Under a policy document that has now been withdrawn for review, any
member of Biafran separatist groups wishing to apply for asylum on the ground
of “political persecution” must be physically present in the UK.
The applicant must also not be
considered a security risk to the UK.
The UK Visas and Immigration
(UKVI) had released new guidelines to its decision makers on how to consider
and grant asylum applications by members of Biafran secessionist groups.
Asylum is to be granted to “persecuted” members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the Nigerian government, and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).
The Nigerian government has kicked against the decision while
IPOB has declared that what it wants is an independence referendum not an asylum.
Although the UK has said that it is bound
by certain conventions to protect those in need, the decision is seen as a
kick in the teeth for the Nigerian government.
The policy document has now been
withdrawn for review with an update expected shortly.
BURDEN OF PROOF
In the ‘Country Policy and
Information Note Nigeria: Biafran secessionist groups’ seen by TheCable, the
UKVI, a division of the Home Office, stipulates that the credibility of every
application must be assessed under ‘Asylum Policy Instruction’.
The policy states: “An asylum
claimant will be granted asylum in the United Kingdom if the Secretary of State
is satisfied that:
- he is in the United Kingdom or has arrived at a port
of entry in the United Kingdom;
- he is a refugee, as defined in regulation 2 of The
Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification)
Regulations 2006;
- there are no reasonable grounds for regarding him as
a danger to the security of the
United Kingdom; - having been convicted by a final judgment of a
particularly serious crime, he does not constitute danger to the community
of the United Kingdom; and
- refusing his application would result in him being
required to go (whether immediately or after the time limited by any
existing leave to enter or remain) in breach of the Geneva Convention, to
a country in which his life or freedom would threatened on account of his
race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a
particular social group.
The subsisting policy on
“assessing credibility and refugee status” has been in place since 2015 and
applies to those applying for asylum and refugee status.
A claimant who makes an asylum
claim and then leaves the UK will no longer be considered.
The burden of substantiating a
claim lies with the claimant who must establish that they qualify for
international protection, the guidelines state.
Paragraph 339 of the UK
Immigration Rules emphasises the burden on the claimant to provide
evidence and the duty of the caseworker to assess the information put forward
“in co-operation
with the person”.
The UKVI says its caseworkers
must “examine, investigate and research the available evidence and, if
appropriate, invite submission of further evidence, although the caseworker may
well be in a better position than the claimant to substantiate aspects of the
account”.
WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE
Evidence to be considered in
dealing with asylum requests includes:
- Screening Interview (SIR)
- Statements made to an Immigration Officer prior to
the claim being made, or information supplied when they applied for a visa
- Preliminary Information Form (PIF)
- Asylum interview (SEF – Statement of Evidence Form)
- Other evidence submitted by the claimant, e.g.
written statements, newspaper or internet articles, witness statements
from family or associates, police or medical reports, political party
membership cards
- Country of origin information (COI)
- Files relating to previous applications by the
claimant or their relatives
- Passports: where available, checked for entry/exit
stamps, visas, to confirm the claimant’s immigration status and history
- ‘Section 8’ type conduct prior to asylum claim being
lodged
When considering the weight to
attach to any overseas documents (for example, official certificates or arrest
warrants), the claimants are required to show that those documents can be
relied on.
Caseworkers are to “assess
whether a document is one on which reliance can be placed after looking at all
the evidence in the round”.
In practice, this means that “a
document must be considered together with other evidence, oral and written,
that goes towards establishing the particular material fact”.
RELEVANT LEGISLATION
The Nigerian government is
unhappy with the UK because Biafran separatists are officially classified as
terrorists.
However, there are legal statutes
upon which Nigeria’s former colonial masters might have based its decision.
The UKVI says the 1951 Refugee
Convention is the primary source of the framework of international refugee
protection, originally limited to persons fleeing events occurring before
January 1, 1951 and within Europe.
The 1967 Protocol gave the
convention universal coverage and has since been supplemented in the European
Union and other regions “by a subsidiary protection regime, as well as via the
progressive development of international human rights law”.
Another is the European
Council Directive 2004/83/EC which was transposed into UK law through The
Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification)
Regulations 2006 and the Immigration Rules.
Other statutes are: Part 11 of
the Immigration Rules setting out the provisions for the consideration of
asylum claims and reflecting UK obligations under the Directives; and section 8
of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 which
requires decision-makers to take into account the claimant’s conduct when
applying the benefit of the doubt to unsubstantiated material facts.
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