Asylum Procedures REPORT ON POLICIES AND PRACTICES IN IGC PARTICIPATING STATES May 2009 The IGC is an informal, non-decision making forum for inter-governmental information exchange and policy debate on issues of relevance to the management of international migratory fl ows. The IGC brings together 17 Participating States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the European Commission. The IGC is supported by a small Secretariat located in Geneva, Switzerland. The Participating States are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America. Publisher: Inter-governmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC) 37-39 Rue de Vermont 1202 Geneva Switzerland E-mail:
[email protected] Internet: www.igc-publications.ch ISBN 978-2-8399-0531-2 © 2009 Secretariat of the Inter-governmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owners. Printed in France by Graphi 4 ASYLUM PROCEDURES IN IGC PARTICIPATING STATES 2009 PREFACE The 2009 Asylum Procedures report was produced by the IGC Secretariat as a follow-up to similar books (so-called “Blue Books”) published in 1995 and 1997. The aim of this publication is to gather in a single document standardised country reports that provide comprehensive and comparative descriptions of refugee status determination procedures in the 17 Participating States.