Sir, - Tony O'Riordan (April 14th), writing about the treatment of refugees in Ireland, repeatedly refers to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); in light of this I would like to clarify the following:
UNHCR is mandated by the international community to protect and assist refugees. In exercising its mandate UNHCR strives to ensure that the provisions and principles set out in the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention are upheld, both in the letter and the spirit of the convention. An important element of this undertaking is to make sure that all refugees who are in need of international protection are accorded a proper status and are not returned to the country of persecution. As such UNHCR would not support or agree to a decision by any government to turn down applications for asylum for reasons stated in Mr O'Riordan's letter.
On the issue of immigration, UNHCR recognises the fact that there are persons who lodge asylum applications with a view to gaining access to countries in Europe and North America without having a fear of persecution. A possible consequence of such applications is that this may compromise the asylum system. While UNHCR is not competent to comment on national immigration policies, it would appear that the availability of a system allowing for the entry of persons seeking immigration rather than protection from persecution could well relieve some of the pressure on the asylum processing system. - Yours, etc., Michael Lindenbauer, Liaison Officer, UNHCR,
Fitzwilliam Street Upper, Dublin 2.