§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what information his Department has obtained concerning the safety of Kurdish civilians in Northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement on his policy towards asylum applications from them; [46780]
(2) from what sources his Department gains information on the human rights situation in Northern Cyprus in order to evaluate asylum claims. [46781]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienEvery application for asylum is decided in accordance with the provisions of the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Anyone who demonstrates a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion would be recognised as a refugee. Any rejected applicant has the opportunity to appeal to the Immigration Appellate Authority.
The Home Office obtains information on the human rights situation in Northern Cyprus from a variety of sources, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the United States Department of State, and international organisations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Amnesty International. A country assessment on Cyprus, prepared by the Council Information and Policy Unit of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, has been produced and made publicly available. The assessment is one of 35 prepared to provide general background 357W information for decision makers. Each assessment is attributed to source material and contains a bibliography. Assessments will be revised and updated approximately every six months.
The Home office country assessment reports concerns about human rights abuses in Cyprus, including northern Cyprus. At this time, we have received no evidence to show that being of Kurdish ethnic origin alone would single a person out for persecution from either the "TRNC" ("Turkish Republic of Cyprus") authorities or the Turkish troops present in northern Cyprus.