Dillon: Asylum claims abandoned

NATIONAL Security Minister Edmund Dillon on Tuesday said three of the 82 Venezuelans repatriated on April 21, gave up their claims for asylum in TT. He made this disclosure in the Senate in response to a question from Opposition Senator Wade Mark. After reiterating the events which led to the departure of the 82 Venezuelans, Dillon stressed, “Citizens were not deported, they voluntarily departed.”

On whether any of them applied for asylum, Dillon disclosed, “Three of the voluntary repatriates applied for and obtained asylum-seeking certificates from the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) agent, the Living Water Community.” He said these people “expressly abandoned their claims in writing” through the Living Water Community and “also expressly and voluntarily agreed to their repatriation.”

Dillon said the documents which confirm their rejection of asylum could be made available, “subject to Cabinet approval. Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen asked if these people received legal or any other advice, in a language they could understand, before they voluntarily gave up their asylum claims. Dillon said they were counselled by Venezuelan Ambassador Coromoto Godoy Calderon.

He said his ministry and the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs are in discussions with the UNHCR on this issue. Dillon said there are clear protocols in TT to treat with people seeking asylum, which involve claims or applications being made to the Living Water Community or via the Immigration Division.

“All applicants are required to obey the laws of TT,” he added. He said the UNHCR conducts a three-week investigation to determine whether or not an applicant is genuinely seeking asylum, which involved examining several criteria, including fear of return to the applicant’s country. This fear could be founded on factors such as race, religion or nationality.

The minister said while TT is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, it has not enacted domestic legislation to effect its provisions. TT became a signatory in 2000.

Dillon said the United Kingdom is the only country to have ratified the convention to date. Mark asked whether TT was obliged to provide certain protection to people seeking asylum here.