Senior UK asylum specialist, Ms Pearl Karunchie, arrived in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Sunday 23 May in order to take up a 3 month period of secondment within the Ministry of Border Control and Labour. Ms Karunchie has been tasked with developing Ministry processes in the identification, screening, decision-making and appeal hearing of persons seeking asylum in the Turks and Caicos Islands. As a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the TCI must meet its obligations under international law in the treatment of persons seeking humanitarian protection. Currently it is aided in this task by the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Washington, who assist in both the determinations and appeals of persons seeking refuge in the TCI. In steps to remove the Turks and Caicos Islands reliance on UNHCR assets, two senior Ministry officials will be trained in the consideration and recommendation of asylum claims made in the TCI. In developing those capabilities, a further one month period of secondment to the UK’s Asylum Casework Directorate will be arranged for one of the officers. As a further part of the process, an on Island panel will be identified and trained to provide expert advice and recommendations to the Governor in deciding on any subsequent asylum appeals. This latest development builds on earlier asylum training delivered in 2013 and on the recent mission to the TCI by senior UNHCR officials, Mr Buti Kale and Ms. Simone Schwartz-Delgado. As one of the few Territories currently developing its asylum processes, it places the TCI at the forefront of such delivery and is seen as a flagship model for other territories across the region. Funding for this latest project is provided by the UK joint Foreign & Commonwealth Office/Department for International Development, Technical Assistance programme. It is one of a number of initiatives delivered in developing the capabilities of the Ministry of Border Control and Labour, which has included the provision of specialist equipment and vehicles, operational skills and intelligence training, forgery detection and operational guidance.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Feb 2014 22:53:02 +0000
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