Asylum Seekers Report Welcomed

There has been a broad welcome at Stormont for a new report on the way asylum seekers are being treated.

Junior Ministers Gerry Kelly and Jeffrey Donaldson yesterday praised the work of a Commission which is "seeking to restore public confidence" in the UK asylum system.

The Ministers were commenting as they jointly launched the Independent Asylum Commission's Investigation into the asylum system, at the Law Centre in Belfast.

Junior Minister Kelly said: "In undertaking this in-depth review of the asylum system the Independent Asylum Commission has shed light on an issue which is too often dominated by misinformation, confusion and prejudice.

"As we move beyond stereotypes and develop services which reflect the issues facing asylum seekers we need to recognise the experiences and difficulties they face in escaping conflict or oppression, of broken families and community ties and trying to build a new life in a foreign and strange society.

"We need services that are driven by compassion and understanding," he said.

While recognising immigration is the responsibility of the Home Office, Junior Minister Donaldson said that the devolved administration had a role to play in ensuring that all in our society are treated with respect, fairness and dignity.

Junior Minister Donaldson said: "Every year thousands of people move from their homes and their countries across the world - fleeing wars, persecution and violence.

"We can only struggle to understand the grief, anxiety and pain that the individuals and families feel in those most difficult of circumstances.

"We want to ensure that those genuinely fleeing hardship and seeking sanctuary are treated in a manner which extends a warm hand of friendship and care," he said, noting that the Commission has produced a detailed and comprehensive report on the key issues surrounding the sanctuary and asylum debate.

"This report is clearly the product of many months of hard work and is a welcome insight into what is often perceived as a controversial area," he continued.

"As the report itself acknowledges improvements have been made and past mistakes recognised and resolved.

"However difficulties remain and we should all be grateful to the Commission for its scrutiny of these issues."

The Independent Asylum Commission has worked since January 2007 to undertake a "truly independent review" of the UK asylum system from beginning to end.

The Commission has conducted hearings across the UK in this period and has endeavoured to hear directly from all those concerned with the UK asylum system; from asylum seekers and refugees, those who work with and for them, the UK civil servants implementing the system, and those living in communities where asylum seekers live.

(BMcC)