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Canadian officials, NGOs tackle lack of legal help for some asylum seekers

News Stories, 5 June 2009

Delegates at the meeting in Vancouver.

VANCOUVER, Canada, June 5 (UNHCR) – The Canadian government and non-governmental organizations, in collaboration with UNHCR, have met to try and ensure that asylum applicants get assistance to better present their claims.

"This is a novel approach to tackling the issue," said Ross Pattee, assistant deputy chairperson in western Canada for the Immigration and Refuge Board (IRB). A recent meeting in Vancouver brought together 36 delegates from various agencies, each with a different mandate but all working to protect refugees.

"In a perfect world, every asylum seeker would have representation, but this is not the case. We are going to all try to make this work for unrepresented claimants," said Pattee. "Each case is critical to us and every time we hear a case, we want it to be well prepared to make sure procedures go smoothly. We want to be efficient and ensure fair procedures."

The meeting was called by the Refugee Protection Division of the IRB Western Region, in collaboration with UNHCR, specifically to focus on how to properly fill out the IRB's Personal Information Form, commonly called "the PIF," which forms the basis of a refugee claim before the tribunal. Attending were representatives from Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Canada Border Services Agency.
The IRB examines the PIF to identify legal and evidence issues, and the time needed for the hearing. PIFs prepared by unrepresented claimants are often less clear, making it more difficult for officials to prepare the case in advance and raising the prospect of lengthier hearings.

Many asylum seekers cannot afford a lawyer and with demand for legal aid outpacing available service in Vancouver, many go unrepresented. NGOs, faith-based groups and service providers, despite also facing limited resources, are being encouraged to help asylum seekers to complete the PIF or at least provide them guidance.

Rod Holloway, who represented the Legal Services Society, said the annual legal aid budget of US$1.7 million has remained unchanged the last three years despite a significant increase in the number of asylum seekers coming to the province. As a result it is likely that up to 50 percent of claimants will be unrepresented.

"We have made inquiries but there is no funding available," said Holloway. "As funding has not increased to compensate for the demand, we have started screening out claims. Only cases which we deem have reasonable chances of success will be funded by Legal Services Society. The rest will probably be coming your way," he said to those present.

Non-governmental organizations (NGO), faith-based groups and service providers appreciated the usefulness of the meeting and expressed a desire for more such multi-agency activities in the near future.

"A session of this nature enhances the ability of NGOs to assist asylum seekers to tell their stories of persecution. UNHCR is honored to serve as a facilitator between the many partners involved in refugee protection," said Lesley Stalker, UNHCR assistant legal officer in Vancouver.

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The makeshift camp at Patras

Thousands of irregular migrants, some of whom are asylum-seekers and refugees, have sought shelter in a squalid, makeshift camp close to the Greek port of Patras since it opened 13 years ago. The camp consisted of shelters constructed from cardboard and wood and housed hundreds of people when it was closed by the Greek government in July 2009. UNHCR had long maintained that it did not provide appropriate accommodation for asylum-seekers and refugees. The agency had been urging the government to find an alternative and put a stronger asylum system in place to provide appropriate asylum reception facilities for the stream of irregular migrants arriving in Greece each year.The government used bulldozers to clear the camp, which was destroyed by a fire shortly afterwards. All the camp residents had earlier been moved and there were no casualties. Photographer Zalmaï, a former refugee from Afghanistan, visited the camp earlier in the year.

The makeshift camp at Patras

From the corners of the globe, the displaced converge in northern France

Hundreds of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees have created a number of makeshift camps in northern France. Drawn from a diverse range of countries, the men are hoping that from France they will be able to enter the United Kingdom.

Locals call it, "The Jungle" - a squalid warren of shanties made out of cardboard, plywood and bits of plastic that has mushroomed among the sand dunes and brambles outside Calais. Hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers from such faraway places as Afghanistan, Somalia and Vietnam have traveled for months and over rough terrain to camp out and eventually cross the 34-kilometre stretch of sea that separates Calais from England's White Cliffs of Dover.

Some have family in the UK or have heard that it is easy to get a good job there. Others have been forced to flee their countries because of political, religious or ethnic persecution, and may be entitled to refugee status.

Since early June, the UN refugee agency and its local partner, France Terre d'Asile, have been present in Calais, informing and counselling hundreds of people about asylum systems and procedures in France and the UK.

From the corners of the globe, the displaced converge in northern France

South Africa: Searching for Coexistence

South Africa is one of the few countries in Africa where registered refugees and asylum-seekers can legally move about freely, access social services and compete with locals for jobs.

But while these right are enshrined in law, in practice they are sometimes ignored and refugees and asylum-seekers often find themselves turned away by employers or competing with the poorest locals for the worst jobs - especially in the last few years, as millions have fled political and economic woes in countries like Zimbabwe. The global economic downturn has not helped.

Over the last decade, when times turned tough, refugees in towns and cities sometimes became the target of the frustrations of locals. In May 2008, xenophobic violence erupted in Johannesburg and quickly spread to other parts of the country, killing more than 60 people and displacing about 100,000 others.

In Atteridgeville, on the edge of the capital city of Pretoria - and site of some of the worst violence - South African and Somali traders, assisted by UNHCR, negotiated a detailed agreement to settle the original trade dispute that led to the torching of Somali-run shops. The UN refugee agency also supports work by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to counter xenophobia.