Asylum

Refugee legal reforms in the UK will have a disproportionate impact on sexually diverse claimants, academics have warned. Researchers have said the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 is a missed opportunity to resolve other issues about how to make clear assessments about people’s sexual backgro

The UN Refugee Agency’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs, has called for bold steps to protect those forced to flee their homes while speaking at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s annual human rights lecture. The event, in partnership with the Bar o

Urgent action must be taken to protect LGBT+ asylum seekers living in direct provision, a new report has recommended. Ministers commissioned LGBT Ireland last September to produce a report on how to ensure that LGBT+ residents in international protection accommodation are supported and treated sensi

The number of pending asylum decisions in the UK has reached an unprecedented 175,457 as of June 2023 — a 44 per cent increase from the 122,213 reported in June 2022. The new figure from the Home Office surpasses the previous peak in 1999 during Tony Blair's tenure as prime minister when 125,1

New UK legislation restricting the right to claim asylum sets a "worrying precedent" which could undermine asylum rights around the world, the UN has warned. The Illegal Migration Bill was given final approval in Parliament on Monday night in spite of sustained criticism from international bodies an

The suspension of visa-free travel to Ireland for refugees has been extended by ministers for a further 12 months. The government last year suspended the operation of a Council of Europe agreement on the abolition of visas for refugees on a "temporary" basis — a decision described as "shameful

An "ambitious" target to make 1,000 initial asylum decisions per month by next spring is at the centre of new government plans to modernise Ireland's international protection system. The International Protection Modernisation Programme 2023–2024, published by justice minister Helen McEntee yes

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that a child return order under the Hague Convention should not have been stayed pending the outcome of his mother’s UK asylum appeal application. The court highlighted that the return order was directed towards Switzerland, the child&rsq

A new book published by the Irish Refugee Council and launched with support from A&L Goodbody reflects on the "power of protection" in Ireland over three decades.

Funding of €1.3 million to support children, young people and families in the international protection system has been announced. A new funding model aims to enable the Children and Young People's Services Committees (CYPSC) to enhance and expand their delivery of support services, with up to &

Refugee and migration law expert Professor Cathryn Costello has been appointed as full professor of law at UCD Sutherland School of Law. Professor Costello is currently professor of fundamental rights and co-director of the Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School in Berlin, and Andrew W.

The High Court has ruled that the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) erred in law by excluding a Russian man from international protection based on claims that he had committed a serious non-political crime. The man claimed that he feared being persecuted by the Russian authorities, al

A new UN report has urged the Irish government to legislate to recognise stateless people and protect their rights. The Mapping Statelessness in Ireland report launched today by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, notes that Ireland has ratified the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Pers

The High Court has ruled that the State failed to comply with its legal obligations to meet the basic needs of an Afghan refugee on his arrival to Ireland. The boy was under 18 years old when he came to Ireland but he had no documentation and was refused accommodation. Delivering judgment in the cas

Ireland has been found to be in breach of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union for the first time in a case concerning State failures to provide accommodation to asylum seekers. The High Court ruled on Friday that the State's failure to provide accommodation, food and basic hygien