(APP): Despite some improvements over the past year, asylum systems in some countries remain ineffective and unresponsive, the top protection official with the U.N. refugee agency has warned. Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Erika Feller said this was “in spite of substantial investment in capacity building, with many lacking sufficient procedural or protection safeguards, perhaps to serve a deterrent function.”
In her annual address to the executive body of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ms. Feller that despite some improvements, insecurity and narrowing protection space are prevalent in too many countries.
Among the issues of concern, according to a news release from the agency, are remote and isolated location of reception centr es for asylum‑seekers, limited access to and low quality of state legalaid and interpretation services, absence of time limits for detention and insufficient number of procedural guarantees for vulnerable groups.
She said one of the more disturbing general trends is the increasing number of unaccompanied and separated children seeking asylum.
“Systems are often created with adult beneficiaries in mind, thereby exposing children to totally inappropriate or damaging situations,” said Ms. Feller.
“No matter what their status, children must be treated as children first and their best interests professionally identified and respected.”
The Assistant High Commissioner added that for many refugees, “asylum conditions can prove as devastating an experience in some situations as the circumstances which forced them into exile.”
In her annual address to the executive body of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ms. Feller that despite some improvements, insecurity and narrowing protection space are prevalent in too many countries.
Among the issues of concern, according to a news release from the agency, are remote and isolated location of reception centr es for asylum‑seekers, limited access to and low quality of state legalaid and interpretation services, absence of time limits for detention and insufficient number of procedural guarantees for vulnerable groups.
She said one of the more disturbing general trends is the increasing number of unaccompanied and separated children seeking asylum.
“Systems are often created with adult beneficiaries in mind, thereby exposing children to totally inappropriate or damaging situations,” said Ms. Feller.
“No matter what their status, children must be treated as children first and their best interests professionally identified and respected.”
The Assistant High Commissioner added that for many refugees, “asylum conditions can prove as devastating an experience in some situations as the circumstances which forced them into exile.”
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