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PLUS - Please Let Us Stay
Published in Focus Magazine November 2005
The UN Convention states that a refugee child has the same economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights as other children living in the same area. An unaccompanied child refugee, as a general rule, should not be returned to their country of origin after their asylum claim has been rejected, unless it is in the child’s best interests. However once these child refugees have reached the age of consent they loose the rights they had as a child, despite the fact that they may have been in the host country for a number of years.
Over the past 5 years a number of separated children have arrived in Ireland seeking asylum. All applied for asylum in Ireland because they considered that they had a well founded fear of persecution in their birth countries, as specified under the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the status of refugees. As separated children seeking asylum they had unique protection needs which disappeared upon their “aging-out”. They lost any benefit that they were entitled to from the health boards they were initially placed under and have now been placed under the supervision of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The majority have not yet received a decision as the whether they can stay in Ireland and face the daily threat of deportation despite the fact that some have been living in Ireland for up to 5 years. As one aged out asylum seeker states, “We have no remaining family members in our birth countries and, if returned to these Countries, we fear for our safety and our future.”
The UN convention on the Rights of the Child also states that the best interests of the child are paramount in any decision and that general migration policy should not override these best interests, for this reason none of this group were deported. However now that they have aged-out their have lost any special treatment they received and yet their situations have not changed, only that they have got older. The UN is currently working on a report that includes the care of separated children seeking asylum and aged-out minors. It seems strange that at present gender considerations apply in the asylum process but to date no age considerations exist.
Aged-Out asylum seekers warrant special consideration. Their applications for asylum were all made when the individuals were under 18. Even as recently as June 2005, the UN committee on the Rights of the Child has referred to the need for child-sensitive assessment of all protection needs, taking into account persecution of a child-specific nature. It should be remembered that there is a grim reality of childhood in developing countries. Amnesty International has documented human rights abuses against children that include: executions, disappearances, torture, trafficking and forced genital mutilation. Minors should benefit from complimentary protection, determined by their unique protection needs. Their unique needs did not disappear when they aged-out.
The total number of aged-out minors in Ireland is somewhere between 150 and 250. There are 150 who claim direct provision from the state, consisting of lodgings provided by the Department of Justice, food, and €19.10 a week to cover all living expenses and it is estimated that another 100 or so live outside this system. PLUS is seeking is that this small group be granted leave to remain on Ireland so that they can live and work legally and whilst this is under consideration all deportation orders against aged-out minors be suspended and no additional deportation orders be issued to this group until full consideration has been given to this appeal. The Irish state has invested a considerable amount of money in keeping aged-out minors over the last years; now these people could be given the chance to repay some of that investment.
The Irish government is actively seeking additional workers from other states to make up the shortfall in the labour market. Here we have a group of people who are already educated in Ireland, are eager to work, know the Irish system, the Irish way of life and also speak the language. In granting them leave to stay the Irish government would be giving them for the first time in their lives, the right to decide about their own future.
As the members of PLUS state, “We are willing and anxious to work…. We will repay the investment made in us by the Irish State and Irish People. Please Let Us Stay and build our future here.”
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