Press Release: Justice  15  May 2006

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Dún Laoghaire, Environment, Justice and Latest Press Releases

15 May 2006

Green Party reiterates calls for McDowell to meet with Afghani Hunger Strikers

 - and calls for an end to secrecy surrounding the Refugee Appeals Tribunal

The Green Party has repeated its call for the Minister for to meet with a group of Afghanistan nationals who are on hunger strike in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.  

The group on hunger strike has grown from 33 yesterday to 41 today.  There are a number of minors among the group.  The men are seeking refugee status in Ireland. The hunger strike was apparently precipitated after several of the men’s applications for refugee status were turned down last Friday by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. 

Green Party Justice spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD said:  “These men are desperate. They have fled a war-torn country and are concerned that their lives will be in danger if they return. Minister McDowell should at least meet with the group and listen to their concerns. I have met with the group’s representatives both last night and this afternoon, and I believe that their cases are genuine. They are concerned that the Refugee Appeals Tribunal did not take sufficient account of the dreadful conditions in their home country when making decisions on their appeals. 

“I am disappointed to note that the Minister for Justice has this afternoon announced that he will not negotiate with the group.  I have written to the Minister today again calling on him to at least meet with these men and listen to their concerns and fears.   I am also calling on those members of the group under the age of 18 years to give up their hunger strike immediately.   

“This case once again highlights the problematic nature of the refugee appeals system in Ireland.  The Refugee Appeals Tribunal is famous for the secrecy under which it operates and the lack of transparency surrounding its decision making process.  The Minister appoints the members of the Tribunal and there is no independent selection or interview procedure.  Furthermore, the Tribunal is at variance with similar bodies internationally in that it does not publish its decisions or release any statistics on the records of individual members.  It is time that this veil of secrecy is lifted from the refugee appeals system.  What we need is an open, transparent and fair appeals system”, he concluded.