UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

A Note on Recent Breaches of the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

EUNICE COLLINS

SS LAW

Despite the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (“the Convention’), under which the signatories commit to protecting certain defined rights of persons granted asylum, political and financial concerns are leaving many vulnerable people without protection. Professor Kowalik of the University of Massachusetts Lowell notes that being “considered illegal has not stopped [refugees] from coming to the country; it has only stopped them from being protected within the law.” This is regrettably true with regard to the recent policy in the U.S. of separating asylum seekers and their children, reflecting the rebranding of ‘family unity’ as ‘chain migration’. A similar problem arises from former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recent decision - pursuant to his authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to certify and review immigration cases - to reverse a ruling that granted refugee status to people fleeing from domestic abuse in countries where the state did not protect these victims. However, legal protections on their own are not enough to protect refugees. The European Court of Human Rights, in Hirsi Jamaa v Italy, its first judgment on the interception of migrants at sea, held that Italy violated a number of provisions of the Convention by preventing refugees travelling in boats from Libya from seeking asylum. Yet by the time this case was decided, it was already too late for many of those on board. Italy has recently been accused of funding the Libyan coastguard in order to prevent refugees from reaching Europe, which calls into question the extent to which supranational courts can really enforce the Convention in practice. The Guardian has reported that the newly-elected Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, ordered refugees to be moved out of the small Italian town of Riace, celebrated as a model of integration around the world, following the house arrest of the town’s Mayor. This reveals that politics is as important for refugee protection as the law. There is also a need for procedural protections and time management to avoid the type of delays seen in the Irish system of Direct Provision. Dr. Andrew Shacknove of Oxford University notes that a surge in the number of refugees could prevent states from working towards permanent resettlement for refugees, “financially exhaust relief programs,” and decrease support for refugees within host countries. However, the European and U.S. systems outlined above fail to adequately assess asylum claims in a safe, fair and respectful manner. It is clear that political commitment to treating asylum seekers fairly is as important as legal protections, if not more so. A greater political commitment to protecting refugees is crucial in order to ensure the safety of people fleeing from war and persecution.