TNAG-1542-FCO40-2106-United-Nations-High-Commissioner-for-Refugees-(UNHCR)-Execut-1986 — Page 23

CONFIDENTIAL

2(d) IRREGULAR MOVEMENTS

LINE TO TAKE

In keeping with the principle that a refugee should seek protection in

the first safe country, the United Kingdom does not generally regard

those arriving from third countries as able to benefit from the

protection of the Convention in the United Kingdom. The recent increase

in Western Europe of so-called "irregular movements" involving the

arrival of those who dispose of their documents en route or who acquire

forged travel documents has thrown a severe burden on receiving States,

in particular their asylum procedures. The United Kingdom is a leader

in the discussions presently under way with UNHCR aimed at stemming

this traffic.

BACKGROUND

Irregular movements of refugees involve the movement of a refugee from

a country which can offer him safety, but not necessarily employment or

long-term prospects, to a country where his future will be more secure

both economically and socially. In travelling to the third country

such refugees will often dispose of airline tickets and baggage labels

to prevent any possible return. In practice, if it is possible to

identify the country from which they have come the case can be turned

round quickly at the port and the person returned to the country of

first refuge. However, once a person has spent some weeks here it is

very difficult to ensure that he is allowed to re-enter the country of

most recent embarkation, and we may well have to accept responsibility

for the person.

Western States have reacted to this flow by the

imposition of increasingly stringent conditions on asylum seekers,

penalties on carrying companies (where these can be identified) and the

Ministerial announcement of a visa regime for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,

Nigeria and Ghana, while designed for purely immigration reasons must

have some spin-off effect on potential asylum seekers. The United Kingdom

has not otherwise tightened up the availability of social benefits etc for

asylum seekers, but the backlog of cases awaiting decision is likely to

exceed 5,000 by the end of 1986.

CONFIDENTIAL