Africa-Press – Cape verde. The High Authority for Immigration (AAI) advocates clarification of the responsibilities, procedures and role of different services regarding asylum requests. Carmem Barros was speaking to the press on the sidelines of the conference on “Migration and asylum in West Africa: Regional context and responses from ECOWAS countries”, which took place this Thursday morning, in the city of Praia.
For the president of the AAI, although Cape Verde is not considered a “point of origin” or “destination for irregular migratory flows”, its geographical location and international context make the issue relevant.
“In this area there is a concern in terms of clarifying the responsibilities of the services, as well as procedures in this matter when it comes, for example, to the issue of people who forcibly leave their countries and who can request protection from another State”, says Barros.
The AAI warns that both the international and regional context make clear the need to define and establish mechanisms to comply with international commitments assumed.
“There is a set of commitments already made by the State. In this case, there is a lack of clarification, because the diplomas were not regulated and at the moment the asylum regime does not actually exist”, observes Carmen Barros.
The Minister of Family and Social Inclusion, Elísio Freire, recognizes that it is necessary to adapt procedures.
“The procedures must cover all of our legislation. We have a nationality law that also covers the issue of stateless people, but I believe that the most essential issue is that of asylum requests (…). That’s where we have to create procedures. Although we are not a country with a large number, the sudden arrival of vessels in our country means that we have to have mechanisms and instruments to be increasingly prepared, involving all entities”, he declares.
Elísio Freire emphasizes that it is necessary to adapt the country to the global reality.
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