febles within that controversy in order to demonstrate that the Supreme Court’s reluctance to clearly set out the purpose underlying article 1F(b) is in step with a longstanding tendency to understand the provision as serving a gatekeeping function, that prevents criminalized non-citizens from obtaining membership in our society. It argues that by omitting to set out a clear and principled standard by which asylum seekers can be excluded from refugee protection pursuant to article 1F(b), the Supreme Court failed to live up to a thick understanding of the rule of law. It concludes by calling for a reassertion of the rule of law into exclusion decision making, both nationally and internationally, in order to ensure that the legitimacy of the international refugee law regime is maintained.

“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 Knowledge as Practice: Producing Decisional Certainty

2020 ◽  
pp. 75-115
Author(s):  
Laura Affolter
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Know How

AbstractMuch uncertainty inheres in refugee status determination and particularly credibility assessments. This chapter deals with how asylum caseworkers attempt to overcome such uncertainties in order to reach enough decisional certainty for categorising asylum seekers into one of four legal categories: refugee with asylum, refugee with temporary admission, non-refugee with temporary admission and non-refugee without temporary admission. I argue that decision-makers’ explicit “country knowledge” as well as their implicit know-how of how to carry out their tasks and their “gut feeling”—which building on Reckwitz (Zeitschrift für Soziologie 32:4: 282–301, 2003) I conceptualise as professional-practical knowledge—plays a crucial role thereby. Furthermore, this chapter shows how basing negative asylum decisions on non-credibility rather than non-eligibility to refugee status serves as a means for overcoming uncertainties inherent in asylum decision-making, leading to the (re-)production of the so-called “culture of disbelief” in asylum administration.

scholarly journals Refugeeness, Sexuality, and Gender: Spatialized Lived Experiences of Intersectionality by Queer Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Paris

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florent Chossière
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Subjective Effects ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Gender Minorities ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
Sexuality And Gender ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

In the last few years, asylum claims based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity (SOGI) have received increased attention within migration and queer studies. Mostly focusing on the refugee status determination process, these works have emphasized how the expectations of asylum institutions about “genuine queer refugees” lead to the exclusion of many applicants from SOGI asylum. This paper aims at shifting the analysis perspective from the legal categorization process to the impacts of everyday experienced categories of “asylum seekers” or “refugees” on queer migrants in the Parisian area. Using a three-year long ethnographic fieldwork, completed through interviews with queer asylum seekers and refugees, this paper investigates how refugeeness, understood as the objective and subjective effects of migration and asylum policies on individuals, contributes to shaping lived experiences of sexual and gender minorities in France. By drawing attention to the ways that the multiple power relationships queer asylum seekers and refugees have to face are spatially grounded, this paper discusses how an intersectional understanding of sexuality, gender, and refugeeness allows us to emphasize the role played by migration status in the negotiation of hetero- and cisnormativity. This paper also argues that far from remaining passive toward the categorization process they are subjected to, queer asylum seekers and refugees strategically appropriate the administrative categories with which they are associated. Such an analysis of lived experiences of queer asylum seekers and refugees in the country of arrival thus highlights the complex reshaping of social location caused by migration.

Korea’s Landmark Case for Improving the Legal Process for Asylum Seekers

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-188
Author(s):  
Il Lee
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Court Decision ◽  
District Court ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
High Court ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
Referral Decision ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right

The purpose of this article is to analyze the principle of non-refoulement as applied in four important recent Korea court decisions regarding the asylum-seeking process at ports of entry. Incheon District Court decision 2014 Gu-Hab 30385 and Seoul High Court decision 2014 Nu 52093 concern a non-referral decision; Inchon District Court decision 2014 In 39 concerns illegal airport detention; and Constitutional Court decision 2014 Heon-Ra 592 concerns the right to counsel. In these cases, the courts ordered changes to the previous detention and deportation system and recognized the right to counsel by asylum applicants at ports of entry. As the Korean refugee status determination process is biased towards denying entry to unwelcome foreigners and biased against recognizing refugees, it is important to recognize the duty of the government to develop a better system at ports of entry in order to prevent the unjustified deportation of asylum seekers back to their country of origin.

scholarly journals Failed asylum seekers in South Africa: policy and practice

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey Johnson ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
Immigration Control ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Local Integration

The return of failed asylum seekers has become an issue of concern for asylum states who must balance immigration control measures while upholding refugee protection obligations. The 1994 transition to democracy in South Africa saw the state establish a strong urban refugee protection framework based on individualised refugee status determination processes, freedom of movement, and local integration. The refugee protection framework, although strong on paper, has suffered from a lack of implementation and has coexisted uneasily next to immigration control imperatives. This tension is further exacerbated by the post-1994 immigration regime which promotes a restrictive immigration policy with few options for low-skilled migrants who have turned to the asylum system as a means by which to legalise their stay, thus stretching capacity and conflating immigration control and refugee protection. This article provides a general overview of these issues, as well as an analysis of South Africa's policies to address failed asylum seekers. In doing so it explores the tension between formal human rights protections found in legislation and underlying immigration enforcement imperatives. The article finds that the conditions for an effective failed asylum seeker policy are not present and concludes with a discussion of some of the issues that need to be addressed to implement a more effective and rights-based policy.

scholarly journals Interception Practices in Europe and Their Implications

Refuge ◽  
2003 ◽  
pp. 25-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Areti Sianni
Keyword(s):  
The European Union ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Control Functions ◽  
Migration Control ◽  
State Obligations ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Immigration And Asylum ◽  
The Right

The dilemma of reconciling migration control functions and State obligations for refugee protection has underlined much of the immigration and asylum debate in the European Union. In recent years, numerous measures have been introduced to block access to refugee status determination. This paper focuses on EU policies of non-entrée as they relate to the interception of individuals en route to Europe. It argues that there is a fundamental imbalance in the Union’s activities relating to asylum and migration management with recent measures having the effect of undermining the right to seek asylum and effectively blocking access to protection.

Who Is a Refugee in Africa? A Principled Framework for Interpreting and Applying Africa’s Expanded Refugee Definition

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 290-320
Author(s):  
Tamara Wood
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Treaty Interpretation ◽  
Future Harm ◽  
Interpretative Framework

Abstract Africa’s expanded refugee definition – article I(2) of the 1969 Convention – provides the legal basis of protection for a significant number of the world’s refugees. It is a gateway to a host of rights aimed at protecting refugees from future harm and preserving their dignity until a durable solution can be found. The expansive nature of the African definition has seen it praised for being more humanitarian, more reflective of current causes of displacement, and an exemplar for the development of refugee protection regimes elsewhere. Despite this, the scope of the definition and the meaning of its terms remain poorly understood in both literature and practice. Attempts to interpret the definition to date have been largely superficial and often lacking in any principled interpretative framework. This undermines its implementation in practice, potentially risking the lives and security of those entitled to protection as refugees in Africa. This article sets out a principled framework for interpreting and applying Africa’s expanded refugee definition. The framework is drawn from international law principles of treaty interpretation, as set out in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and customary international law. However, this article goes beyond merely reciting the relevant principles: it analyses their scope, applicability to Africa’s expanded refugee definition, and implications for the interpretation of the definition’s terms. It also identifies, and describes in detail, four key principles for interpreting the expanded refugee definition. These four key principles are critical to addressing the shortcomings of existing understandings of the definition and some of the main controversies that arise in its interpretation and application. They also provide a practical and accessible source of guidance for refugee status decision makers and others that could assist in promoting consistency, transparency, and fairness in refugee status determination within African States.

scholarly journals The Educational Experiences of Teachers who deal with Children of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrant Children on the Move in Trinidad & Tobago

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunita Maharaj-Landaeta
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Migrant Children ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
The Status ◽  
Dramatic Rise ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Right

The Objective of this paper is to showcase the experience of teachers who work with children of refugees, asylum seekers and children on the move in Trinidad & Tobago. These experiences can be considered by other educators on the international front, who work with migrant children as a frame of reference for dealing with them when they enter new environments. This topic is quite relevant in a world where children are constantly being uprooted and have to leave their home countries for the unknown. The paper aims to highlight the unique context under which these migrant children are informally educated. For reasons of risk and child protection, the paper will not use real names, locations and will focus only on the experiences of the educators/teachers. The paper will highlight the views of 29 teachers and teaching volunteers who spent more than 20 months trying to find alternative educational solutions for children of refugees, asylum seekers and migrant children on the move who are not allowed to enter the mainstream of public or private schools within Trinidad & Tobago. To give background and context, The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago acceded to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. In 2019, the country has still, not passed any legislation or administrative regulations on asylum or refugee status, nor established a national refugee status determination procedure. The Venezuelan crisis and Cuban political and economic situation have contributed to a dramatic rise in the number of asylum seekers and refugees reaching to the nearby shores of Trinidad & Tobago in recent times. The borders of T&T are quite porous, and relatively unprotected allowing for constant new arrivals. Phillips (2018) reported, ‘160 arrivals everyday’. This influx of migrants and children on the move is putting the Republic in a position where educational practices need to be more closely examined, as the country’s lack of legislation on refugee and asylum matters, and the country’s immigration law, adopted prior to accession to international refugee instruments, does not provide an adequate framework for refugee protection and asylum issues. This simply put, means that the migrant population does not have the right to work, the right to an education; or any legal rights. Poignant is that the average Trinbagonian seems quite unaware of the needs and plight of this population of concern (POC). There are many uncertainties and negative impacts, since Trinidad & Tobago is considered by all to be a transit point and not a settlement zone for refugees, asylum seekers and people on the move. This paper will trace the challenges involved in educating the children of these persons who do not have legal standing within the country from the perspective of educators who have been directly involved in searching for educational solutions.

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