/ 1 October 1998

Refugees Bill aims for a fair system

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 10.00pm.

A REFUGEE system that considers people’s rights is the aim of the Refugees Bill tabled in Parliament on Thursday.

The draft legislation sets out new ways for dealing with refugees in line with United Nations standards and under the supervision of an independent refugee affairs committee. It proposes the establishment of special refugee reception centres, with qualified staff who will interview asylum seekers before deciding whether to grant refugee status. Applicants will be able to ask for review by an appeal board, but will still have the right to take their case to the courts.

The entire administrative procedure should not take longer than six months. Pending a decision, asylum seekers will be issued with permits allowing them to stay, and in certain cases work or study, in South Africa.

The refugee affairs committee will be appointed by the Minister of Home Affairs, with powers to draw up procedures for granting asylum, supervise the reception centres, liaise with the UN high commissioner for refugees and give advice to the minister.

It will also be able to take fast-track decisions on applications that should clearly be either approved or rejected.

The bill says no applicant for refugee status should be detained for longer than is reasonable, and that any detention of more than 30 days must be approved by a High Court judge.

It defines a refugee, in essence, as anyone unable to return to his or her country “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted by reason of his or her race, tribe, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group”, or displaced by turmoil in that country.