§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will publish the proposed criteria for deciding what claims for political asylum are "manifestly unfounded" or "clearly abusive" in relation to the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees of 1951 and the New York Protocol of 1967; whether they will state how such criteria are to be incorporated in the Immigration and Asylum Bill and in the proposed resolution to be adopted at the Edinburgh European Council in December 1992; and if not, why not.
The Minister of State, Home Office (Earl Ferrers)In accordance with the immigration and asylum work programme adopted by Immigration Ministers in the Hague in December 1991, discussions are under way between member states on a common approach to applications for asylum which are manifestly unfounded or abusive. This work follows on Conclusion Number 30 of the UNHCR Executive Committee on the Problem of Manifestly Unfounded or Abusive Applications for Refugee Status, which advised that national procedures for the determination of refugee status may usefully include special provision for dealing in an expeditious manner with such applications. When Ministers have completed these discussions, their conclusions will be published. Provision is made in Schedule 2 to the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill for special appeal procedures for claims without foundation.