§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How they expect that refoulement of genuine refugees contrary to the 1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees will be prevented after 1992; and what progress has been made within the European Community on negotiations concerning asylum-seekers.
Earl FerrersAll member states are signatories of the 1951 UN Convention, and as such are committed not to permit the refoulement of refugees. There is no reason to think that this will cease to be the case after 1992.
The meeting on 12th May of Ministers responsible for immigration, which was attended by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary, instructed the official group to prepare a draft convention to deal with the so-called "refugee in orbit" problem. This would establish the criteria for determining which state should be responsible for examining an application for asylum.