A Nigerian woman and her teenage daughter who are facing deportation appealed to delegates at the weekend conference to support their campaign to be allowed remain in Ireland.
The failed asylum-seekers, Ms Esther Osinuga (53) and Tamie (16), are calling on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to let them stay on humanitarian grounds.
The Osinugas, who live in Tallaght, Dublin, distributed more than 300 petitions to delegates yesterday seeking signatures in support of their case. They said they already had 1,000 signed petitions which they will present to the Minister.
Ms Osinuga, a former teacher who has been in Ireland since 1998, said she was seeking leave to remain on humanitarian grounds because she had suffered domestic violence in Nigeria. Her daughter has a degenerative bone disease and is awaiting a hip replacement operation in Tallaght Hospital.
"I have no job or home to go back to, and there is no welfare there," Ms Osinuga said. "If I am to go back with my daughter that is hell for her. We fear for our lives as my husband would be shamed that his wife ran away from him."
Ms Osinuga addressed delegates from the floor at Saturday's conference in the presence of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson.
Mrs Robinson said she admired the fact that Ms Osinuga would come to such a gathering to tell her story and seek practical help.
Community activists in Tallaght have backed the Osinugas' petition, which also has the support of the Stop Deportations Campaign.
Speaking to the press before she addressed the conference, Mrs Robinson said there was a need for Ireland above any country to have a "very thoughtful and people-centred approach" to the issue of refugees and asylum-seekers.
She was very heartened by recent criticisms by Catholic bishops of proposed fines for airlines and ferry companies transporting undocumented migrants.