20 October 2005 

Justice

 Readmission Agreement between Ireland and Nigeria 

Ciarán Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if representatives from his Department or associated agencies have travelled to Nigeria in order to monitor the implementation of the Readmission Agreement entered into with the Nigerian Government in August 2001 under which the Government has committed itself to safeguarding the human rights and dignity of those being returned when repatriation has taken place; the details of such visits to Nigeria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. 

Minister For Justice, Equality and Law Reform:  

A bilateral Agreement on immigration matters, including readmission, was concluded in 2001 between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  The Agreement has not yet been officially ratified by the Nigerian side so there is not, as yet, in existence a coordinating committee as provided for in Article XIX of the Agreement.  Notwithstanding its non-ratification, both sides are operating in the spirit of the Agreement, particularly in the area of repatriation.  

A senior official from my Department and two senior officers from the Garda National Immigration Bureau travelled to Nigeria in April of this year to meet wiht a number of government and non-Government organisations involved in the area of immigration and returns, accompanied by Ireland's Ambassador to Nigeria and a consular official.  

Specifically, the delegation met with Government officials from various elements of the Nigerian Immigration Service and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIPS).  The delegation also met with the Nigerian Office of the International Organization for Migration, which manage assisted voluntary returns programmes there.  Further meetings took place with representatives from the UNHCR and with visa officers and airlines liaison officers representing a number of EU States in Nigeria.  There were useful exchanges between all parties.  one of the outcomes of of this visit is that arrangements are in train for a month long visit to Ireland later this year by officials from the Nigerian Immigration Service and from NAPTIPS to study the immigration system here. 

The Human Rights guarantees contained in Article XX of the Agreement are given effect to by Section 5 of the Refugee Act, 1996 (Prohibition of Refoulement) which I am obliged to consider when returning a person to Nigeria, and indeed any other third country, before making a deportation order.  This provides that a person shall not be expelled from the State or returned in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where, in the opinion of the Minister, the life or freedom of that person would be threatened on account of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.  Extensive coutry or origin information, including reports prepared by the UNHCR and similarly respected independent bodies, are consulted in making this evaluation.