Document #1056509
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to a BBC report, a new refugee
law was adopted by the Czech parliament on 8 December 1993 (BBC
Summary 30 Dec. 1993). The same report quotes the UNHCR regional
commissionner in Vienna as stating that the new law violates the
Geneva Convention and that "the new, faster procedure for screening
applications does not provide sufficient guaranties against wrong
decisions." (ibid.). For information on the old and new
legislation, please refer to the attached documents.
This response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
BBC Summary of World Reports. 30
December 1993. "New Asylum Law 'Violates Geneva Convention'."
(NEXIS)
Agence France Presse (AFP). 9 December
1993. "Czech Republic Tightens Political Asylum Laws." (NEXIS)
BBC Summary of World Reports. 30
December 1993. "New Asylum Law 'Violates Geneva Convention'."
(NEXIS)
. 7 December 1993. "Paper Says
Government to Tighten Asylum Law in 1994." (NEXIS)
CTK National News Wire. 24 January 1994.
"Czechs Slam Door on Friends in Need in Former USSR-Paper."
(NEXIS)
. 22 December 1993. "Amnesty
International Appeals to Havel on Refugee Law." (NEXIS)
. 8 December 1993. "Parliament Tightens
Refugee Law." (NEXIS)
. 2 December 1993. "Czech Republic
Tightening Migration Policy, 'Respekt' Reports." (NEXIS)
U.S. Committee for Refugees (USSR).
1993. World Refugee Survey 1993. Washington, DC: USSR.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
(FBIS) Reports. Daily.