scholarly journals The Use of Official Notice in a Refugee Determination Process

2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 573-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
France Houle
Keyword(s):  
Refugee Status ◽  
Natural Justice ◽  
Decisionmaking Process ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
Large Scope

Official notice allows members of administrative tribunals to take into account on their own motion a large scope of information in the decisionmaking process. With this rule of evidence, it is possible to reach a double objective of fairness and expeditiousness. In this article, the author examines the rule of evidence. She also studies the practice of the Convention Refugee Determination Division of taking official notice of « standardized country files ». These files compile information on conditions prevailing in refugee-producing countries. This study is important because the content of these files can be used to determine whether each of the 20 000 and more claimants for refugee status in Canada has a well-founded fear of persecution. The author concludes that standardized country files can be officially noticed as long as the Convention Refugee Determination Division discloses the information in conformity with the rules of natural justice.

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.

A review of adolescent autobiographical memory and the implications for assessment of unaccompanied minors’ refugee determinations

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Given-Wilson ◽  
Matthew Hodes ◽  
Jane Herlihy
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Contextual Influences ◽  
Unaccompanied Minors ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
Objective Evidence ◽  
Psychological Evidence ◽  
Published Research

The number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) is increasing, and unlike those who arrive with their parents, UASC are subject to interview to determine refugee status. The limited amount of objective evidence available in most asylum claims means that the UASC’s account of their experiences often becomes key in deciding whether or not the young person is granted protection. Research indicates that assumptions about human memory influence decision-makers’ views on asylum seekers’ accounts; however, these do not necessarily appear to fit with the published research on autobiographical memory and may lead to an unfair decision. Therefore, understanding the nature and limitations of autobiographical memory is key to a fair refugee determination process. A literature review of published research on autobiographical memory among adolescents was undertaken across four databases. In total, 45 papers were identified which were thematically organised into three areas: development of autobiographical memory, contextual influences and impact of psychopathology. From this review, conclusions are drawn about what can be reasonably expected of an adolescent’s autobiographical memory generally and more specifically when the unique characteristics of UASC are taken into account. We also discusss how commonly used credibility indicators in refugee status determinations for minors are problematic in light of this research. It is important that the psychological evidence on the nature of autobiographical memory in adolescents is considered in asylum processing of UASC.

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 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. 

scholarly journals Redetermination of a Claim to Be a Convention Refugee; A Review of the Jurisprudence

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 609-643
Author(s):  
Roger Cantin
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Advisory Committee ◽  
Federal Court ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Judicial Interpretation ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Definition Of

The refugee determination process under the Immigration Act, 1976 comprises many steps which have been the subject of judicial interpretation. An individual claiming to be a “Convention refugee” in Canada will first be examined under oath with regard to his claim. The Refugee Status Advisory Committee will study the transcript of this examination. After obtaining the advice of the Committee, the Minister of Employment and Immigration will determine whether or not the claimant is a “Convention refugee”. Should this determination be negative, the person concerned will have the choice to apply to the Immigration Appeal Board for a redetermination of his claim. At this stage, the Board will grant an oral hearing to the applicant and render a decision thereafter if it is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds to believe that he could prove that he is a “Convention refugee”. If no oral hearing is granted, the Board will determine that the applicant is not a “Convention refugee”. The Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada have had a considerable input in the interpretation of the provisions relating to this refugee determination process, including the wording of the definition of “Convention refugee”. This paper limits itself to a review of the decisions rendered by these courts.

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.

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield: Narratives on the road to asylum

2020 ◽  
pp. 136346152090163
Author(s):  
Debbie C Hocking
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed to explore the ecological influences on subjective well-being identified by current and former community-dwelling asylum seekers engaged in the process of Refugee Status Determination in Australia. This article presents the qualitative component of a prospective mixed-methods study of 131 asylum seekers and refugees (T1, N = 131; T2, N = 56). The Framework Analysis method was employed to qualitatively analyse the narrative data derived from 187 semi-structured interviews documenting pre-, peri-, and post-migration experiences, and the impact of Australia’s asylum policies and procedures. Four overarching themes comprising 15 sub-themes emerged: The Refugee Status Determination process (Waiting; Uncertainty; Worry) ; Psychosocial factors (Un/employment & gainful activity; Medicare; Accommodation; Family separation & loneliness; Loss) ; Health and well-being (Mental health; Physical health & somatic issues; Hopelessness; Helplessness) ; and Protective factors (Hope; Support & social connectivity; Religion). The complex interface between the Refugee Status Determination process, un/employment, and mental health concerns was the most salient finding. Policy implications are discussed in relation to the application of the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and the Guidelines on the Judicial Approach to Expert Medical Evidence.

scholarly journals The Use of COI in the Refugee Status Determination Process in the UK: Looking Back, Reaching Forward

Refuge ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-194
Author(s):  
Jo Pettitt ◽  
Laurel Townhead ◽  
Stephanie Huber
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Initial Decision ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
Objective Evidence ◽  
Effective Decision ◽  
Effective Decision Making ◽  
The Uk ◽  
High Level ◽  
Primary Form

In the context of Refugee Status Determination (RSD), while the primary form of evidence is the testimony of the asylum applicant, objective evidence in the form of Country of Origin Information (COI) is recognized as an important— and potentially crucial—tool in decision making. A research project of the Research and Information Unit (RIU) of the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS) examines the use of COI in the RSD process in the UK from initial decision to fi nal appeal. Th e fi ndings highlight the high level of inconsistency in the understanding of and the application of COI in RSD in the UK. It will demonstrate the need for this issue to be urgently addressed in the interest of just and effective decision making in the UK, and help inform discussions at the European and international levels.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document