Spain/Colombia: Information exchange puts asylum seekers at risk
01 August 2008
The Spanish Commission for Assistance to Refugees (CEAR) warns in the June 2008 edition of its legal bulletin that the cross-checking of information on Colombian asylum applicants' documents by the Asylum and Refuge Office with the Colombian authorities during asylum proceedings contravenes data protection legislation and the protective nature of the asylum process, undermining the safety of asylum seekers from this country. Problems that are highlighted include the infiltration of Colombian institutions by members of paramilitary groups and the contravening of guarantees of confidentiality that applicants receive when they first apply for asylum.
The following is an unofficial translation by
Statewatch:
Proceedings for Hearings in the Asylum and Refuge Office
The Asylum and Refuge Office (Oficina de Asilo y Refugio, OAR) has started to inform many Colombian asylum seekers of the proceedings for their hearings. CEAR's legal service has ascertained that in the case of each file, OAR officials personally consult the Colombian General Attorney's office (Fiscalía General de la Nación) and the National Civil Status Register (Dirección General de la Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil) to check whether the documents submitted by applicants are in agreement with their databases. It is our understanding that this practice violates data protection law, both in form and its substance, as the interested parties have not been asked for the required consent to transmit their data to third parties. Moreover, CEAR is concerned by what we consider to be a clear and serious violation of confidentiality that may place asylum seekers and their families at great risk. Many sources warn of the high degree of infiltration by armed groups, particularly paramilitary ones, in Colombian institutions, especially the Attorney's Office. Our view is that this administrative practice contravenes UNHCR conclusions and the Directive on Proceedings and runs against the spirit of the 1951 Geneva Convention. As an example of the failure to comply with the intrinsic protective nature of asylum proceedings, we conclude by quoting the terms included in the leaflet handed to all applicants when they apply for asylum in our country:
"...anything that is said is confidential. The government of your country will never be informed that you have requested asylum or what you have said. The people who deal with you (civil servants, police officers, interpreters) are obliged to keep anything you say secret."
Boletín Jurídico CEAR, June 2008