Humans like to move. And this, since the dawn of time. Departures can sometimes be forced or not. Very often, the common denominator of their movements remains the asylum application. But what is an asylum application? What does the law say? Who can benefit from it? “Dialogue Migration” take stock of this sometimes very restrictive procedure.

What is an asylum application?

The first step is to distinguish between a refugee and an asylum seeker, says Mustapha Harzoune, a historian, analyst and literature critic. In an article published in 2022, Harzoune explains that a refugee is an asylum seeker while not all asylum seekers are refugees.

An Amnesty International note states that asylum seekers are exiles. “An asylum seeker is a person who seeks international protection outside the borders of his country, but who has not yet been recognized as a refugee,” the note details.

Interviewed by “Dialogue Migration”, Dr. Evariste Djimasdé, a specialist in human rights and international criminal justice, adds: “It is not with joy that men and women leave their natural places of life by abandoning everything to hope for a better life or simply survive”.

Migrants and their families are also protected under the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, according to Amnesty.

Who are the beneficiaries?

Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  states that everyone has the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution in other countries. As such, adds Da Sié De Bindouté, a Burkinabe sociologist and journalist, regardless of their affiliation or origin, asylum seekers must be treated equally. “Black or white, they are all human beings,” he says. 

“Anyone can apply for asylum,” said UNHCR in an article that reviewed the conditions for seeking asylum. However, the article states that this is normally a person who feels exposed to a risk of serious harm in his country of origin or who is forced to leave his country in search of safety in another country.

Furthermore, it is important to know that each country establishes their own national procedures for examining applications from asylum seekers.

“States shall establish their procedures for examining and determining the status of asylum applications. In countries where there is a national asylum procedure, UNHCR is in principle not part of the procedure but can offer advice and technical support,” the article reads.

However, when a State is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or does not have a fair and efficient national asylum procedure, UNHCR may be the one to examine asylum claims, according to UNHCR’s text.

Principles flouted…

“Demographically, Europeans are afraid of being invaded by Africans. To do this, they have considered legislations to make the task complicated and protect their society because immigrants come with their culture, their behavior… “, regrets the sociologist Da Sié De Bindouté.

Some figures on asylum applications worldwide

According to UNHCR, at the end of 2021, an estimated 4.6 million people around the world were awaiting a decision on their asylum claims. Every year, according to the NGO, asylum seekers represent about 1 million people.

More on the subject: Immigration: restriction of asylum applications in Europe