Seeking and enjoying asylum is a human right

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 states that everyone has the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution. The right to seek rather than be granted asylum can sound hollow. Indeed the right confronts directly the iron logic of state sovereignty. It is thus often portrayed by states, either directly or indirectly, as a nuisance. A human right, however, it remains. One would presume those who seek it would not be criminalised for doing so.

Rather like affluent neighbourhoods surrounded by deprived areas, some states in Europe would prefer to close their minds to suffering elsewhere. This includes making it almost impossible for refugees to reach their jurisdictions. Even if an asylum-seeker does manage to make it, the same basic objective of states can be achieved somewhat more deviously.

Keeping asylum-seekers out of mainstream society by the use of subtle, and not so subtle, policies is one example. If one considers carrier sanctions, visa controls, welfare restriction, vouchers, delays and backlogs one would be forgiven for thinking that the right to seek asylum has little meaning today in the EU.

The stark reality is that asylum-seekers are being punished for asking European states to live up to the values they claim are universal. To put it differently, asylum-seekers who come to Ireland are asking us to be as good as our word.

Bertie Ahern's recent comments on the policy in Australia should be viewed in this context. Human rights lawyers are well aware that Australia is not a useful example of best international practice. No doubt Mr Ahern now realises this also. International and domestic human rights bodies agree with this negative assessment. It is encouraging to see this is widely accepted in Ireland also. Yet it is difficult to believe this was a mere slip of the tongue. One suspects a bit of tactical thinking in Government. Propose the worst scenario and then introduce something not quite as bad. All familiar stuff for human rights lawyers.

The Government should note that giving something a different name (reception centre) does not necessarily change its nature (detention). At a general level it makes little sense for Ireland to join the collective condemnation of events in, for example, Austria, if we end up using similar language ourselves.

Admittedly we are not alone in this. In Britain the Conservative opposition is now proposing that asylum-seekers caught begging should be detained and then expelled. This is frightening stuff. Words matter in the refugee debate and there is nothing woolly about pointing this fact out. Those asylum-seekers attacked in Europe can attest to the practical impact for them of loose talk in official and unofficial circles.

The media also has an important role in this. The fact that one local British newspaper was able to call asylum-seekers human sewage should indicate the apallingly racist levels to which some in the media will stoop. Britain, like Australia, is no model for us to emulate.

Detention is a mean way to treat those seeking refuge. It is a legally and morally questionable response to asylum-seeking. The UNHCR said it should normally be avoided. If used, it is worth noting that it is tightly regulated by human rights law.

The practice is an affront to human dignity. Asylum-seekers are not criminals and Irish law and practice should not treat them as such.

There are well-known historical reasons why Ireland should stand firm on the rights of strangers. This applies to asylum policy generally.

There will be pressure in the coming years to follow a lowest common denominator response in the EU. The Government must display moral courage in resisting the more appalling practices of some of our European partners. This will not be easy, but there is integrity in holding to progressive values in this sphere. We should not, in particular, blindly follow Britain's lead.

I suspect history will judge the EU's response to the asylum crisis harshly. It may, however, look more kindly on those states prepared to demonstrate the courage of their convictions by standing up for the principle of international solidarity.

Irish people have benefited from the kindness of others in their search for a home elsewhere. It would be especially dispiriting if Ireland played a role in the steady erosion of the right to seek asylum in Europe.

Dr Colin Harvey is a law lecturer at Queen's University, Belfast, and is Refugee Co-ordinator for Amnesty International (Irish Section).