FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release: Investigation Reveals Human Rights Violations Against US Asylum Seekers in Ireland’s Direct Provision Centers
CORK, IRELAND (March 27, 2023) According to a recent investigation, Americans are facing an attack on their right to seek and enjoy in Direct Provision, a system established by the Irish government to accommodate asylum seekers while their applications are reviewed.
This issue must be addressed immediately to protect the human rights of these vulnerable individuals.
The abuse of American asylum seekers in Direct Provision is a growing concern. Reports indicate that these individuals are subjected to psychological abuse, enforced isolation, re-traumatization and torture as a reprisal for seeking asylum. American asylum seekers have also been exposed to harassment, lack of access to services and enforced suicide from Direct Provision staff and residents.
These coercive repatriation conditions have a severe impact on the mental and physical health of these individuals. Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” This means Ireland cannot derogate from its responsibility because an applicant is American. “It is unacceptable that American asylum seekers are being subjected to torture and abuse because Ireland thinks Americans should not be in Direct Provision,” says Ms. Quianna Canada, an American asylum seeker and Country Conditions Researcher.
Canada calls on the government of Ireland to take immediate action to address these issues and to provide adequate protection and support to American asylum seekers in Direct Provision. “I also urge the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to intervene and ensure that Americans are treated fairly and with dignity while seeking asylum, “says Canada.
It is time for us to stand together and demand fair treatment for American asylum seekers who have sought refuge in Ireland and abroad. The international community must not ignore Ireland’s unlawful and harmful treatment of American asylum seekers in Direct Provision any longer.
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Quianna Canada is B.A. law student, activist and country conditions researcher. For more information, contact Quianna Canada here. To read more about Coercive Repatriation: A Human Rights Crisis on the Rise in Ireland, please click here.
